Circus metal is an experimental musical genre.

It encompasses a variety of eclectic and often volatile sounds. Circus metal may incorporate elements of jazz, punk, and death metal - as well as carnival music, video-game sound effects, unusual or puerile lyrics, and clown-like stage makeup. Circus metal bands often use saxophones and other instruments unusual for a metal band, and almost always have a strong keyboard component. Circus metal bands frequently change tempo and style many times within a song. Almost all circus metal bands use many humorous or creepy samples within their songs, sometimes over a minute long. Circus metal is closely related to avant-garde metal, and is often seen as a subgenre.

Circus Metal essentially began in 1991 with the release of Mr Bungle's self titled album. Although their sound changed with their later albums, Disco Volante and a few songs from California still fit the genre well. In the mid 90s, a few bands with a similarly weird sound were formed, with Dog Fashion Disco and Tub Ring both citing Mr Bungle as a major influence. New circus metal bands continue to emerge, such as Circus Of Dead Squirrels and Screaming Mechanical Brain. The genre is also becoming more popular in Australia, with bands like Sleigor Trout in NSW and Headkase in Brisbane. Almost all of these bands cite Mr Bungle as a major influence, and many also cite Tub Ring and Dog Fashion Disco.

The term 'Circus metal' was rarely used in the 90s to describe the earlier artists. However it has recently become more widely used, and several newer bands refer to themselves as circus metal on their websites and myspaces.

See also

Circus of Dead Squirrels

Crotchduster

Darth Vegas

Dog Fashion Disco

Dureforsog (their first album)

Fast Eddie

Headkase

Mr. Bungle

Radiation 4

Sleigor Trout

Tinklepotty

Tub Ring

Vicious Hairy Mary

External links

Review of Sleigor Trout, describing them as circus metal