I don't believe this exists or has been attempted before in metal. I'm talking about classically structured music where riffs aren't repeated but followed through in a non-linear fashion. There are a lot of passages like this but never full songs. Closest I can think of is At The Gates Red In The Sky or maybe Maudlin Of The Well. The Chasm sometimes start a riff then vary the ending with subtle variations the next time it's played. But these aren't fully formed pieces.

I was thinking the same thing recently, but never made a topic about it. My closet guess would be some tech death bands, but I don't know nearly enough about tech death to begin.

Timeghoul is the answer. (Try both demos, I don't remember which one fits your request)

Actually, what you're thinking of IS linear.

What you're thinking of is technically called "through-composition", that is, a song that doesn't repeat anything but continually develops. It's a very difficult thing to do and off the top of my head I can't think of any metal that does it.

Tera Melos - Drugs To The Dear Youth is a good example of this, but it is not metal. Maybe give it a shot anyway? It's fairly crazy math rock and is for the most part through-composed, although perhaps not absolutely 100% strictly through-composed.

The closest thing I can think of is Kekal.

WORMED ?

Explain?

the band changes the riffs in a linear fashion

but in the end everything is linear anyway see math and deriviates

I checked out Tera Melos. Thanks for the heads up, it's very interesting stuff. I just listened to this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9v-y45F-po

I have a hunch they're one of those bands that sounds like noise at first but in time the music begins to take shape.

Really, if anything in music is written down or planned, it technically becomes linear. For this reason it seems to me like the only "non-linear metal" would be a spontaneous jam session being recorded where EVERYONE in the band is totally improvising, through out the whole "song".


I can't even think of any bands that have done this without sounding like crap.

You may want to clarify further by what you mean when you say "nonlinear"?

This is exactly what Nihilist Spasm Band is. I leave it up to you to decide whether they sound like crap.

Okay maybe that was the wrong word and I was using in in a non-mathematical way. But aside from that misplaced adjective I thought I explained what I wanted in the original post pretty well.

I'll try to go more in depth so we can have a better discussion.
We are talking about structure, right? A simple song might go Ax4,Bx2,Ax4,Bx2,Cx2,Ax4,Bx2, with each letter referring to guitar riffs which are repeated a number of times. This is the way the song is divided. Each of the As are exactly the same, as well as the Bs. A song which I previously described as non-linear would not be able to be divided in this way. It would look like ABCD, each letter being separate parts or movements. Of course, they may be related, (as everything is mathematically), they may even contain similar sounding parts or themes, but structurally, they make up a fluid flow of music which does not use repeating riffs as a structural backbone.

Forgive me if this sounds thick headed, but what you're looking for sounds asinine.

It sounds like you're saying each chord, interval, or pattern of notes should be unique, and only be played once in the whole song?

What about drums? There isn't a huge room for variation when it comes to percussion. Would each drum pattern would have to be completely unique?


what about time signatures? Would the song have to contain a singular time signature or would the time signature have to change every few moments?

I think I get what you're asking for, although I am curious as to how you are using the word 'repetition.'

Are you referring to structural repetition, like a song that repeats a riff or a section in a convential verse / chorus / bridge structure? If that's the case then I think I know what you mean, and can say there is not a lot of it in metal.

If you mean something where nothing is repeated at all, ie: a song where the same riff is never played twice...I'm not really sure where you'll find anything like that outside of avant-garde experimental music.

Aren't those two the same thing? I'm looking for something which doesn't use riffs. Essentially all classical music doesn't use them, as well as lot of ambient and jazz and a bit of rock but I haven't yet found an alternative technique in metal.

aveks: That's not what I'm looking for. Majority of metal differs from say, classical, in its use of riffs - patterns of notes which are repeated. I'm wondering if there is any deviation from this compositional technique.

Also, drums are only part of the rhythm, not the structure of the music. (melody in time). Same with time signature. So repetition is expected.

Well, metal, by definition, has riffs. No riffs means it's not metal, just heavy avant-garde music. Plenty of death metal, especially more technical stuff, has riff cycles that constantly shift, but the riff itself is repeated a few times before moving on to the next section.

I agree I think we are being a bit anal.

What did you think of Tera Melos?

What about Lightning Bolt? They aren't metal either but they come close sometimes. Dracula Mountain: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7fVK1mA2zg

You are right about jazz. I think some of Davis's stuff (Bitches Brew) comes close to being 'non-linear'. I also just heard a song by Bill Dixon and Exploding Star Orchestra, called "Constellations For Innerlight Projections (For Bill Dixon)". It turned out to be more interesting than I expected, I will definitely revisit it.

I'm also thinking you might like Ion Dissonance, particularly the first album, Breathing is Irrelevant.

In Pachelbel's "Canon", the repeating 2 measure bass line is no different than the four measure riff that makes up the formal structure for Black Sabbaths "Iron Man".



And arguing that jazz doesn't use riffs is the silliest thing I've ever heard. 95% of jazz song use the exact same chord progressions based of the 12 bar blues style.

All of western music uses riffs. The few exception I can think of are
John Cage's abstract compositions, and compositions of ambient sounds.

Most baroque does the same thing. Metal is closer to baroque than other classical music. Maybe I should have used Classical with a capital C.



The poster above you doesn't think so.



I don't think this is true. I'm listening to Rameau at the moment and it doesn't use riffs. Show me where the riffs are in this baroque piece http://icking-music-archive.org/scores/ ... oyeuse.pdf

Not sure how down the OP is for jazzy metal, but Exivious' debut should fit the bill well enough. Check out the entire album on their homepage.

I'm curious as to what the OP thinks about the few recommendations he got. I've really been digging that Tera Melos song. Anything similar to that? I don't care if it's not metal.

Definately digging that Tera Melos song as well. You might like Sleeping People
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYoodHKdTGI

or Calculating Infinity era DEP.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtFoUboFyPk

As far as metal... maybe Ephel Duath (Painters Pallete or Pain Necessary to Know) or new Deathspell Omega?

Negativa, check out their EP, Gorguts - Obscura might also interest you.

Maybe far less refined than what you are looking for but give Autopsy´s Mental Funeral a listen, the song structures aren´t very usual I think, at least for old Death Metal (I worship that band ).

i highly suggest kayo dot's "choirs of the eye"

this is the best example i can think of of what you're talking about

The closest examples I can think of are Aletheian and Gordian Knot, with emphasis on the latter.