EPTWelcome to the genre, "Djent". Djent, by definition, is purely a homophone. It won't take incredibly long for you to understand why after a listen or two to the purveyors of this growing sub-genre. While Djent should broadly be considered Metal music, it is definitely it's own entity characterized by incessant bending of deep notes. This music is full of constant polyrhythms, off-time patterns, progressive song structure, and out of control chord progressions.
soliddew put it perfectly:
On April 19 2010 07:32 soliddew wrote:
the main goal of "djent" is to create a groove based around a cyclical rhythm/riff, but will generally total up to 4/4 in terms of beats. sure, you can count Periphery's Icarus Lives in 4/4, but you'll notice that the riff does NOT start again on beat 1, and it repeats OVER the bar. This is because the rhythm they are playing is either longer OR shorter than 4/4. However, the groove is still felt in 4, and the snare and cymbals are also in 4. meshuggah said it themselves: they do not count the time signature they are playing, they feel the polymetric groove they create.
therefore,
the main goal of "djent" is to create a groove based around a cyclical rhythm/riff, but will generally total up to 4/4 in terms of beats. sure, you can count Periphery's Icarus Lives in 4/4, but you'll notice that the riff does NOT start again on beat 1, and it repeats OVER the bar. This is because the rhythm they are playing is either longer OR shorter than 4/4. However, the groove is still felt in 4, and the snare and cymbals are also in 4. meshuggah said it themselves: they do not count the time signature they are playing, they feel the polymetric groove they create.
therefore,
4/4 riff timing is not welcome.
There are a few basic requirements to play Djent. It's forefathers, DIY math/music masters Meshuggah from Sweden, have long been the lone rangers playing this ridiculously heavy style of music. Second only to Dream Theater, Meshuggah is the bane of every modern music theory student's existence. They made 8-string guitars famous in the metal world. Recently, 8-string guitars to metal kids are like SC2 Beta keys to nerds. Let's survey the gear:
Most Djent guitar players by default play custom Ibanez 8-strings, and they have recently become a stock production guitar. There are many custom guitar companies also making them. 8-strings enable sounds that most of our brains have not heard before in music. Green Day plays in E-standard; most Djent band's lowest string is in F#, nearly an octave lower. The tones of choice are purely digital. Usually, a Line 6 midi controller will control a rack of compression and digital effects that are then run out of the house sound system, or directly into a computer. Those who don't use racks usually opt for Engl Invader 100 amplifiers or Diezel's. Orange Amplification cabinets have found a resurgence in the metal scene because of their incredibly warm tones and extra-thick ply-wood that can actually handle the low tones our brains have trouble comprehending.
Drummers require 4-part independence, which means, they need to be able to play 4 different parts in different time signatures, simultaneously. Their kick drums usually mimic the patterns of the overly-percussive guitar riffs, and the snare is used to accent whichever time signature they are in (which is usually only for a moment). Some Djent bands like to use electronic drum kits that are triggered when recording. That means they play the songs exactly like a real kit, but a computer synthesizes the tones. Excluding jazz music, there isn't anything more difficult to do behind a drumkit than this.
Bass players are bass players.
Vocalists are required to talk about space, why Earth isn't fun, and use huge words that nobody understands. Keep in mind, their job isn't easy though. They must know the time signatures and parts as well as the other members, for their voice is used partially as a percussive interjection into the songs. Some Djent bands prefer no vocals at all. Vocals usually aren't the centerpiece of this genre, anyways.
Let's meet the lineup:
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Sumerian Records is a recent record label that has jumped onto this trend faster than anybody else. Touting growing death metal names like The Faceless, Sumerian reached enough with them success to pick up-and-coming Djent bands up like SCV's mining minerals. That being said...
Meet Periphery.
Led by Misha Mansoor, resident brown guitar genius, this band will be the biggest, the soonest, and the fastest. They self-produced their album (which comes out today) and have had a DIY existence from the start. Matt Halpern behind the drums is a phenomenal, classically trained player.
Icarus Lives MV -
"Jamming"
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Personally, I like Vildhjarta best.
Hailing from Sweden, these Meshuggah babies are incredibly heavy and sport 2 vocalists. Beware of their self-produced 2010 album dropping, it will be ridiculous.
Shiver
Deceit
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Meshuggah, the inventors. No explanation needed.
Bleed (you will bleed if you try to play this)
Rational Gaze
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TesseracT
From the UK, the self-released their demo tracks and received an overwhelming response in 2007. Because of that response, they will be releasing a new album this year.
Concealing Fate Part One
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Animals As Leaders
Led by Tosin Abasi, this Nigerian wonder-boy creates abstract jazz-influenced Djent whilst looping riffs over himself live in a completely instrumental self-titled album.
CAFO (Live)
On Impulse ...my favorite
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After The Burial
Minnesota tech-metal Djent geeks After The Burial bring their own style to the genre whilst incorporating more traditional metal riffs and structure borrowed from metalcore influences.
Aspirations (old version)
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Other notable Djent-ish bands:
Architects
Impending Doom
Volumes
Veil of Maya
Born of Osiris
The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza
djent chug djent djent djent chug jun jun chug djent djent chug djent djent djent chug djent djent djent chug jun jun chug djent djent chug djent djent djent chug djent djent djent chug jun jun chug djent djent chug djent djent
** DISCUSS **
But I can't even count how many "Got Djent?" shirts I saw before I moved to Korea. 8-string guitars weren't stock production until last year, i.e. it's growing. Again, it's a discussion, and I love the fact that you are raging.
