Is Genesis metal? Definitely yes and definitely no. No in the fact that they aren’t a heavy band. Many of their songs are pop. It crosses over into hard rock often but it’s also pop. However, they do possess a musicianship and epic quality that many heavy metal bands possess. And it’s those elements along with great music and musicianship that many metal fans appreciate about their favorite bands. So in the sense of the epic, progressive and high musicianship elements; Genesis is absolutely a metal band.
Now, of course, the first question is ‘Which era?’ And the answer is all eras. But for totally different reasons. Musically it’s all there from the beginning. But the Peter Gabriel era of Genesis is much more metal in terms of style. In fact, I would credit Peter Gabriel as being an innovator of shock rock. Sure, they’re not as dark or heavy as Alice Cooper. And not as scary looking as KISS was when they debuted. But don’t tell me that a dude dressing up in a red dress and coming out with that and a gigantic fox head mask is normal. It’s not. And it paid off for the band because it gave them word of mouth. And that happened in 1972, before shock rock was really a thing. The only guy out there doing it was Cooper. And as far as Peter Gabriel was concerned, he was just getting started. The outfits only got crazier until his departure in 1976. The musical is also there. But it’s drifts in and out in terms of quality. Maybe at times getting a little to amniotic and not really writing with any structure. But then again, that’s pretty metal.
Metal as hell display.
But that era wouldn’t last. And Genesis evolved as Peter Gabriel exited the group. And they kept their prog and epic elements. They just started to display them in different ways. The first one being a display of uncanny song writing and musical abilities on ‘Trick of the Tail’ and ‘Wind & Wuthering’. Phil Collins’ voice is prime. All one has to do is listen to ‘Dance On a Volcano’ or ‘Squonk’ to understand the metal elements. I’ve always wanted to do a heavy cover of ‘Squonk’. Of course, Steve Hackett’s incredible guitar playing stands out. In fact, at times it really sounds like Rush. And you can def hear how Genesis influenced bands like Dream Theater, particularly on these two albums. Unfortunately he would depart after ‘Wind & Wuthering’, forcing the band to make minor changes again. But this short era of Genesis is one of the most metal, non-metal eras in any non hard rock or metal band.
Then comes the final and most well known original song writing of Genesis. Well, except for that 1997 album. But we won’t count that. Now, this is when Genesis really started to move into more pop oriented sounds. But no matter how much they searched and accomplished hits, they never lost their true vision of the group. ‘A.B.A.C.A.B.’ is a great radio ready hard rock track. And the album as a whole may be my favorite overall. ‘Keep it Dark’ is just so freakin’ epic. And 1986’s ‘Invisible Touch’ is one of the greatest albums of the 80’s period. How many metal covers of ‘Land of Confusion’ are there? Countless. And it is a perfect song to be metalisized. Particularly when it’s done by Disturbed. A massive groove and a phat, dark riff to go along with some pretty metal ass lyrics. Then there’s ‘Home by the Sea’. An epic 12 minute track about a thief who stumbles into a beach house. Only to find it haunted by spirits who won’t let him leave until he’s dead from listening to their life stories. But it wasn’t just impeccable song writing and dark subject matter that makes this era so metal. In the 70’s the band relied on Peter Gabriel to be their show. Once he was out they lost their shock rock element. Phil Collins certainly wasn’t about to dress up as a gigantic pink and orange flower. So what did they do? Simply created the best light show any rock band has every created. And I mean it when I say that. And it evolved too. By the time the ‘Invisible Touch’ tour took place, the band has the biggest stage in the business. It’s on full display on the video below. Granted any stage is going to be massive when playing Wembly Stadium.
This is def rock. But not metal. But it has a metal spirit of sorts. I mean, that’s a pretty metal drum set right there.
Genesis is without question, one of the most metal non-metal bands to exist. The proof is in the material. Is it metal? Musically no. But don’t let that turn you off. Just because it’s not heavy as hell or metal doesn’t mean it’s not good. I would like to invite skeptics to really dig into their catalog. You can’t just listen to ‘That’s All’ and get the vibe of the band. In fact, I don’t really like that song. This is a band that you gotta dig into. So find the time and get digging. You won’t regret it.
