The Krautrock movement in Germany during the 1970s had a significant influence on the development of various genres in this alternate timeline. Unlike in our reality, where Krautrock primarily influenced progressive and experimental music, in this timeline, it played a key role in shaping the sound of electronic and alternative rock. This led to the emergence of several new forms of music, including No Wave, Heavy Metal Music, and Synthetic Heavy Metal.
No Wave music was a style of rock music and radical art movement that emerged in Germany in the 1970s as a reaction against the commercialization of punk rock. It embraced the art rock and prog rock influences of the German Krautrock and post-industrial scenes as a means of exploring more abstract, arty, and genre-defying forms of rock music.
The Die Neue Schwarzmusik, a two-day festival held in Berlin in 1977, is considered the primary catalyst for the No Wave movement. At the festival, various German and European bands who would become central figures in No Wave and post-punk, such as Tangerine Dream, Neu!, Can, and Kraftwerk, played alongside New York and London-based acts like Suicide, Throbbing Gristle, Cabaret Voltaire, and Wire.
The style of No Wave was characterized by avant-garde musical explorations, including improvisation, dissonance, electronic, and unconventional instrumentation. No Wave musicians experimented with various styles, often incorporating jazz influences and electronic music elements. The genre was often associated with visual, performance art, and multimedia art performance and had a significant influence on other art movements such as New German Wave cinema, Neue Deutsche Welle, and Neue Slowenische Kunst.
Heavy metal music is a genre of electronic and alternative rock that emerged in the late 1970s and early 1980s from the fusion of synthesizer, drum machine, and electronic music sounds with punk rock, new wave, and industrial influences. The genre is a notable departure from the blues-based and psychedelic influences that dominated canonical heavy metal, especially in England and the United States.
Heavy metal music almost entirely eschews [blues]] and hard rock influences, instead taking its inspiration from the German krautrock movement, synthpop, new wave, and punk rock. The genre is marked by common use of synthesizer, drum machine, and electronic instruments rather than guitars and bass as primary tools for creating heavy, rhythmic sounds. However, utility guitars are still often employed for sounds not achievable with electronic instruments.
Heavy metal music achieved significant success in the late 1970s through the early 1990s, particularly in Europe and North America, and inspired various subgenres, including aggrotech, industrial metal, and synthwave metal.
Synthetic heavy metal is a sub-genre of heavy metal music that shares its origins with the broader movement but places a stronger emphasis on danceable beats and rhythms, borrowing concepts from disco and electronic dance music. The genre is characterized by its danceable beats and rhythms and directly addresses political and social issues, in sharp contrast to the fantasy- and occult-themed lyrics of traditional heavy metal.
Synthetic heavy metal achieved significant success in the late 1970s through the early 1990s, particularly in Europe and North America, and has seen a recent resurgence of interest. The genre has inspired various subgenres and helped inform the creation of cyberpunk, nu metal, and industrial dance music.
