Extreme metal is a specific subgenre of heavy metal music and an umbrella term sometimes used to describe more aggressive styles of metal including Black metal, Death metal, Doom metal, Grindcore, and Thrash metal. The term extreme metal was coined in the mid 1990s to describe bands which didn't fit into the mainstream heavy metal genres of the time. As mainstream music gets heavier, extreme metal's definition becomes more extreme.

Music can be "extreme" in creating sounds that are excessive in speed, volume, distortion or opposing styles. May also incorporate heavy distorted guitars with other genres of music, such as classical music. The heavy metal equivalent to the term Alternative Rock.

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Some of the more well-known extreme metal bands include Nile, Morbid Angel, Behemoth, and The Berzerker.