Funk Metal is one of those late-1980s and early-1990s fusion experiments that never quite caught on -- though some bands did actually gain mainstream popularity -- either then or eventually, but really only when they moved toward more mainstream-friendly fare. One can think here for example of Living Colour, Primus, Rage Against the Machine, and Red Hot Chilli Peppers.
As a genre it blends together "the distinctive sound of funk" and "conventional riffing [of] 1980s thrash metal."1 But the logos hardly reflect the latter. With maybe one exception (Infectious Grooves), no Funk Metal act has a logo that looks anything remotely like one that belongs to a Heavy or Extreme Metal band -- in fact, most of the time they have a logo design that seemingly took its inspiration from Rugrats, Aaahh!!! Real Monsters, or Duckman, which is unlikely seeing how they respectively premiered in 1991, 1994, and 1997. (Oh, and when I say most of the time, I'm really just saying ... just one out of ten.)
Bands to check out
- Infectious Grooves
- Living Colour
- Red Hot Chilli Peppers
Related genres
References
[1] H. Lusty. Heavy Metal Microgenres. In A.H. Stevens, M.C. O'Donnell, ed. The Microgenre: A Quick Look at Small Culture, 167, 2020.