Death metal

Death metal is a type of heavy metal music with thrash metal influences that emerged in the United States (especially Florida and California), Europe (especially the United Kingdom and Sweden) and Canada in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Later developments (1990s onwards)

During the 1990s, death metal grew in many directions, spawning a rich variety of subgenres, including the following:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

• Melodic death metal, where harmonies and melodies are much more present in the guitarwork. Although more melodic, it can sound more raw than the more precise sounding American variety. This subgenre is mostly associated with Sweden, especially in Gothenburg, as well as Norway and Finland (see Scandinavian death metal). The genre finds its best representation in At the Gates, In Flames, Dark Tranquillity, and Arch Enemy. The Iron-Maiden-esque techniques employed by these "Gothenburg" bands formed a riff-lexicon frequently used by many Hardcore bands that have risen in popularity since 2001. Because of this style's origin, these bands are (often mockingly) called Gothencore (See: metalcore).
• Florida Death Metal, which includes some of the most notable bands. They are more rigid and percussive than the Swedish variant, more precise, refined and traditional compared to Deathgrind, yet more direct and brutal than the Technical variety. Bands include Deicide, Monstrosity, Obituary, Cannibal Corpse, Death (some albums are technical as well).
• Technical death metal or Progressive Death Metal, a narrow, but influential subgenre where musical complexity and skill is the main focus. It is represented by bands like Gorguts, Necrophagist, Spawn Of Possession, Cynic, Atheist, Theory in Practice, Cryptopsy, Nile, to some degree Morbid Angel, and eventually, Death.
• Brutal death metal, developed by combining certain aspects of the song structures of goregrind with death metal. Brutal Death Metal is associated with bands like Devourment, Vomit Remnants, Origin and Internal Suffering.
• New York Death Metal, which is percussive, explosive with influences from New York Hard Core. It features a lot of palm-muted riffs and guttural deep vocals. Bands included in this genre include Suffocation and Pyrexia. There are other fine bands from New York but they do not exactly fit this description (Immolation, Incantation,etc.)
• Doom death, which is a slowed down, melancholic subgenre, inspired by classic Doom metal. It was created by the likes of Asphyx, Disembowelment, My Dying Bride, Anathema, and Paradise Lost.
• Slam Death Metal, characterised by frequent Hardcore-like breakdowns and low grunting vocals. Internal Bleeding, Devourment (they also borrow heavily from Goregrind), and Dying Fetus are slam death metal bands.
• Blackened death, which is death metal mixed with black metal stylistic influences, notable in the vocals and riffing style. Dissection is a prime example of this genre, as is Emperor on their IX AEquilibrium album, Behemoth and Zyklon (featuring former members of Emperor).
• Death Thrash (also called Deathrash), which is Thrash with elements of death metal including speed, guitar picking techniques and vocals. In the earliest incarnation this style was the progression from Thrash metal to death metal. Some bands are Benediction, Cancer, Konkhra and Criminal. Some Sepultura albums could also be classified this way.

Grindcore is considered by some to be an even more extreme variant of death metal. However, many fans of grindcore and music historians would place it in a genre by itself, since the genre historically developed in parallel to death metal (both developed in the 1980s, death metal from thrash metal and grindcore from hardcore punk), each influencing the development of the other, but with early grindcore having a much more obvious hardcore punk and peace punk influence.

Related Topics:
Grindcore - Thrash metal - Hardcore punk - Peace punk

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

There are also other heavy metal subgenres that have come from fusions between death metal and other non-metal genres, such as the fusion of death metal and Jazz played by Pestilence on their Spheres album.

Related Topics:
Jazz - Pestilence

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~