In contrary to monotone hip-hop, cliche R&B, or computer generated bubblegum pop or trance music, death metal is played by people with instruments, who have the ability to generate melody from said instrument. In contrary to the similar style Black Metal, the lyrics are rarely a mere worshipping of Satan, but are usually about life and death, religion, and deeper things that people who agree with most of the above comments usually don't think about. There's a big difference between the better and worse death metal bands, and many crossover genres are used for originality in the music. For example, there's viking death metal (Amon Amarth), melodic death metal (Scar Symmetry), thrash death metal (Konkhra), black death metal (Naglfar), orchestral death metal (Hollenthon), and many others. The diversity of death metal is but one example of the many subgenres of metal, which is of course the most advanced kind of music nowadays available. The reason death metal remains underground is due to the facts that people are brainwashed with music that is so easy to swallow that they are unable to comprehend the complexity of more advanced kinds of music such as metal.
Several examples of death metal are mentioned above.
by Metallion March 7, 2006
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Brutal. Is there really anymore to say? In your face blast beats, crushing guitars, and fuck blasting bass lines make it one of the heaviest genres, but also one of the most unappreciated.
Nadroj: Deathmetal is satanic, and bad. The music is simple, and has a structure as weak as the twin towers.
Metalhead: You're a fag. You have no balls.
by raper of souls January 14, 2004
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Death metal is a genre of music unappreciated by the mainstreamers. Most of the members of death metal bands have day jobs with a few exceptions of the guys who have almost been at it 20 years now. These musicians do tour and as a drummer it is possible to play that fast, you just can't figure it out, because music on the radio only has one tempo per song, typically. People who are hyperactive or have undiagnosed adult ADD enjoy death metal because they can't listen to a 5 minute song with the same beat. Talented vocals by: Corpsegrinder, Steve Tucker, Glen Benton, and when he was alive, Chuck. Death metal is not all About satan. Morbid Angel's Lyrics for example Are often SUMERIAN influenced...A culture that existed 3000 years before christianity in the moder day middle east.Deicide(definition:to kill god) popularized the satanic aspect of death metal with songs like "once upon the cross", "Kill the christian" or "Satan Spawn, the caco-demon. More and more bands now use their origins in death metal to create unique and challenging philosophies. Enjoy Morbid Angel's 1998 Formulas Fatal to the Flesh, filled with verses of Bil-ur-Sag(lion head) and the anunnaki, The Ancient ones.
bil-ur-sag-li-lil-nig-hur-tul-ha-elm zalag!
by BAAL March 14, 2004
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Death metal is one of the extreme genres of heavy metal, along with black metal, thrash metal and... well, they're the only other ones worth noting. Death metal has roots in 80's thrash metal, usually in bands like Slayer and Venom, however, many bands also have roots in Grindcore, such as Carcass, Napalm death and Bolt Thrower. The genre is thankfully under-aprecciated, owing to it's fast, distorted guitars, rapid druming and blast beats, and low, "growling" vocals. It is actually good that the sub-genre is unknown, because many bands in metal have history of selling out after they "make it". Metallica for example, have a huge history of pissing on their thrash fans with every new album since the black album. Carcass is probably the best example of a death metal band, as it covers genres associated with death metal: death metal, grindcore (or goregrind) and melodic death metal. Carcass also tends to be the best death metal band in existence. A recent trend in Scandanavia seems to involve crossing genres, Children of Bodom, for example, are said to be a mixture of melodic death metal, melodic black metal and power metal. Despite it's dismissal by the mainstream music industry, death metal has many talented musicians, the "death growl" for example is extremely difficult to master, guitars can be incredibly complex, especially in melodic and even more-so, technical death metal, drums are fast and the best drummers incorporate difficult and complex techniques. If power metal is for fantasy nerds, death metal is for people who drink whiskey and shit dynamite, not unlike thrash metal and black metal.
At the Gates
Notable death metal bands include (but not limited to):
Cannibal Corpse
Carcass
Children of Bodom
Bolt Thrower
Death
In Flames(early)
Napalm Death
Sepultura (early)
Wintersun
by N00bKannon May 22, 2008
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Sub-genre of Metal where the musicians are extremely talented and play as fast and technical as humanely possible, yet still wont hardly sell any records or get the recognition they deserve.

Song structure is typically like classical music: It's almost non existent. Melody changes ever few seconds, drums change on a dime, and singing (or growling, pig squeals, screaming, etc.) often pops in and out.

Changing melodies typically make death metal less memorable to casual fans, which is why you don't really see it on MTV (Well, that and the death growl vocals creep people out).

There is also Melodic death metal, where the growl is replaced with a scream, the melody doesn't change as much, and keyboards are typically added, and deathcore, which is a fusion of hardcore and death metal. These genres are sometimes criticized by death metalheads for changing true death metal.
Death metal: Necrophagist, Morbid Angel, Nile, Cannibal Corpse, Deicide, Dying Fetus, Behemoth, Death, Prostitute Disfigurement, Alchemist, Possessed, Atheist, God Dethroned
Melodic Death Metal: In Flames, Dark Tranquillity, Detonation
Deathcore: Job for a Cowboy (early), Despised Icon, I Killed the Prom Queen

If you listen to death metal and all you hear is noise and random banging of drums, you don't deserve to listen (or criticize) it.
by Metal6head January 3, 2008
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"The lowest common denominator in popular music."

death metal was never meant to be popular. It's unmarketability is actually a good thing, since the industry can't make it into a trend and kill it all together like they did glam rock, rap, and grunge.
If death metal's the lowest common denominator in popular music, then pop and rap are the lowest common denominators in REAL music.
by angelofdeath June 17, 2004
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Lead, Notated Pb on the Periodic Table.
Death Metal is very popular in China.
by IdiotHunter October 6, 2008
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