DEATH METAL

Where speed metal and hardcore warned us of the apocalypse, death metal assumed it as society wailed on toward demise with a whimper and not any drastic warning-type motion. Civilization has become decadent and valueless, and escaping the cycle of rebellion death metal projects a world before the moralization of values, in which personal values can triumph. Death metal denies inherent value in tone and ideal, and deconstructs the overbearing sense of world and social bounds around us with primal music bearing complexity in texture and theme. The music and lifestyles of the death metal genre employ intuition and logic to replace deconstructed illusion with structuralist sensibility and a sensitivity toward existential value. Unlike most music which focuses on humanist or romantic themes, death metal articulates the lawless extremity of nature. House recommendations: Morbid Angel, Slayer, Monstrosity, Cryptopsy, Suffocation, Therion and Vader.

Abomination Acerbus Adramelech Amorphis Ancient Rites Asgard Asphyx At the Gates Atheist Atrocity Autopsy

Dismember Entombed Fleshcrawl God Macabre Gorguts Grotesque Gutted Hate Eternal Hetsheads Hypocrisy Immolation

Mythic Necromass Necrophobic Nuclear Death Num Skull Obituary Oppressor Pessimist Pestilence Possessed Pyrexia

BEST EVER
1. Massacra - Final Holocaust 2. Deicide - Legion 3. Morbid Angel - Blessed Are the Sick 4. Therion - Beyond Sanctorum 5. Sepultura - Morbid Visions 6. Incantation - Onward to Golgotha 7. Morpheus Descends - Ritual of Infinity 8. Necrophobic - The Nocturnal Silence 9. Obituary - Cause of Death 10. Suffocation - Effigy of the Forgotten 11. Atheist - Unquestionable Presence 12. Dismember - Like an Ever-Flowing Stream 13. Amorphis - The Karelian Isthmus 14. At the Gates - The Red in the Sky is Ours

Baphomet Cadaver Capharnaum Cartilage Cenotaph Ceremonium Cryptopsy dead horse Death Deathstrike Deceased Deeds of Flesh Deicide Demigod Demilich Deteriorate

Imprecation Incantation Infester Intestine Baalism Kataklysm Kilcrops Lepra Luciferion Magus Martyr Massacra Massacre Master Molested Monstrosity Morbid Angel Morpheus Descends Mortem Mortuary

Rigor Mortis Rise Revenant Sadistic Intent Seance Sentenced Sepultura Sinister Slayer Suffocation Thanatopsis Therion Torchure Unanimated Unleashed Vader

15. Demilich - Nespithe 16. Asphyx - The Rack

Compilations
Sampler Volume I (JL America) Deterioration of the Senses (Morbid Metal) Book I: Induction (Hits Underground) Reviews have mp3 sound samples for each album, coverscan, tracklist and label contact information.

Death metal
Death Metal Stylistic origins: Cultural origins: Typical instruments: Mainstream popularity: Thrash metal

Early-Mid 1980s United States, England and Sweden Guitar Bass guitar Drums

Underground in early 1980s, moderate in late 1980s and early 1990s, increased popularity in recent years.

Subgenres
Melodic Death Metal Death and Roll

Deathgrind Death Doom Brutal Death Metal Technical Death Metal

Fusion genres
Death and Roll Deathgrind Death Doom

Regional scenes
United States and United Kingdom

Other topics
Melodic death metal Death and Roll

Death metal is a sub-genre of heavy metal that evolved out of thrash metal during the early 1980s. [edit]

Characteristics
Commonly recognized characteristics include usually violent or dark lyrics which focus on death as a metaphor, chromatic progressions and a narrative or "story telling" song structure such that there is not a verse-chorus cycle as much as an ongoing development of themes and motifs. Aesthetically, it is usually identified by violent rhythm guitar, fast percussion and dynamic intensity. "Blast beats" are frequently used to add to the ferocity of the modern music. The vocals are commonly low gurgles named death grunt, growl, or death growl. This kind of vocalising is distorted by use of the throat, unlike traditional singing technique which discourages it. Some people consider it similar to the overtone style of singing. Music journalist Chad Bowar notes that, due to the similarity of the vocals to "unintelligible yelling", the style is sometimes described as "Cookie monster vocals"[1]. Death metal's subject matter usually addresses more nihilistic themes than any other genre (with the exception of black metal), usually using metaphors of a gruesome nature to represent a larger concept. The focus on mortality along with the extreme nature of the music (as well as Possessed's "Death Metal") likely inspired the naming of this genre. Death metal is commonly known for abrupt tempo and time signature changes, and extremely fast and complex guitar and drumwork, although this is not always the

case. Bands of this genre frequently utilize downtuned and distorted guitars, a downtuned, sometimes distorted bass guitar, a drum set (almost universally using two bass drums). Although this is the standard setup, bands have been known to incorporate other instruments such as keyboards. Death metal is very physically demanding of its musicians, especially in its more "technical" forms. There is some dispute about the origin of the name. Often cited as inventors are Americans Possessed who recorded a song titled "Death Metal" in 1985. Also in 1985, the Brits of Onslaught also recorded a song of the same name. Often cited as the origin of the name is the band Death, because of their band name, which was established in 1984. [edit]

Early history (up to 1991)

Death metal is a subgenre of heavy metal. Growling vocals are the primary identifier for death metal for the newer generation. But this by itself also includes works such as Welcome to Hell from 1981 by British metal group Venom where the vocals may be mostly "growling", but the music is not what is generally meant by "death metal" today. Venom never labelled what they did, but their album Black Metal became the basis for labelling music with 'Satanic' lyrics and growling vocals as "black metal". Genres are not usually identified solely by aesthetic form, and black or death metal labels are not easy to apply to some bands. One example of this is the American band Slayer, a pioneering thrash metal band. This genre (one that predates death metal), is also characterized by complex rhythmics and heavy guitar riffing. Slayer is not usually classified as a death metal band, and have never labelled themselves as such. Even so, with Reign in Blood from 1986, and subsequent works, they certainly influenced many early death metal bands. Around 1983, aggressive U.S. bands such as Florida's Death, California's Possessed, and Chicago's Master began to form. If one would call this diffuse genre "early death metal", the first recorded examples of this would be Possessed's album Seven Churches from 1985 and early demotapes by Death, followed by Death's album Scream Bloody Gore from 1987. To their credit, these "early death metal" bands did push the format forward, something that would ultimately pay off in a new form of music that was substantially different from their closest forefather, thrash metal. However, other death metal historians maintain that the 1985 brand of "early death metal" is more aptly summarised by the moniker "post-thrash1" and that the band Death receives inflated credit partly because of its name. In particular, the music flora around 1985, although fitting the above description of "extreme brutality and speed" for its time, did not create anything significantly new compared to their immediate predecessors, and one would be hard pressed to identify strong and specific musical differences between, say Death's debut album from 1987 and same-period work by thrash metal bands such as the Brazilian Sepultura or even the aforementioned Venom, except perhaps slightly "growlier" vocals.

The alternative standpoint is that the modern concept of "death metal"the point when it clearly decouples from the origins in heavy metal and thrash metalcan be set to 1989 or 1990. Just as in the original creation of NWOBHM (New Wave of British Heavy Metal) by Iron Maiden and other bands was sparked by the youthful energy of punk rock in the late 1970s, so did cross-fertilisation between metal and punk once more create something new in the late 1980s. The chaotic and often confusing development that took place around this time is well illustrated by the British band Napalm Death, often characterised as a "grindcore" band (see below). This band was simultaneously always part of the hardcore punk scene. However, Napalm Death themselves changed drastically around or before 1990, leaving grindcore (and most of the band members) behind. Concise proof of this merger of thrash metal and hardcore punk is the project band Terrorizer's album, World Downfall (1989), where members from Napalm Death and the American band Morbid Angel, part of the "early death metal " scene, compose together. Few observers would disagree that many bands, including the early US death metal bands but now also bands from many other scenes and other countries, drove a major shift in musical emphasis around 1990-1991. In particular, on 1990's Harmony Corruption, Napalm Death can be heard playing something most fans would call death metal today, i.e. "modern death metal" by the above characterization. This album clearly displays aggressive and fairly technical guitar riffing, complex rhythmics, a sophisticated growling vocal delivery by Mark "Barney" Greenway, and thoughtful lyrics. Other bands contributing significantly to this early movement include Britain's Bolt Thrower and Carcass, Sweden's Entombed, New York's Suffocation, and Florida's Morbid Angel. To close the circle, the band Death put out the album Human in 1991, certainly an example of modern death metal. The band Death's founder Chuck Schuldiner helped push the boundaries of uncompromising speed and technical virtuosity, mixing in highly technical and intricate rhythm guitar work with complex arrangements and emotive guitar solos. Other examples of this are Carcass's Necroticism: Descanting the Insalubrious from 1991, Suffocation's debut Human Waste from the same year and Entombed's Clandestine from 1992. At this point, all the above characteristics are clearly present: abrupt tempo and count changes, on occasion extremely fast drumming, morbid lyrics and growling delivery. [edit]

Later history (1991-)

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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 metalcore bands that have risen in popularity since 2001. Because of this style's origin, these bands are (often mockingly) called Gothencore (See: metalcore). Many metal fans consider this genre to be separate from death metal. Scandinavian death metal, which could be called the forerunner of Melodic death metal with bands like Entombed, Dismember, Unleashed and the before mentioned At the Gates. Entombed (ex-Nihilist) was the band, which started to combine punk and death/thrash riffs and set a trademark "Sunlight studios" guitar sound - formed by linking together two distortion boxes to create a raw mechanical, electric buzz, which a lot of bands of this genre later tried to reproduce. This sound was nevertheless inspired by British grindcore band Unseen Terror on their debut album Human Error. 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, yet more direct and brutal than the Technical variety. Bands include Deicide, Malevolent Creation, Monstrosity, Obituary, Brutality and Death (some albums are technical as well). Technical death metal, a narrow, but influential subgenre where musical complexity and skill is the main focus. It is represented by bands like Gorguts, Necrophagist, Cynic, Atheist, Pestilence, Cryptopsy, Nile, and 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 Cannibal Corpse, Suffocation, Disgorge, Dying Fetus, Devourment, Vomit Remnants, Wormed. One main characteristic of Brutal Death is the vocal style, called many things - Death grunt, "Cookie Monster", "bullfrog", or "Guttural" vocals. The Lyrics are mostly gore related, sung in a slow and choppy manner, and usually following the guitar riffs. Secondly, the guitar riffs are usually chunky grooves or hyper fast, down-tuned, with pinch harmonics, with high gain outputs. Drumming is usually all over the place, from slow churning chunk, to blasting speed. Death/Doom, or early Gothic Metal 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. Blackened death metal, 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 Equilibrium album, 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, Epidemic, Cancer, Konkhra and Criminal. Some Sepultura and the first two Sinister albums could also be classified in this way. An early "Hardcore-Metal" style.

Death/grind; this subgenre is the mixing of styles brutal death metal and grindcore. British death metal band Bolt Thrower was arguably the genre's progenitor. Death/grind bands: Aborted, Cannibal Corpse, Bolt Thrower, Decapitated, Dying Fetus, Hate Eternal

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. Some early grind bands: Napalm Death, Electro Hippies, Fear of God, and Extreme Noise Terror. There are also other heavy metal sub-genres 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, or the work of Florida bands Atheist and Cynic, the former of which sometimes went as far as to include jazz-style drum solos on albums, and the latter of which incorporated notable influences from fusion. Nile have also incorporated Egyptian music and Middle Eastern themes into their style. [edit]

Key artists
Key death metal bands include: Atheist, Autopsy, Bolt Thrower, Cannibal Corpse, Carcass, Death, Deicide, Dismember, Entombed, Immolation, Morbid Angel, Napalm Death, Nile, Obituary, Possessed, and Suffocation.

Death metal
Death metal este un subgen muzical evoluat din thrash metal la nceputul anilor '80. Este unul din cele mai extreme subgenuri de muzic metal, combinnd instrumentaia rapid cu o voce joas, agresiv, scond n eviden macabrul versurilor. [modific]

Caracteristici

Voce foarte joas, asemntoare grohielilor sau mritului (aa numitul death grunt). Acest tip de voce se obine prin distorsionarea sunetelor la nivelul gtului, spre deosebire de cntatul tradiional, care nu ncurajeaz folosirea acestei tehnici. Jurnalistul Chad Bowar sesizeaz c, din cauza asemnrii sale cu "urlete neinteligibile", acest stil mai este denumit i "voce Cookie monster". Ritm abrupt, n general chitar i tobe foarte rapide i complexe.

Versurile abordeaz teme nihiliste, de regul folosind metafore sinistre sau morbide pentru a ilustra concepte vaste. Focalizarea pe efemeritatea existenei i caracterul extrem al muzicii au inspirat numele genului.

[modific]

Istorie
Exist cteva dispute referitoare la numele genului. De obicei, se susine c americanii de la Possessed au inventat termenul, acesta provenind de la titlul unei piese a lor, Death Metal, din 1985. Tot n 1985, britanicii de la Onslaught au nregistrat o melodie cu acelai nume. Ca origine a denumirii mai este amintit destul de des i formaia Death, datorit numelui pe care-l poart, stabilit n 1984. [modific]

Artiti cheie
Printre formaiile de baz n death metal se numr: Atheist, Autopsy, Bolt Thrower, Cannibal Corpse, Carcass, Dismember, Death, Deicide, Entombed, Immolation, Morbid Angel, Napalm Death, Obituary, Possessed, i Suffocation. [modific]

Legturi externe

DeathMetal.com Carnage Inc. Choosing Death: The Improbable History of Death Metal & Grindcore O istorie a genurilor, scris de Albert Mudrian Metallian Cronici, tiri, interviuri i enciclopedie din sfera death metal

Death metal
Death metal este un subgen muzical evoluat din thrash metal la nceputul anilor '80. Este unul din cele mai extreme subgenuri de muzic metal, combinnd instrumentaia rapid cu o voce joas, agresiv, scond n eviden macabrul versurilor.

Caracteristici

Voce foarte joas, asemntoare grohielilor sau mritului (aa numitul death grunt). Acest tip de voce se obine prin distorsionarea sunetelor la nivelul gtului, spre deosebire de cntatul tradiional, care nu ncurajeaz folosirea acestei tehnici. Jurnalistul Chad Bowar sesizeaz c, din cauza asemnrii sale cu "urlete neinteligibile", acest stil mai este denumit i "voce Cookie monster".

Ritm abrupt, n general chitar i tobe foarte rapide i complexe. Versurile abordeaz teme nihiliste, de regul folosind metafore sinistre sau morbide pentru a ilustra concepte vaste. Focalizarea pe efemeritatea existenei i caracterul extrem al muzicii au inspirat numele genului.

Istorie
Exist cteva dispute referitoare la numele genului. De obicei, se susine c americanii de la Possessed au inventat termenul, acesta provenind de la titlul unei piese a lor, Death Metal, din 1985. Tot n 1985, britanicii de la Onslaught au nregistrat o melodie cu acelai nume. Ca origine a denumirii mai este amintit destul de des i formaia Death, datorit numelui pe care-l poart, stabilit n 1984.

Artiti cheie
Printre formaiile de baz n death metal se numr: Atheist, Autopsy, Bolt Thrower, Cannibal Corpse, Carcass, Dismember, Death, Deicide, Entombed, Immolation, Morbid Angel, Napalm Death, Obituary, Possessed, i Suffocation.

Short History of Death Metal

Death Metal: There are three albums that are largely responsible for the emergence of Death Metal from the morass of Thrash, all of them released between 1985 and 1987. In '85 Possessed released their "Seven Churches" album, which took influences from early Slayer and forged an even rawer, more violent sound. Slayer upped the ante the following year with "Reign In Blood", which despite its Thrash pedigree is inarguably a tremendously influential album on legions of Death Metal bands. But it was in 1987 that a genre took form, when Death released their legendary "Scream Bloody Gore" debut. The carnage began. The late 80's and early 90's saw a burst of activity on the Death Metal front that would not be seen again until the Gothenburg wave of the late 90's. The US scene boomed, with the Florida sound predominating as bands like Deicide, Death, and Morbid Angel released landmark albums and kicked off a wave of Florida Death Metal the likes of which may never be seen again. Countless bands were formed in the wake of this vanguard, some of whom are still with us. From overseas the European scene weighed in with a flood of albums from Sweden. Entombed and Dismember led the charge here, with bands like Tiamat and Therion close behind. Most of these bands would later change their sound drastically, but their original recordings would remain to influence the next generation. Swedish Death took the fast, technical assault of US Death Metal and added a slash of melody and a slightly slower, heavier overall sound. This was largely the legacy of the legendary Sunlight Studios where Entombed produced their buzzsaw guitar sound that Death Metal bands are still imitating today. The scene was soon glutted, and a sort of "heavier and more guttural than you" ethic took over, producing some ridiculous albums as bands tried to out-heavy and out-blaspheme their contemporaries. In the spirit of Slayer and Possessed, most bands evinced a deep affection for satanic imagery and lyrics, a tendency cemented in place by the popularity of Deicide and the inimitable Morbid Angel.

The whole scene took a powder in the Grunge wave of the mid 90's, but as the decade closed a new wave of Death Metal bands once again took the fore in Sweden. A new crop of bands such as Dark Tranquility and In Flames injected a dose of old-school guitar harmonies into their Death Metal. The movement was soon known as "Melodic Death Metal", "Gothenburg Style", or derisively "Gothenburger". Soon Death Metal was a going concern again, and once again even as the original bands moved into different musical directions, new ones sprang up to carry on their original sounds. Even as this was going on in Europe, the Florida sound began to recover, though not necessarily in the hands of Florida bands. Nile proved that technical Death Metal still had legs, even as South American bands like Krisiun broke into a wider market with their own take on the old US Sound. Death remains a surprisingly adaptable and varied genre, going strong long after its Thrash progenitors have largely faded. Pioneers: Possessed, Slayer, Death.

Notable Bands: Nile, Krisiun, Entombed, Dismember, In Flames, Runemagick, Paganizer, Arch Enemy, Amon Amarth, God Dethroned, Morbid Angel, Deicide, Vital Remains, The Chasm, Angel Corpse.

Death
Death metal is a pure offshoot of thrash metal, that has been around for almost two decades now, finding its birth in the band Motorhead. The spotlight was taken away from this type of metal, by the "crossover" shift back in the mid eighties, which was a powerful blend of hardcore and metal, created just for the mainstream crowds. It put the entire death metal world in a neverending loop it seemed, just a handful of bands progressed their sounds, while the rest retread the same old territory in hopes of keepings its older fans. Death is hard to define, at least in terms that are acceptable to all of its followers. The rough vocal style is the easiest to spot element. Its a very extreme form of music, all of the aspects of its makeup is taken to its absolute limit to create the most brutal sonic onslaught released in the musical world. The guitars are also tuned down a few steps down that adds the extra heavy edge, and the lyrics are of course about death, suicide and such. Bands include: Motorhead, Death, Deicide, Venom, Celtic Frost, Hellhammer, Obituary, Morbid Angel, Napalm Death, Carcass, ect.