Music can soothe the savage beast and it can work us up into a fury. There is a seemingly infinite number of styles of music and this list looks at ten of the less usual ones. Just to clarify, the use of the word “extreme” is simply a way of describing genres that were in one or more ways completely different from anything mainstream.
Description: Political hip hop (also political rap) is a sub-genre of hip hop music that developed in the 1980s. Inspired by 1970s political preachers such as The Last Poets and Gil Scott-Heron, Public Enemy were the first political hip hop group. Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five released the first well-known sociopolitical rap song in 1982 called “The Message”, which inspired numerous rappers to address social and political subjects.
Why it is Extreme: Political hip hop might not be extreme in every sense of the word but nowadays artists such as Immortal Technique, Dead Prez and Looptroop rockers use their music to promote and sometimes encourage themes such a socialism, anarchy, conspiracy theories, black power and even presidential assassination. This genre should never be compared to the average rap song played on the radio, in fact almost all Political hip hop artist express extreme dislike towards mass produced and highly commercialized artists, an example of this is a passage from the song “The Message and the Money” by Immortal Technique, “To all these saronayas who are too lazy to come up with a way to sell records…that they keep recycling marketing schemes and imagery, C’mon there is a market for everything, there is a market for pet psychologists, twisted shitfetish videos, nipple rings, river dancing, for chocolate covered roaches but you can’t find one for cultured hardcore reality and hip hop?”
Related Genres: Black Nationalist hip hop, Marxist hip hop, Anarchist hip hop, Socialism hip hop
Artists: Nas, Mos Def, Dead Prez, Looptroop rockers, Immortal Technique, Blue Scholars, Sun Rise Above
Description: A body of singers who perform together is called a choir or chorus. The former term is very often applied to groups affiliated with a church and the second to groups that perform in theaters or concert halls. All members come together with what is called “one voice.” One person who makes a mistake can throw off the entire group and a mistake made by by a single person means the entire group makes the mistake. The spotlight is on the choir, therefore it is of extreme importance to perform well for the audience (in a concert) or congregation (in a church). In typical 18th to 20th century oratorios and masses, chorus or choir is usually understood to imply more than one singer per part, in contrast to the quartet of soloists also featured in these works.
Why it is Extreme: Simply the fact that the smallest mistake made by one person could ruin the performance of all other members (anywhere from 20 to 300) makes this genre more extreme than others, where a mistake could be covered up by other members. Another extreme factor is the absence of any kind of time-keeping device such as a metronome, drums or even a finger snap. Choirs also have a very precise structure that needs to be followed to assure a proper sounding harmony, similar to an orchestra where all instruments have an assigned position and tuning.
Related Genres: Symphonic choirs, Vocal jazz choirs, classical, orchestral
Description: Chill out (sometimes also chillout, chill-out, or simply chill) emerged in the early and mid-1990s as a catch-all term for various styles of relatively mellow, slow-tempo music made by contemporary producers in the electronic music scene. Sometimes the Easy Listening sub-genre Lounge is considered to belong to the chill-out collection. The term “Chill out music”, as well as the genre itself, originated in chill rooms that were set up by DJs off to the edge of club dance floors to give patrons a chance to take a break from the hectic dance vibe and chill out with this style of music. Chill out as a musical genre or descriptive is synonymous with the more recently popularized terms “smooth electronica” and “soft techno” and is a loose genre of music blurring into several other very distinct styles of electronic and lo-fi music.
Why it is Extreme: Perhaps “Complete Ambiance” is a more appropriate title for this genre as anything that relaxes can be considered chill and each person has their own preferences. This genre is a very specific sub genre of electronic music with characteristics including downtempo, synthetic ambiance, deep bass lines, oceanwave-like rhythm and sound effects such as bells, xylophone, synthetic pings and strictly no vocals (Non-Voc). It might sound like there is nothing extreme about this genre but some songs can last more than 15 minutes and sometimes people have trouble concentrating and staying awake through a whole song due to it’s very affective soothing ability. Chill out rooms at dance clubs fill a safety need for users of Ecstasy, because some songs were so affective that it would put the user in such a deep trance causing them to forget to breath. In 1992 a UK rule required dance clubs to provide free water in response to a number of Ecstasy-related injuries and deaths.
Related Genres: Ambient, Trip-Hop, Nu Jazz, New Age, Downtempo, Lounge, Psybient
Artists: Portishead, Afterlife, Lux, Massive Attack, Boards of Canada
Description: Indian classical music has its origins as a meditation tool for attaining self realization. All different forms of these melodies (ragas) are believed to affect various “chakras” (energy centers, or “moods”). However, there is little mention of these esoteric beliefs in Bharat’s Natyashastra, the first treatise laying down the fundamental principles of drama, dance and music. Indian classical music has one of the most complex and complete musical systems ever developed. Like Western classical music, it divides the octave into 12 semitones however, it uses the just intonation tuning (unlike most modern Western classical music, which uses the equal-temperament tuning system).
Why it is Extreme: I think the only way to explain why this genre is so extreme is to give the definition of a Rāga. Rāga refers to melodic modes used in Indian classical music. It is a series of five or more musical notes upon which a melody is made. In the Indian musical tradition, rāgas are associated with different times of the day, or with seasons. Indian classical music is always set in a rāga. That means that a different song is played depending on which season, day and time it is. Another extreme factor is the use of instruments which include the sitar, a 16 stringed guitar requiring a lifetime of practice to play properly.
Description: Death metal (the modern or “american” death metal not the original 80′s and 90′s death metal) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs heavily distorted guitars, deep growling vocals, blast beat drumming, and complex song structures with multiple tempo changes. Building off the speed and complexity of thrash metal, death metal emerged during the mid 1980s. It was mainly inspired by thrash metal acts like Slayer, Kreator and Celtic Frost. Along with the band Death and its frontman Chuck Schuldiner (who is often referred to as “the father of death metal”), bands like Possessed and Morbid Angel are often considered pioneers of the genre. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, death metal gained more media attention as popular record labels like Earache Records and Roadrunner Records began to sign death metal bands at a rapid rate. Since then, death metal has diversified, spawning a rich variety of subgenres.
Why it is Extreme: Lyrical themes include death, murder, rape, mutilation, dominance, rage, hatred, torture etc.
The lower the vocals, guitars and bass are tuned the better.
Related Genres: Mathcore, Deathcore, Black Metal, Grindcore, Doom Metal, Speed Metal
Artists (Modern death metal only): Oceano, Suicide Silence, Waking the Cadaver, Ion Dissonance, Suffokate, Annotations of an Autopsy, Winds of Plague, Emmure, Rose Funeral
Description: Speed metal is a sub-genre of heavy metal music originating in the early 1980s. It is described as “extremely fast, abrasive, and technically demanding” music. Also according to Allmusic.com, speed metal eventually toned down its intense tempos and evolved into thrash metal.
Why it is Extreme: Cybergrind is not technically a recognized genre though some bands use it as a descriptive genre. So to make things easier i used the closest thing, Speed Metal, as an example. Cybergrind is sort of a blend between Speed Metal and Hardcore (#4 on this list). If Death Metal is too much for you then this will definitely not sooth your musical taste buds, it is quite extreme.
Related Genres: Speed Metal, Death Metal, Mathcore
Artists: The Berzerker, Abramelin, Plague, Disembowelment
Description: Hardcore is a style of electronic music that originated in the early-to-mid-1990s in multiple locations including the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Belgium and the UK. The style is typified by a fast tempo, and the rhythmic use of distorted and atonal industrial-like beats and samples. As hardcore continues to grow, each different type of hardcore (each subgenre) begins to attract a larger fan base and more support from producers. As new subgenres grow they can become extremely different than other subgenres that are also referred to as “Hardcore.”
Why it is extreme: Hardcore subsequently is an extreme form of techno, house and trance music, it follows the basic guidelines with a constant beat and laud synthetic sirens and other sound effects.
Related Genres: Gabber, Speedcore, Terrorcore, Breakcore, Noisecore, Doomcore
Artists: Neophyte, Angerfist, Delta 9, Gammer, Nasenbluten
Description: Avant-garde metal, experimental metal, or art metal is a subgenre of heavy metal music characterised by the use of innovative, avant-garde elements, large-scale experimentation, and the use of non-standard sounds, instruments, and song structures. The earliest avant-garde metal bands include Celtic Frost and Master’s Hammer. Many Avant-Garde metal bands can be found on North American label The End Records. The term avant-garde metal refers to bands and musicians who “incorporate new and innovative elements in metal, who break conventions, tear down walls, violate borders.” The genre has also been described as “the art of creating deep and strange atmospheres by experimenting with new instruments and sounds, strange vocals, unconventional song structures, rhythms and harmonies, unusual lyrics or uncommon artwork” or alternatively, “progressive, psychedelic, surrealistic, phantasmagoric, expressionistic, dissonant or extravagant interpretations of extreme metal.”
Why it is Extreme: Almost everything we do in live is done to a certain beat or rhythm that only we can “feel”. When we walk, write, talk, read, breath and eat we do it to the same rhythm we have always felt and when that rhythm is interrupted we try to either adapt to the new beat or get back to the old one. Avant-garde metal bands will not allow you to get back to the previous beat, sudden changes in tempo, off beat and pulsating blast-beats and short bursts of highly distorted vocals create a confusing, complex and random wall of noise that strangely, makes sense.
Related Genres: Post-metal, Drone metal, Mathcore
Artists: Fantomas, Mr. Bungle, Mike Patton, Rahzel, Maldoror
Description: Perhaps the best-known musical form of the Mongols is the throat singing tradition known as hoomii, extant among all or most Mongols though best known internationally from Tuva. Sung differently than traditional vocals. In Mongolia, the most-famous throat-singers include Gereltsogt and Sundui, while the Tuvan group Huun-Huur-Tu has an international following. This unique type of singing involves the production of two distinctively audible pitches at the same time, including a low pedal note, or drone, derived from the fundamental frequency of the vocal cord vibrations, and higher melodic notes that result when the singer’s mouth acts as a filter, selecting one note at a time from among the drone’s natural overtone series pitches.
Why it is Extreme: Singing itself is quite difficult for most people and throat singing is probably not something they would even consider. A throat singer can produce 2 to 4 notes at the same time, this gives the effect of a deep sound (bass) a medium sound (guitar) and a high pitch sound resembling a flute or whistle being played. This genre is definitely extreme, some songs can last 3 minutes and depending on how good the singer is could contain only 10 words (words are stretched and sometimes transition into “instrumentals”). Unfortunately the featured clip has an annoying high pitched sound in it but it should not due too much damage to the quality.
Description: Aphex Twin is not a genre of music but an artist, i decided to include him in this list because his music is truly unique. Aphex Twin, is a British electronic musician described by The Guardian newspaper as “the most inventive and influential figure in contemporary electronic music.”
Why he is Extreme: I think anyone who has heard an Aphex Twin song knows that it is not ordinary, Twin produces songs that have incredible complexity, sound distortions, synthetic sound effects, maximum distorted voices and recordings and off to on beat changes.
Related Genres: Electronic
Related Artists: None
Aphex Twin don't deserve rep for their "sounds". There are FAR better bands, destined to writhe in obscurity, that eclipse them in every way.
Aphex Twin is one man.
this is easily one of the most inaccurate and opinionated lists i’ve ever seen on this site
I agree, especially with hardcore. Hardcore is just the word people associate to mean a more intense version of the genre. There is hardcore punk, techno, hip-hop, and other genres all with varying degrees of intensity. And from my experience of shows I have been to, I believe that the punk forms are more extreme than the techno anyway.
FOR SURE
i am surprised that choral music is here, extreme, and yet practiced by most high-schools, junior highs, and community groups in the US? (i don’t know how it is in other regions).
also, i am surprised that aphex twin -which i like a lot- merits a listing on its own, let alone number one. sure, it’s unique, but there are plenty of other artists working in the same genre…..
Great list [: What weird types of music haha. Aphex Twin is pretty trippy.
Wow cb is fast, but great list btw. $th! But wait…
like some works by future sounds of london, massive attack, other djs, you could even argue some of the weirder offerings from the flaming lips or Sigur Rós……
aphex twin is not a genre unto itself……
this list was horiable
Lmfao, "horiable". Are you retarded?
I is extreme! (list item no 9).
(Except I don’t recognise the pieces.)
I agree with lo that something performed over 500+ years right across the world can hardly be called extreme.
If you like list item no 9, please check out http://listverse.com/2008/10/05/20-great-choral-works-from-before-1750/.
In agreement with other comments i thought this list was a little bit too biased, its hardly a top ten list, the entries seem to be too randomised and unique to actually be ranked against each other. These should not be considered the standouts, they either leave out way too many sub-genres or unfortunately encompass them. Music will forever be too hard to list against itself. However it was still somewhat interesting, especially entry number 2, which was quite terrorising to listen to.
hardcore is the *****e!
@astraya (7):
hey you! how are things?
all i know is i’ve greatly enjoyed performing in choral groups myself, including very disciplined ones with strict auditions and who focused nearly as much time on learning music theory as on perfecting performances. maybe XIII meant to compliment this aspect of performing choral works “well” by terming them “extreme”?
but we agree w/each other -i can’t see how such a widespread practice with a lengthy history is “extreme” like the others on the list -if you grant them that
Not interesting.
Pretty cool, thanks for not making all of them electronica or all of them classical music and not all of them metal. Nice mix.
@mim (9):
Glad you like it. Uh, which hardcore? punk hardcore? hardcore techno? digital hardcore? hardcore *****? happy hardcore?
Judging by this list, Mike Patton must be the most extreme musician ever, and certainly the most prolific avant-garde metal musician. He’s the lead singer and founding member of Fantomas, Mr. Bungle, and Maldoror(not to mention Tomahawk, Peeping Tom, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Lovage, and although he wasn’t the founding member, Faith No More).
Also, Rahzel is not avant-garde metal; he’s a beatboxer(although an extremely talented one). Maybe the author of this list meant Ram-Zet?
…no black metal?
Might wanna look up the meaning of the word extreme before using it to describe some of the genres of music above. My first comment on this site…had to. Bad list man.
Aphex Twin is more extreme that sticking your dick into a blender. Right, gus?
@Jono (17):
You should start by learning that Twin Aphex is one man. As for “better” – eye of beholder and all that
This list isnt correct, there are so many other extreme genres! Black metal for instance or hardcore terror..
And what about suicidal black metal.. music about driving people to commit suicide? Thats more extreme then creating a silly voice with your throat.
Controversial choice for the no.1 spot…… I do love Aphex, saw him at Glade this year in fact so definitely agree that he is ‘extreme’, but one man against whole genres? Ballsy!
Not really sure about all the negative comments though; the ‘extremes’ of all these genre’s are just very different, some very subtle, whether it be the extreme discipline involved in some or the extreme themes/aggression of others.
Take a minute to think before you lambaste the list people!
where’s norweigan black? or silk/glam metal? surely nothing can be more extreme than having your wife apply make up on you and have you wear her clothes before every performance.
ask Twisted Sister’s front man and i’m sure he’ll say yes.
=D
suicidal black metal
as for extreme band youll find a lot of them in this genre…
man it should have been up there, not lousy avant garde O_o
and no doom either….
Where’s the harsh noise? There needs to be a followup list.
This list tends to explore a vaguely conventional stream of genres in most cases. It’s very subjective and needs a few things cleared up. The “aphex” genre/reference is catergorized under a musical heading known as IDM or “intelligent dance music”. It’s meant to be an ironic title, meaning that it holds little or no OBVIOUS consistent rythems or time signature.
The misconception of course is that its jumbled and directionless. The truth is that there is a lot of very specific order to IDM music – in some cases tracks have been known to be based on mathematical equations. Nevertheless, all IDM is very well premeditated.
Aphex Twin didn’t likely pioneer the genre out right, it’s been quite renound in the underground music scene for over fifteen years. He did however take credit for it with his first release with Independent record label Warp Records. I write a lot of IDM music myself – anyone curious can just google my Nickname and find my Trax In Space page.
There are a number of less popular genres that could have been included on this list that all fall under the vast electronic branch, such as: IDM, glitch, minimal, trip-hop, dark-ambient, progressive, italo, electropop, techstep and industrial just to name a few.
Black metal isn’t extreme, by the way. It’s all very samey and simplistic. The drumming is generally very weak and tinny, too.
Industrial black metal on the other hand…
Worst list Ive ever seen on this site.
Throbbing Gristle?
For record Speedmetal and Cybergrind are completely different genres and have nothing in common.
Yeah, plain ol’ industrial like Throbbing Gristle, SPK and even Coil are perhaps the most extreme.
Eh, could use some polish; for example, it is not ‘avant-garde’ but “avante-garde”. This is a French term meaning basically ‘the front line’ or ‘advance line’.
Wow! I never understood a single word from #5!
Wow… I used to LOVE going to raves! First it was techno anthems, then on to happy hardcore and then straight hardcore techno.
When you mentioned nasenbluten all the memories came flooding back! Hardcore techno was the *****!! 200bpm until your nose bled… Or Nasenbluten (nosebleed in german)!
Now that I’m closer to 40 than 30, it’s all house music for me baby!
I thought this was a good list except for the inclusion of chior music. I sung in a school choir for many years and never felt any pressure over making a mistake simply because with lots of practice u dont make mistakes.
You could have included orchestral music aswell for the same reasons but to do so wouldnt make sence.
“Music, spread thy voice around”- J. S. Bach
Moloch (32) its avant-garde. Before you try to correct someone about a language make sure you know it.
Avente-garde might exist but it aint french.
I have never heard of someone forgetting to breath because of chill out music hmmmmm sounds a bit BS to me!
No Bluegrass or Appalacian Gospel? WTH
Weird list – I shall be going back to this list for inspiration when I want to get new songs when I get bored with pop music.
How about national anthems: one of the noblest forms of love song? My favorite!
I was very surprised with #2, I’ve been doing it for years now but didn’t know what to call it… also the mongolian dude sounds like Beavis from Beavis & Butthead, couldn’t help imagining him going like, “I am cornholio! Bow down before my bunghole!” XD
And – LOL – while I was watching the death metal video It said “new christian music video,” for a while I thought it was the title so I was like WTF… until I realized it was a google ad
JFrater – you owe us an explanation! How did this one get published?
Bogus list. Where are the freakin’ OSMONDS ?!?!?!?!? Marie with her “little bit country” and Donnie’s INSANE “little bit rock and roll” ?!?!?!? EXTREME.
Top 10 Extreme Genres of Music = FAIL!!!!!
Nice idea for a list, but … cumon man!
Why didnt you just do a list about metal? aphex twin?? WTF.. the description you gave about aphex twin could easily apply to other bands like Nine Inch Nails or Tool, that are just as good if not better than your aphex twin.. I was surprised to see a hip-hop entry. The rap artists you mentioned barely scratch the surface. Im still waiting for a “25 greatest MCee’s of All Time” list.. (what do you have against hip-hop Jamie??) I was also surprised to see Portishead mentioned. One of my favorite bands and maybe the best Trip-Hop band ever. Beth Gibbons is the closest thing to Bjork I’ve heard. Bjork could have easily had her own entry. Her lyrics alone are an extreme genre…Anyway’s… THIS LIST SUCKS EXTREMELY….
I hate to say it, but this list seems like someone was just padding a “list” so that they could show the ‘awesomeness’ of Aphex Twin. You know, that artist being SOOO amazing, unique, & extreme that nothing can ever be compared to them.
No related artists – really?
Where is Industrial in this list? (Not the NIN, Rammstein, pseudo industrial drek. Real industrial like Throbbing Gristle & Einstürzende Neubauten, for example) You dedicated an entire entry to 1 artist and skipped an entire “extreme” genre..
This seems to be an Aphex Twin fanboi list, sorry.
Man, seriously, change Aphex Twin to IDM, the list looks ridiculous. Aphex gets a lot of credit for IDM, and sure he’s done some good stuff, but there are many other artists out there who sound similar and even much better. And as far as genres go, this didn’t even scratch the surface. What about glitch music? microsound? noise? illbient? This list had a lot of potential, but anyone with an inkling about the more esoteric musical styles out there will tell you it’s not very good. Sorry.
This does is it, proof that everyone on this site is an *****, way to bag a satisfactory list.
IM *****ING SCARED FOR MY LIFE
Good calls on all the metal genres. Oceano and Suicide Silence are ace. I’ll be sure to check out what I haven’t heard.
Nice liss, good music, but I don’t Consider 10, 9, 8 en 1 to be extreme. You could try harder and find more extreme stuff. All that black, death, wathever metal is really extremely ugly.
Horrible list.
6, 5 & 4 are some of my fave genres!
most people are spurprised at number 4 with me, but i love it haha
I love music, but this list was a little off for me. I can see how 6, 5 and 3 could be extreme, but the rest … not what I would have in mind as extreme.
Good idea for a list, though.
No artist is credited in Indian music? He’s fricking Ravi Shankar, the father of Norah Jones.
The inclusion of Aphex Twin at number one makes the list bogus. And I agree with most others…I wouldn’t necessarily call this a list, more an arrangement of opinions.
As for the selections themselves, there’s too much left out. Where’s the Noise or Experimental Ambient? I was hoping to see stuff on here from Wolf Eyes or Sutcliffe Jugend. Even Glass’ Einstein on the Beach would be more “extreme” than some of these selections.
This list feels more like someone just took a cursory glance at music sub-genres and threw some stuff together. Meh.
uhmmm… you should talk about Diablo Swing Orchestra when talking about Avant-Garde Metal, it’s one of the most famous avant-garde metal bands today
and… well… I can’t talk about Aphex Twin, I’m not into eletronic music…
This list is the final straw – besides the awful lists written recently, this one takes the cake. Goodbye listverse, enough of your *****ty lists, cracked.com is better and way more researched – enjoy your pre-pubescent fans, Jamie, no one else with a triple-digit IQ would bother with this.
This list was way too opinionated and was obviously made by somebody that doesn’t know much about music… But it’s not representative of the quality of the articles on this site as a whole and it certainly can’t stand up to the awesomeness of most of JFrater’s lists.
Jack, #57, is clearly just a troll. Or an idiot.
wow. this list might tie for suckiest with the one about furries!
*****E LIST