--- title: "Post Metal" type: "MusicGenre" url: "https://themetalnet.com/genre/post-metal" parent: "Metal" bands: 643 era: "early 1990s" --- # Post Metal **Post Metal** is a metal sub-genre, formative in the early 1990s. TheMetalNet maps 643 bands and 1,603 albums under it. Post-metal borrows the structure and ethos of post-rock, building long, evolving songs around repeated themes that swell to crushing crescendos rather than following verse-chorus form. Neurosis laid the groundwork, and Isis, Cult of Luna, and the instrumental Pelican and Russian Circles defined it in the 2000s with bass-heavy, downtuned, atmospheric heaviness. It favors dynamics, texture, and slow-building catharsis over riffs and hooks. Vocals, when present, are often sparse. ## Facts | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Genre | Post Metal | | Level | Sub-genre | | Parent genre | Metal | | Formative era | early 1990s | | Bands | 643 | | Albums | 1,603 | | Formation span | 1967 to 2026 | ## Notable bands (top 60 by prominence) - [Sigur Rós](https://themetalnet.com/band/sigur-ros) (Iceland, 1994) - [Pelican](https://themetalnet.com/band/pelican) (United States, 2001) - [Jesu](https://themetalnet.com/band/jesu) (United Kingdom, 2003) - [Russian Circles](https://themetalnet.com/band/russian-circles) (United States, 2004) - [Caspian](https://themetalnet.com/band/caspian) (United States, 2003) - [Sólstafir](https://themetalnet.com/band/solstafir) (Iceland, 1995) - [The Ocean](https://themetalnet.com/band/the-ocean) (Germany, 2000) - [Old Man Gloom](https://themetalnet.com/band/old-man-gloom) (United States, 1999) - [Rosetta](https://themetalnet.com/band/rosetta) (United States, 2003) - [Isis](https://themetalnet.com/band/isis) (United States, 1997) - [Year of No Light](https://themetalnet.com/band/year-of-no-light) (2001) - [Kayo Dot](https://themetalnet.com/band/kayo-dot) (United States, 2003) - [Junius](https://themetalnet.com/band/junius) (United States, 2003) - [Red Sparowes](https://themetalnet.com/band/red-sparowes) (United States, 2003) - [Leech](https://themetalnet.com/band/leech) (Switzerland, 1996) - [Mouth of the Architect](https://themetalnet.com/band/mouth-of-the-architect) (United States, 2003) - [Exxasens](https://themetalnet.com/band/exxasens) (Spain, 2007) - [Indukti](https://themetalnet.com/band/indukti) (Poland, 1999) - [KAUAN](https://themetalnet.com/band/kauan) (2005) - [Dark Suns](https://themetalnet.com/band/dark-suns) (Germany, 1997) - [Devil Sold His Soul](https://themetalnet.com/band/devil-sold-his-soul) (United Kingdom, 2004) - [maudlin of the Well](https://themetalnet.com/band/maudlin-of-the-well) (United States, 1996) - [Dirge](https://themetalnet.com/band/dirge) (France, 1994) - [Minsk](https://themetalnet.com/band/minsk) (2002) - [Rorcal](https://themetalnet.com/band/rorcal) (Switzerland, 2006) - [*shels](https://themetalnet.com/band/shels) (2003) - [Toundra](https://themetalnet.com/band/toundra) (Spain, 2007) - [Khoma](https://themetalnet.com/band/khoma) (Sweden, 2002) - [5ive](https://themetalnet.com/band/5ive) (United States, 2000) - [Cloudkicker](https://themetalnet.com/band/cloudkicker) (United States) - [Tesa](https://themetalnet.com/band/tesa) (2005) - [Daturah](https://themetalnet.com/band/daturah) (Germany, 2003) - [East of the Wall](https://themetalnet.com/band/east-of-the-wall) (United States, 2005) - [Ghost Brigade](https://themetalnet.com/band/ghost-brigade) (Finland, 2005) - [Catharsis](https://themetalnet.com/band/catharsis-0ebf6bfd) (United States, 1994) - [Scott Kelly](https://themetalnet.com/band/scott-kelly) (United States, 1967) - [We Made God](https://themetalnet.com/band/we-made-god) (Iceland, 2004) - [Altar of Plagues](https://themetalnet.com/band/altar-of-plagues) (Ireland, 2006) - [Downfall of Gaia](https://themetalnet.com/band/downfall-of-gaia) (Germany, 2008) - [Kehlvin](https://themetalnet.com/band/kehlvin) (1999) - [Oathbreaker](https://themetalnet.com/band/oathbreaker) (Belgium, 2008) - [Planks](https://themetalnet.com/band/planks) (Germany, 2007) - [Zozobra](https://themetalnet.com/band/zozobra) (United States, 2006) - [A Swarm of the Sun](https://themetalnet.com/band/a-swarm-of-the-sun) (Sweden, 2007) - [Julie Christmas](https://themetalnet.com/band/julie-christmas) (United States, 1975) - [Omega Massif](https://themetalnet.com/band/omega-massif) (Germany, 2005) - [STAKE](https://themetalnet.com/band/stake) (Belgium, 2007) - [Irreversible](https://themetalnet.com/band/irreversible) (United States, 2005) - [Sylvaine](https://themetalnet.com/band/sylvaine) (Norway, 1991) - [Violet Cold](https://themetalnet.com/band/violet-cold) (2013) - [Withered](https://themetalnet.com/band/withered) (United States, 2003) - [Zatokrev](https://themetalnet.com/band/zatokrev) (2002) - [Cold Body Radiation](https://themetalnet.com/band/cold-body-radiation) (Netherlands, 2009) - [Hypno5e](https://themetalnet.com/band/hypno5e) (France, 2003) - [Planning for Burial](https://themetalnet.com/band/planning-for-burial) (United States) - [Black Math Horseman](https://themetalnet.com/band/black-math-horseman) (2007) - [Echoes of Yul](https://themetalnet.com/band/echoes-of-yul) (Poland, 2008) - [heaven in her arms](https://themetalnet.com/band/heaven-in-her-arms) (Japan) - [Kokomo](https://themetalnet.com/band/kokomo) (Germany, 2008) - [Made Out of Babies](https://themetalnet.com/band/made-out-of-babies) (United States, 2005) ## Where it is played - [United States](https://themetalnet.com/country/us): 64 bands - [Germany](https://themetalnet.com/country/de): 31 bands - [France](https://themetalnet.com/country/fr): 25 bands - [United Kingdom](https://themetalnet.com/country/gb): 20 bands - [Belgium](https://themetalnet.com/country/be): 18 bands - [Poland](https://themetalnet.com/country/pl): 14 bands - [Finland](https://themetalnet.com/country/fi): 14 bands - [Russia](https://themetalnet.com/country/ru): 13 bands ## Bands formed by decade | Decade | Bands formed | | --- | --- | | 1960s | 1 | | 1970s | 3 | | 1980s | 3 | | 1990s | 19 | | 2000s | 115 | | 2010s | 224 | | 2020s | 41 | --- Source: [TheMetalNet https://themetalnet.com/genre/post-metal](https://themetalnet.com/genre/post-metal). Catalog data from MusicBrainz and Metal Archives. Full site index: https://themetalnet.com/llms.txt