Djent

Djent (also known as Djent metal) is a subgenre of progressive metal.[1][2] Its distinctive sound is a high-gain, distorted, palm-muted, low-pitch guitar sound. The name "Djent" is an onomatopoeia of this sound.

Djent
Other names	Djent metal
Stylistic origins	Extreme metal progressive metal groove metal
Cultural origins	Mid-1990s in Sweden and United Kingdom
Typical instruments	Electric guitar bass drum kit vocals electronic keyboard synthesizer
Regional scenes
Australia Brazil Europe United States
Other topics
List of djent bands metalcore technical death metal math rock

Development

Fredrik Thordendal, lead guitarist of Swedish band Meshuggah, is considered the originator of the djent technique.[3] However, the band did not coin the term itself; the djent scene developed from an online community of bedroom musicians, including Misha Mansoor, whose success with Periphery brought djent "from the virtual world into the real one."[3] In a 2018 interview by Rauta, Meshuggah guitarist Mårten Hagström jokingly apologized for the band's role in creating the djent genre.[4]

In a similar interview question by Zoe camp of the Revolvermag he gives the specific occasion when he says, 'I think it's kind of hilarious. Hilarious how? Well, for one, Thordendal was shit-faced when he came up with the term. "It was our lead guitar player, Fredrik, being drunk back in the day, talking to one of our old-school fans, trying to explain what type of guitar tone we were always trying to get, and he was desperately trying to say: 'We want that 'dj—' 'dj—,' 'dj—,' 'dj—,'" Hagström explained, imitating a riff. "And that guy was, like, 'What's he saying? Is that a Swedish word? Must be. Sounds like dj_, maybe 'djent'? Maybe something like that."[5]

Other bands important in the development of the style are Sikth, Mnemic, Animals as Leaders,[2] Tesseract,[6][7][8] and Textures.[9]

The scene has grown rapidly,[10] and members of the original online community, including the bands Chimp Spanner, Sithu Aye, Gizmachi, and Monuments, have gone on to tour and release albums commercially.[3][11] Other bands that often use djent include A Life Once Lost,[12] Veil of Maya,[13] Vildhjarta,[14] and Xerath.[15] Born of Osiris have also been described as being inspired by the djent movement.[10] Furthermore, Hacktivist[16][17] and DVSR[18] are djent bands that use rapping as primary vocal style.

Characteristics

Djent as a style is characterized by progressive, rhythmic, and technical complexity accompanied by a dense layer of polyphonic groove. An example is the song CAFO by Animals as Leaders.[8] It typically features heavily distorted, palm-muted guitar chords, syncopated riffs,[3] and polymeters alongside virtuoso soloing.[1] Another common feature is the use of extended range seven-string, eight-string, and nine-string guitars.[19]

Reception

Some members of the metal community have criticized the term "djent", either treating it as a short-lived fad, openly condemning it, or questioning its validity as a genre. But other bands such as Tesseract and Animals as Leaders have gained positive reviews, such as awards and highly acclaimed albums. Post-metal band Rosetta is noted as saying, "Maybe we should start calling doom metal 'DUNNN'."[20] In response to a question about 'djent', Lamb of God vocalist Randy Blythe stated in 2011, "There is no such thing as 'djent'; it's not a genre."[21] In an interview with Guitar Messenger, Periphery guitarist Misha Mansoor said:

I was looking for gear that was djenty. I was like: ‘Are these pickups djenty?’ For some reason it caught on, but completely in the wrong way, because people think it's a style of music and they think it's a style of music I play.[22]

In a later interview with Freethinkers Blog, Misha Mansoor stated that he felt djent had become "this big umbrella term for any sort of progressive band, and also any band that will [use] off-time chugs [...] You also get bands like Scale the Summit [who are referred to as] a djent band [when] 80% of their stuff sounds like clean channel, and it's all beautiful and pretty, you know [...] In that way, I think it's cool because it groups really cool bands together [...] We are surrounded by a lot of bands that I respect, but at the same time, I don't think people know what djent is either [...] It's very unclear." Later in the interview, he stated, "If you call us djent, that's fine. I mean, I would never self-apply the term, but at the same time, it's just so vague that I don't know what to make of it."[23]

Tosin Abasi of Animals as Leaders also takes a more lenient view of the term, stating that there are specific characteristics that are common to "djent" bands, therefore implying legitimate use of the term as a genre. While stating that he personally strives not to subscribe exclusively to any one genre, he makes the point that a genre is defined by the ability to associate common features between different artists. In this way, it is possible to view djent as a genre describing a particular niche of modern progressive metal.[24]

See also

• List of djent bands

References

1. Bowcott, Nick (26 June 2011). "Meshuggah Share the Secrets of Their Sound". Guitar World. Future US. Archived from the original on 17 May 2016. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
2. Angle, Brad (23 July 2011). "Interview: Meshuggah Guitarist Fredrik Thordendal Answers Reader Questions". Guitar World. Future US. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
3. "Djent, the metal geek's microgenre". The Guardian. 3 March 2011. Retrieved 26 June 2011
4. "MESHUGGAH's MÅRTEN HAGSTRÖM On 'Djent': 'We're Very Sorry For Creating That Genre; We Didn't Intend To — Our Bad'". Blabbermouth. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
5. Camp, Zoe (24 July 2018). "Meshuggah Apologize for Djent: It Was "Drunk Misunderstanding"". Revolver. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
6. GuitarWorld Staff Member (16 March 2011). "TesseracT Unveil New Video". Guitar World. Future US. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
7. Rivadavia, Eduardo. "One". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
8. Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Concealing Fate". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
9. Bland, Ben (3 October 2011). "Textures - Dualism (Album Review)". Stereoboard.com. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
10. Colgan, Chris (24 June 2011). "Born of Osiris: The Discovery". PopMatters. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
11. "TESSERACT's ACLE ON THE BIRTH OF TESSERACT AND THE DJENT MOVEMENT". Metalsucks. Metalsucks. 6 October 2010. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
12. Debenedictis, Matt (23 February 2011). "A Life Once Lost Took 'an Outsider's Point of View' During Time Off". Noisecreep. AOL. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
13. Heaney, Gregory. "[Id]". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
14. Hart, Josh (6 October 2011). "Vildhjarta Unveil New Album Details, Post Teaser Video". Guitar World. Future US. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
15. Rivadavia, Eduardo. "II review". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
16. Rosenberg, Axl (17 October 2011). "Djent-rappers Hacktivist Kind Enough to Put the Word Hack Right There in the Name". MetalSucks. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
17. Islander (9 November 2012). "Hacktivist". No Clean Singing. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
18. CroOZza (25 November 2013). "DVSR - Got-Djent.com". Archived from the original on 30 March 2018. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
19. Kennelty, Greg. "Here's Why Everyone Needs To Stop Complaining About Extended Range Guitars".
20. "What is your opinion of Djent?". Rosetta band. Archived from the original on 28 January 2012. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
21. Blythe, Randy. "Lamb of God's Randy Blythe on Djent". smn news. Archived from the original on 8 September 2012. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
22. Mansoor, Misha. "MARC OKUBO (VEIL OF MAYA) & MISHA MANSOOR (PERIPHERY) INTERVIEW". guitar messenger. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
23. "Periphery interview part 3 of 3." FreethinkersBlog. 19 Feb. 2012. Web. 28 Aug. 2013. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bE0Q_9nQ9U>.
24. Abasi, Tosin. "Tosin Abasi's Opinion of Djent". Retrieved 20 October 2017.