Groove metal

It was pioneered in the late 1980s by groups like Exhorder, Prong and Bad Brains, and then popularized by the commercial success of Pantera, White Zombie, Machine Head and Sepultura.

[5] Exhorder, formed in 1985, recorded their first demo in the summer of 1986,[6] playing a style that was influenced hardcore punk and metal, as well as jazz, funk, blues and the music of Mardi Gras.

[8] VH1 described the band as having "existed outside of categorical restriction", by having a sound rooted in both punk and metal, while also experimenting with elements of industrial music.

[13] The band achieved mainstream success in the mid-1990s, with La Sexorcisto: Devil Music Volume One (1992) peaking at number 2 on the Heatseekers Albums chart in 1993[14] and was certified double-platinum by the RIAA in July 1998.

[16] Their 1995 follow-up Astro Creep: 2000 peaked at number 6 on the Billboard 200[17] and sold 104,000 copies in its first week of release;[18] it was certified double-platinum by the RIAA.

[29] Sound of the Beast author Ian Christe credited Chaos A.D. with helping to developing groove metal and as being widely influential.

[31] Follow the widespread success of Pantera, White Zombie and Machine Head, the genre expanded with notable subsequent groups including Skinlab, Pissing Razors, Grip Inc., Merauder, Pro-Pain, GZR, and Stuck Mojo.

[32][33][34] This was continued by the releases of Sacred Reich's Independent (1993),[35] Overkill's I Hear Black (1993),[36] Coroner's Grin (1993),[37] Testament's Low (1994),[38] Forbidden's Distortion (1994)[39] and much of Annihilator's 1990s output.

[41] One of the most commercially successful groove metal groups during this time was Five Finger Death Punch, who formed in 2005 and garnered extensive chart positions and album certifications of gold and platinum in the United States.