Biker metal
Biker metal (also known as biker music) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal that combines elements of punk rock, garage rock, acid rock, rock and roll, hardcore punk and blues, that was pioneered by the bands in the late-1970s to early-1980s in England and the United States.
Biker metal is characterized by its mid-tempo approach to metal, its "gritty and American" sound, and its alignment with biker culture as a whole.[6] The genre has been contrasted with slower and more operatic forms of metal, such as Judas Priest's work in the early 2000s.[7] Similarly, biker metal eschews the speed and virtuosity that rose to prominence in the 1980s.[8]
Bands such as Black Moth, Orange Goblin, The Obsessed, Earthride and Black Label Society have been described as fusing the style with doom metal,[9][10][11][12][13] whereas Clutch have been described as merging elements of biker metal and Southern rock into their stoner rock sound.[14] Black Sabbath's song Paranoid has been considered a classic of the genre.[15][16] Biker metal has proven influential to genres ranging from speed metal to hardcore punk and crust punk, and was integeral to the development extreme metal,[2][1] Giuseppe Sbrana, of Botswanan heavy metal band Skinflint, has stated that biker metal bands were heavily influential on the aesthetic of African heavy metal bands.[17]