An Argument for the Case of Djent

Welcome weary Internet travelers! Please, have a seat by the warm virtual fire and join me in a friendly discourse about Djent. 

...Aaand that would be a surefire way to frighten off any houseguests. 

But seriously, in this entry, I am going to bare my philosophical armpit (aka my opinion) about whether or not Djent, a popular style of modern metal, can be given the title of genre. 

But first, a brief definition and explanation of the word. "Djent" is an onomatopoeia that refers to the sound of a palm-muted, distorted guitar power chord. The term was originally coined by the lead guitarist of Swedish extreme metal band Meshuggah (may they live forever), Fredrik Thorendal. It has since been used to define the sound of certain other bands (I.e. Periphery, TesseracT, Animals as Leaders). It has also come to include the use of elastic riffs that fall on a different beat for each successive measure as it repeats. Lastly, it is identified by its guitar tone; mid-high gain, low bass, high mid and treb, with an EQ spike around 1.4k.

There seems to be some disagreement among listeners of the style as to its status of genre-dom. Some say, "Heck yeah, It's a genre!" While others proclaim, "Djent isn't a genre, it's just a description!" (i.e. "That guitar tone totally Djents, bro!"). I am inclined to agree, at least mostly, with the former.

While it is true that the original use of the word "Djent" was simply to describe a sound or a sonic quality, one must consider the fact that other genres' names once came from word that described them sonically. As an example, I shall use the broader genre of Metal, which branched off from Rock. Though Rock 'n' Roll was named so because it is a driving, energetic style of music, Metal received its title because it is "heavier and harder" than Rock. Granted, the word "Metal" is not onomatopoeic, but it likely came to define a genre over time (with resistance from those who still preferred it be called Rock).

That said, Djent music shares too many similarities to metal to be considered its own genre, so it is fair to say that it is, in fact, a sub-genre. Or really, a sub-sub-genre, since Djent is a derivative of Progressive Metal. 

So there you have it! My own personal opinion on the status of Djent as a genre! It is genre classifiable, but not a whole genre in itself. Therefore, sub-genre!

You have all been so patient, thank you very much!

Be expecting an entry soon on the subject of my trip to the NAMM show in Nashville, Tennessee!

Cole Millward