The absolute purest form of Heavy Metal music.
For relatively new bands who have taken inspiration from The Metal Gods.
The Proper Metal sound is personified by screaming guitars with face melting solos, thunderous drums and pounding basslines.
Proper Metal singing styles can vary, but they usually share a powerful and energetic quality. This could be anything from Ozzy Osbourne's signature growl to Rob Halford's soaring high notes. Proper metal lyrics often deal with dark or serious subjects, like war, rebellion, and the occult. They can also be fantastical or explore mythology and history.
To be classified as Proper Metal the dress code is critical and comprises the following:
Leather (black or white)
Other proper metal band T shirts
Studs & bullet belts
Bare chests are encouraged
Long hair (when possible)
A single member sporting a strong moustache is not uncommon.
Denim (if worn) must be torn or aged
*Bright blue spandex is also perfectly acceptable.
*dryrobes and anything frilly pink in colour is absolutely not acceptable.
Proper Metal equipment is mainly electric:
Flying V guitars or similar
Firebird basses or similar
Way too many amps
Absolutely MASSIVE drum kit
* A mic stand that can be thrown about easily
* under no circumstances should the mic stand be so big that you can either mount it or hide behind it. That is NOT proper Metal!
For relatively new bands who have taken inspiration from The Metal Gods.
The Proper Metal sound is personified by screaming guitars with face melting solos, thunderous drums and pounding basslines.
Proper Metal singing styles can vary, but they usually share a powerful and energetic quality. This could be anything from Ozzy Osbourne's signature growl to Rob Halford's soaring high notes. Proper metal lyrics often deal with dark or serious subjects, like war, rebellion, and the occult. They can also be fantastical or explore mythology and history.
To be classified as Proper Metal the dress code is critical and comprises the following:
Leather (black or white)
Other proper metal band T shirts
Studs & bullet belts
Bare chests are encouraged
Long hair (when possible)
A single member sporting a strong moustache is not uncommon.
Denim (if worn) must be torn or aged
*Bright blue spandex is also perfectly acceptable.
*dryrobes and anything frilly pink in colour is absolutely not acceptable.
Proper Metal equipment is mainly electric:
Flying V guitars or similar
Firebird basses or similar
Way too many amps
Absolutely MASSIVE drum kit
* A mic stand that can be thrown about easily
* under no circumstances should the mic stand be so big that you can either mount it or hide behind it. That is NOT proper Metal!
That is not proper metal and I don’t like it.
The opposite to proper metal is the sophisticated “clever Metal” and the two should not be confused.
The opposite to proper metal is the sophisticated “clever Metal” and the two should not be confused.
by Onesmartfella March 31, 2024
Get the Proper Metal mug.A sub-genre of metal music characterised by whimsical performances/gimmicks/lyrics designed to enhance a band's "shock value" and "approachability". Examples include babymetal, okilly dokilly, Belushi speedball and psychostik
by ToneDeafJoe July 5, 2025
Get the Joke Metal mug.Bands like Swayzak 1 TOM Robot 0 who perform metal in and about the ghetto. Overlaps with parking lot metal.
by YoukoM April 19, 2018
Get the Ghetto metal mug.A fat gay man on the lounge discord server.
They usually think they're tuff and are cool but in reality they're virgin and restarted.
They usually think they're tuff and are cool but in reality they're virgin and restarted.
by Akane233 September 4, 2025
Get the Full metal everything mug.A subgenre of Metal referring to bands with more romantic or emotional tones to their songs. An example of a cum metal band is Sleep Token
by DigitalAegis February 12, 2024
Get the cum metal mug.When a metal head reaches a state of pure metal ecstasy they make the claw with their hand and raise it up.
The true metal claw can be likened with holding an imaginary chalice filled with somthing metal....like sacrificial blood or beer.
Singers also use this hand gesture when feeling extra metal, godlike or just an extreme metal surge.
This is not exclusive to a live show but can also be done while driving and/or listening to ones favorite cassette tape.
Not to be confused with either the devil horns hand sign as these are 2 distinct gestures OR the "mall claw" which is a 1980s hairstyle achieved with heat and Aqua-net hairspray.
The true metal claw can be likened with holding an imaginary chalice filled with somthing metal....like sacrificial blood or beer.
Singers also use this hand gesture when feeling extra metal, godlike or just an extreme metal surge.
This is not exclusive to a live show but can also be done while driving and/or listening to ones favorite cassette tape.
Not to be confused with either the devil horns hand sign as these are 2 distinct gestures OR the "mall claw" which is a 1980s hairstyle achieved with heat and Aqua-net hairspray.
by Em Cloud July 31, 2021
Get the Metal Claw mug.by Spartan#3223 April 7, 2023
Get the metal coma mug.