Post-metal is a music genre rooted in heavy metal but exploring approaches beyond metal conventions while being related to and similar to post-rock. It emerged in the 1990s with bands such as Neurosis and Godflesh, who transformed metal texture through experimental composition. In a way similar to the predecessor genres post-rock and post-hardcore, post-metal offsets the darkness and intensity of extreme metal with an emphasis on atmosphere, emotion, and even "revelation", developing an expansive but introspective sound variously imbued with elements of ambient, noise, psychedelic, progressive, and classical music, and often shoegaze and art rock. Songs are typically long, with loose and layered structures that discard the verse–chorus form in favor of crescendos and repeating themes. The sound centres on guitars and drums, while any vocals are often but not always screamed or growled and resemble an additional instrument.

Post-rock is a form of experimental rock characterized by a focus on exploring textures and timbres, as well as non-rock styles, with less emphasis on conventional song structures or riffs. Post-rock artists typically combine rock instrumentation with electronics. The genre emerged within the indie and underground music scene of the 1980s and early 1990s. However, due to its abandonment of rock conventions, it began to increasingly show little resemblance musically to conventional indie rock at the time, borrowing instead from diverse sources including ambient, electronica, jazz, krautrock, dub, and minimalist classical, with these influences also being pivotal for the style of ambient pop.