noise rock
A genre that incorporates extreme dissonance, feedback, unconventional song structures, and abrasive textures into a rock framework.
In Depth
Noise rock emerged in the early 1980s from the no wave movement and the experimental fringes of punk and post-punk. Early practitioners include Sonic Youth, whose prepared guitars and alternate tunings created dense harmonic landscapes; Swans, whose early work was punishingly loud and slow; and Big Black, Steve Albini's confrontational trio that combined drum machines with searing guitar noise.
The genre branched into various directions through the 1990s and 2000s: the Jesus Lizard and Melvins brought noise into heavier territory, Lightning Bolt created chaotic two-piece frenzy, and Deerhoof blended noise with pop melody. Japanese acts like Boredoms and Melt-Banana pushed the genre to extremes. Noise rock differs from pure noise music in that it maintains recognizable rock elements — drums, guitars, song structures — while subjecting them to extreme distortion, feedback, and textural assault. The genre continues to thrive in underground scenes worldwide.
Sonic Youth tuned their guitars so unconventionally that they needed a different guitar for virtually every song — at concerts, their guitar tech managed a fleet of 30+ instruments, each in a unique tuning.