Heavy metal is a major subspecies of rock music centered around distorted amplified guitars, but with less blues influence, and with more virtuosity, showmanship, and brute force.

Heavy metal developed in the late 1960s, mainly in the United Kingdom, influenced by blues rock and psychedelic rock. The pioneering metal bands developed a thick, massive sound by highly amplified distorted guitars, power chords, generally 8th or 16th note beats, and overall loudness. A typical metal band includes a drummer, a bassist, a rhythm guitarist, a lead guitarist, and a singer, who sometimes is one of the instrumentalists too.

By the 1990s, in almost every subgenre of heavy metal also synthesizers were used. Most heavy metal songs feature a guitar solo, often virtuosic, and at high speeds. Another genre typical playing technique is palm muting, especially for heavy rhythm riffs.