With the rise of metal studies as an emerging field of scholarship, the scholarly literature on extreme metal has increased exponentially within the past seven years supported by annual conferences, the establishment of the International Society for Metal Music Studies (ISMMS), and a specialized journal (Metal Music Studies). Scholarship on extreme metal now boasts a similar diversity as well as its own history spanning nearly two decades. Its individual subgenres represent a range of diverse aesthetics, some with histories spanning over thirty years.

Extreme metal music, a conglomeration of metal subgenres unified by a common interest in transgressive sounds and imagery, is now a global phenomenon with thriving scenes in every inhabited continent.