Sub-genre of heavy metal developed in the early and mid 80s. Although the term had appeared in three notable instances between 1983 and 1985 (Death's "Death by Metal" demo, the German "Death Metal" compilation record and a track from Onslaught's "Power From Hell" LP), it is the Possessed debut "Seven Churches" that is widely regarded as kicking off the movement.
Possessed's use of abrupt tempo changes, gutteral vocals, unusual phrasing and Satanic overtones separated them from the more light hearted, punkish sound of thrash metal. The death metal template would continue to develop as Necrophagia, Death, Morbid Angel, Obituary and Autopsy released their respective debuts. These groups generally focused on horror-movie inspired blood and gore as well as occultist themes. By the 1990s, death metal had exploded in the underground and a number of influential bands rose to prominence. Additionally, if anyone wanted to call themselves death metal, extreme distortion, low guitar tunings and excessively fast tempos were mandatory.
Cannibal Corpse, Suffocation, Dying Fetus and Deicide presented a percussively driven flavor of death metal, while Death, Cynic, Hypocrisy, Atheist and others prided themselves on more intricate and melodic guitar work, as well as lyrics dealing with social and political issues. Among the most extreme bands included both major Disgorges (USA and Mexico, respectively), Devourment and Mortician, who focused on very low tones, both in the guitar tunings and vocal approach. This was in direct contrast to melodic death metal bands such as At the Gates, the later work of Carcass, and In Flames, who often explored tones above middle C, rather than primarily or exclusively focusing on the bass strings.
The accessibility of melodic death metal (and the public's exposure to increasingly aggressive rock) has lead to deathcore, in which groups such as Job For a Cowboy, Winds of Plague and the recent work of Cryptopsy combine the death metal aesthetic with modern hardcore and other accessible styles.
There are a number of other fusion styles that have developed over the years, including the black metal/death metal hybrid "blackened death metal" (Archgoat, Angelcorpse, Blasphemy). Deathgrind or death grind combines death metal with grindcore (Aborted, Circle of Dead Children, Origin). There are also experimental groups such as Portal, Gorguts and Negativa, who use death metal as a basis to explore a number of unusual rock stylings.
Possessed's use of abrupt tempo changes, gutteral vocals, unusual phrasing and Satanic overtones separated them from the more light hearted, punkish sound of thrash metal. The death metal template would continue to develop as Necrophagia, Death, Morbid Angel, Obituary and Autopsy released their respective debuts. These groups generally focused on horror-movie inspired blood and gore as well as occultist themes. By the 1990s, death metal had exploded in the underground and a number of influential bands rose to prominence. Additionally, if anyone wanted to call themselves death metal, extreme distortion, low guitar tunings and excessively fast tempos were mandatory.
Cannibal Corpse, Suffocation, Dying Fetus and Deicide presented a percussively driven flavor of death metal, while Death, Cynic, Hypocrisy, Atheist and others prided themselves on more intricate and melodic guitar work, as well as lyrics dealing with social and political issues. Among the most extreme bands included both major Disgorges (USA and Mexico, respectively), Devourment and Mortician, who focused on very low tones, both in the guitar tunings and vocal approach. This was in direct contrast to melodic death metal bands such as At the Gates, the later work of Carcass, and In Flames, who often explored tones above middle C, rather than primarily or exclusively focusing on the bass strings.
The accessibility of melodic death metal (and the public's exposure to increasingly aggressive rock) has lead to deathcore, in which groups such as Job For a Cowboy, Winds of Plague and the recent work of Cryptopsy combine the death metal aesthetic with modern hardcore and other accessible styles.
There are a number of other fusion styles that have developed over the years, including the black metal/death metal hybrid "blackened death metal" (Archgoat, Angelcorpse, Blasphemy). Deathgrind or death grind combines death metal with grindcore (Aborted, Circle of Dead Children, Origin). There are also experimental groups such as Portal, Gorguts and Negativa, who use death metal as a basis to explore a number of unusual rock stylings.
Cannibal Corpse is perhaps the most highly recognized band in the death metal community, and one of the few that has sold over one million albums.
by PugFuglies July 13, 2009
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.
by Metallion March 7, 2006
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.
Metalhead: You're a fag. You have no balls.
by raper of souls January 14, 2004
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
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
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
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.
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.
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
"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.
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