- How is it different from alternative rock?
- Tonal weight. Alt rock keeps moderate guitar distortion and a natural drum sound. Alt metal down-tunes, pushes the distortion harder, hits the kit harder and widens the dynamic swing. Similar songwriting instincts, one tier more density.
- How does it relate to nu metal?
- Nu metal is a subset with a fixed template: hip-hop groove, minimal riffs, rapped vocals. Alternative metal has no such template and still holds together once those markers are removed. Prompt nu metal when you want the groove; prompt alternative metal when you want room to move.
- How should I write the prompt?
- Lead with song information — mood, vocal type, section plan — then add tone: introspective mid-tempo metal, clean male lead, six-bar verse, chorus adding weight and a synth layer, guitars in an open tuning. This style wins on writing quality rather than on intensity.