As music continues to evolve so do the different types of genres we use to classify what we are listening to. While it used to be rock, pop, and folk that dominated in the 60s, over time more and more genres have been created. The 70s saw the emergence of punk, new wave, and disco. The 80s ushered in hip-hop and rap, post-punk, and electronic. The 90s biggest contribution was grunge and dance, but as the 00s hit every main genre began to splinter off into subgenres. We have now ended up with hundreds of different genres of music. Some are great, some are a little different, and others are weird genres of music that will have you scratching your head. 

These weird and wonderful genres of music are what we want to focus on. This is music that doesn’t really fit in anywhere else but still manages to have a big enough following to be classified as a genre. So if you want to learn more about some strange genres you have never heard of before, read on and prepare to be surprised. 

1. Pirate Metal

Pirate metal sounds incredible. It conjures up images of big, bustling, bearded men singing about eye patches and buried treasure. And to be fair, if that’s what you are thinking you are pretty much on the ball. This musical genre features sea shanties performed as metal songs. The lyrics are littered with pirate mythology and the songs, despite being metal in nature, often incorporate folk instruments.

Pirate metal takes from other metal genres such as thrash metal and speed metal to create a unique sound that really has to be heard to be believed. This genre of music has actually spawned some successful acts, such as Running Wild from Germany, Lagerstein from Australia, the most famously, Alestorm from Scotland. Put on an eye patch, fill up your beer stein, and rock along to pirate metal next time you want to enjoy a big night in.