djent

English

Etymology

Onomatopoeia for a high-gain, distorted palm-muted, low pitch guitar sound; coined by guitarist Fredrik Thordendal (b. 1970) of the Swedish extreme metal band Meshuggah.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /d͡ʒɛnt/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛnt
• Homophone: gent

Noun

djent (uncountable)

1. (neologism) A style of progressive heavy metal music characterized by rhythmic and technical complexity, and typically featuring heavily distorted, palm-muted guitar chords, syncopated, downtuned riffs, and polyrhythms alongside virtuoso soloing.
   • 2015, Brian Giffin, Encyclopaedia of Australian Heavy Metal, page 2232:

     […] they later evolved into a progressive technical metal band with elements of mathcore and djent.

Translations

A music genre

• French: djent (fr) m
• Italian: djent (it) m
• Korean: 젠트 (jenteu)
• Russian: джент m (džent)
• Ukrainian: джент m (džent)

Verb

djent (third-person singular simple present djents, present participle djenting, simple past and past participle djented)

1. (slang) To play a djent riff.

   But does it djent?

   • 2016, Patrick Johnson, Departure:

     It may have thirteen strings, but can it Djent?

   • 2020 February 7, Tyler Larson, “Djent for Dummies: A How-To Guide”, in Guitar World:

     Be creative in your arrangement for maximum djenting effectiveness.

   • 2021, Steven Gamble, How Music Empowers: Listening to Modern Rap and Metal:

     A particular meme sees individuals preoccupied with the question "does it djent?", a way of ascertaining the suitability of equipment (Rabea Massaad 2015).

Translations

To play a djent riff

• Russian: дже́нтить (džéntitʹ)
• Ukrainian: дже́нтити (džéntyty)