What is Thall? Explaining Metal’s Most Extreme Genre
Described as a more extreme version of djent, Thall uses unconventional timings, polyrhythms, and a highly technical metal guitar style. Thall takes influence from genres like death metal, deathcore, djent, and progressive metal. Thall is often referred to as one of the heaviest metal genres.
Who Created Thall?
The term "Thall" was created by the Swedish band Vildhjarta, the founders of the genre. The term was originally used as an inside joke but eventually, the band went on to describe their music with the word and fans quickly adopted the term–which now describes the extremely progressive extreme metal genre.
What Is Thall?
Thall is an extreme metal subgenre that originated from djent with similar progressive elements. Thall is known for building clean guitar melodies that are contrasted by similar (but slightly distorted riffs) with bending notes, harmonics, and down-tuned guitar riffs creating an "off-note" sound. The style is often written to create an uncomfortable atmosphere.
Described as a more extreme version of djent, Thall uses unconventional timings, polyrhythms, and a highly technical metal guitar style. Thall takes influence from genres like death metal, deathcore, djent, and progressive metal. Thall is often referred to as one of the heaviest metal genres.
When Was Thall Created?
Thall began in 2011 when Vildhjarta coined the term and it's generally used to describe Vildhjarta’s music and bands that are inspired by their sound, however over the years it has grown into a full sub-genre with many bands taking inspiration from Vildhjarta's extreme sound.
Who Are The Most Popular Thall Bands?
The most well-known bands often described as Thall are: Vildhjarta and Humanity’s Last Breath. Many fans say that some Meshuggah songs can also be considered Thall and that they helped inspire the genre.
Confusion With Thall
Thall is a word with no true definition, making it hard to speculate what exactly is and isn’t Thall–with that being said, here’s what we think Thall is due to general opinion and research.
Some metal fans say that Thall isn’t a genre and it’s the same thing as djent, but here’s what makes Thall stand out to us:
A major characteristic of Thall is building up ambient clean melodies and then playing down-tuned progressive guitars overtop of it, to a similar but intentionally “off” melody to create a sense of unease in the listener. This technique is sometimes jarring to hear the first time but when done correctly it helps reinforce the clean melody, making for a catchy and memorable (yet extreme) sound.
Thall contains similar technical elements of djent with polyrhythms but uses a heavier sound that draws parallels to deathcore. One way that Thall separates itself from djent and deathcore, is by purposefully leading the listener to expect a riff or melody to go in one direction and then doing something surprising to throw you off–similar to a plot twist in a movie. Thall tends to be heavily dependent on production, often utilizing lots of pitch-shifting in riffs. Another element that makes Thall unique is that some bands even mix in clean singing which isn’t typically used in extreme metal genres. Above all, Thall has a focus on being progressive, unexpected, and incredibly heavy–giving it a very distinct sound.
Thall bands often experiment with ominous and sometimes uncomfortable sounds, adding to the genre's atmospheric and unique musical style. Thall songs often have dramatic atmospheres that are intense and dark, building dramatic soundscapes that set songs apart.
Modern Thall Bands
Vildhjarta
Vildhjarta‘s latest 3 singles are in our opinion some of the best examples of Thall and display what the genre has to offer, our favorite of the three is "+ den spanska känslan +".
Mirar
Mirar is a rising artist that's starting to pick up steam lately, particularly with their features on popular metal YouTuber Nik Nocturnal's channel. Mirar takes tge extremeness of Thall even further than anyone else, creating bustling and chaotic atmospheres that take influence from deathcore, industrial metal, and even use unique clean instrumentals like in the outro to "Dégenèse". Mirar also is recognized for their use of baroque classical elements and medieval-sounding instruments like the Harpsichord, setting them even further apart from other bands in the Thall scene.
Humanity's Last Breath
Humanity's Last Breath verges the lines between death metal and Thall, creating crushingly heavy grooves that remain incredibly progressive while building intense atmospheres like with their song "Väldet".
Even some established bands like Reflections, a progressive metalcore/deathcore act are creating new tracks that have a Thall sound as shown in their song "Deva"
Wrapping Up
With Thall being one of the newest and least-known metal genres, there is still so much to discover and we love the extremely progressive nature and the explorative emphasis that Thall has. We can't wait to see what Thall sounds like in the next few years and if you are a fan of progressive metal genres you should definitely check out our Thall playlist on Spotify!
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