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Alternative metal, or alt-metal, is a fusion of heavy metal with alternative rock and other unconventional influences, characterized by downtuned, mid-paced guitar riffs, a blend of melodic and harsh vocals, and occasional experimental sounds. Emerging in the 1980s with bands like Faith No More, Living Colour, Soundgarden, and Jane’s Addiction, the genre gained prominence in the 1990s through acts like Helmet, Tool, and Alice in Chains..
Subgenres such as rap metal and funk metal played a role in shaping nu metal, which further expanded alt-metal’s sound by incorporating hip-hop, thrash, hardcore punk, and industrial elements. Nu metal surged in mainstream popularity in the late 1990s and early 2000s with bands like Korn, Limp Bizkit, System of a Down, Linkin Park, and Slipknot, but its dominance waned after the mid-2000s as many bands evolved into different styles.
Mike Patton’s arrival turned the band’s funk-metal twitch into something unhinged, unpredictable, and often brilliant. You can hear a band not reinventing themselves, but finding the right kind of madness to build a shrine around.
Living Colour’s Vivid revolutionized rock with its genre-blending mix of funk, hard rock, heavy metal, and punk. With fiery riffs, powerhouse vocals, and sharp political commentary, it’s a bold, cohesive statement on both sound and society.