This is a lighthearted guide to obscure metal subgenres for fans who feel mainstream labels like "death metal" or "black metal" no longer capture the sheer scope of the genre's fragmentation. It highlights how metal has splintered into hyper-specific hybrid styles over the decades, each blending unrelated sonic traditions to create increasingly niche and unusual combinations.

– Atmospheric black metal: black metal blended with dense ambient layers, replacing traditional lyrics with themes of nature and melancholy (e.g. Wolves in the Throne Room, Drudkh)
– Blackened crust: crust punk's anti-establishment lyrics combined with black metal's raw, punishing sound (e.g. Martyrdöd, Dödsrit)
– Cybergrind: grindcore fused with glitchy noise and frantic drum-machine rhythms in near-incomprehensible time signatures (e.g. Agoraphobic Nosebleed, Genghis Tron)
– Drone doom: extremely slow, low, resonant riffs with optional guttural vocals, aimed at patient listeners
– Electronicore: metalcore mixed with EDM elements such as wobbly synths and sub-bass, popular at outdoor festivals