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Djent (/dʒɛnt/) is a subgenre of progressive metal, termed for an onomatopoeia of the guitar sound that characterizes it. While sources such as The Guardian and Guitar World describe djent as a genre, some notable musicians including Randy Blythe (Lamb of God) and Stephen Carpenter (Deftones) say it is not.

Development

Fredrik Thordendal, lead guitarist of Swedish band Meshuggah, is considered the influential in the origins of the term. However, the band did not coin the term itself. In a 2018 interview by Rauta, Meshuggah guitarist Mårten Hagström apologized for the band's role in creating the "djent" style of guitar playing, calling it "a drunk misunderstanding".

Other bands important in the development of the style are Animals as Leaders, Periphery, Tesseract, and Textures.

The scene has grown rapidly, and members of the original online community, including the bands Chimp Spanner, Sithu Aye, and Monuments, have gone on to tour and release albums commercially. Other bands influenced by djent include A Life once lost, Veil of Maya, Vildhjarta, and Xerath. Born of Osiris have also been described as being inspired by the djent movement. Furthermore, Hacktivist and DVSR are djent bands that use rapping as a primary vocal style.

Characteristics

Djent as a style is characterized by progressive, rhythmic, and technical complexity accompanied by a use of polymetric groove. An example is the song "Cafo" by Animals as Leaders. It typically features heavily-distorted, palm-muted guitar chords, syncopated riffs, and poly-meters alongside virtuosic soloing. Another common feature is the use of extended range guitars that are seven-string, eight-string, and nine-string, or even more strings.

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. However, bands such as Tesseract and Animals as Leaders have received positive critical reception and multiple awards. Post-metal band Rosetta is noted as saying, "Maybe we should start calling doom metal 'DUNNN'". 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". Deftones guitarist Stephen Carpenter similarly opined in 2016 that "I thoroughly can get djent, I even have great appreciation for the bands, and I mean Meshuggah is one of my favorite bands. But it's just not a genre. It's just metal". 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.

In a later interview with Freethinkers Blog, Mansoor stated that he felt djent had become "this big umbrella term for any sort of progressive band, and also any band that will off-time chugs You also get bands like Scale the Summit a djent band 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". In 2023, Periphery directly referenced the term's controversy with the subtitle of their seventh studio album, Periphery V: Djent is not a Genre.

Tosin Abasi of Animals as Leaders takes a more lenient view of the term, stating that there are specific characteristics that are common to djent bands, and as a result the term can be legitimately used 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. He says that in this way, it is possible to view djent as a genre describing a particular niche of modern progressive metal.

See also

• List of djent bands

References

1. Hammerpublished, Metal (22 July 2017). "Currents: making waves in the djent-metal underground". loudersound. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
2. "What is Djent | Djent Hub". Djent Hub. Archived from the original on 6 July 2022. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
3. "Meshuggah - Kings Of Underground Music Scene". UnBumf. Archived from the original on 26 July 2021. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
4. ^ "Djent, the metal geek's microgenre". The Guardian. 3 March 2011. Retrieved 26 June 2011
5. "MESHUGGAH's MÅRTEN HAGSTRÖM On 'Djent': 'We're Very Sorry For Creating That Genre; We Didn't Intend To – Our Bad'". Blabbermouth. 23 July 2018. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
6. Camp, Zoe (24 July 2018). "Meshuggah Apologize for Djent: It Was "Drunk Misunderstanding"". Revolver. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
7. Angle, Brad (23 July 2011). "Interview: Meshuggah Guitarist Fredrik Thordendal Answers Reader Questions". Guitar World. Future US. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
8. GuitarWorld Staff Member (16 March 2011). "TesseracT Unveil New Video". Guitar World. Future US. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
9. Rivadavia, Eduardo. "One". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
10. ^ Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Concealing Fate". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
11. Bland, Ben (3 October 2011). "Textures - Dualism (Album Review)". Stereoboard.com. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
12. ^ Colgan, Chris (24 June 2011). "Born of Osiris: The Discovery". PopMatters. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
13. "TESSERACT's ACLE ON THE BIRTH OF TESSERACT AND THE DJENT MOVEMENT". Metalsucks. 6 October 2010. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
14. 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.
15. Heaney, Gregory. "". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
16. Hart, Josh (6 October 2011). "Vildhjarta Unveil New Album Details, Post Teaser Video". Guitar World. Future US. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
17. Rivadavia, Eduardo. "II review". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
18. 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.
19. Islander (9 November 2012). "Hacktivist". No Clean Singing. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
20. CroOZza (25 November 2013). "DVSR - Got-Djent.com". Archived from the original on 30 March 2018. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
21. Pasbani, Robert (5 May 2014). "Is Nü-Djent The Next Big Thing?". Metal Injection. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
22. 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.
23. Kennelty, Greg (26 February 2014). "Here's Why Everyone Needs To Stop Complaining About Extended Range Guitars".
24. "What is your opinion of Djent?". Rosetta band. Archived from the original on 28 January 2012. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
25. Blythe, Randy. "Lamb of God's Randy Blythe on Djent". smn news. Archived from the original on 8 September 2012. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
26. "Deftones' Stephen Carpenter On "Gore": "I Didn't Want To Play On The Record To Begin With"". Theprp.com. 23 February 2016. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
27. Mansoor, Misha. "MARC OKUBO (VEIL OF MAYA) & MISHA MANSOOR (PERIPHERY) INTERVIEW". guitar messenger. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
28. "Periphery interview part 3 of 3." FreethinkersBlog. 19 February 2012. Web. 28 August 2013. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bE0Q_9nQ9U>.
29. Abasi, Tosin. "Tosin Abasi's Opinion of Djent". YouTube. Retrieved 20 October 2017.

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• Heavy metal genres
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