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{{short description|Extreme subgenre of heavy metal music}}
{{For|the split album by groups [[Helloween]], [[Hellhammer]], [[Running Wild (band)|Running Wild]] and Dark Avenger|Death Metal (split album)}}
{{hatnote group|
{{Infobox Music genre
{{Other uses}}
|name = Death metal
{{Distinguish|Death rock}}
|bgcolor = #BB0022
}}
|color = white
{{Use American English|date=May 2021}}
|stylistic_origins = [[Thrash metal]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=77:384 |title=Death Metal/Black Metal |accessdate=2008-07-04 |publisher=[[Allmusic]] |quote=Death Metal grew out of the thrash metal in the late '80s. Taking the gritty lyrics and morbid obsessions of thrash to extremes, death metal was -- as its name suggests -- solely about death, pain, and suffering. }}</ref>, [[Black metal#The First Wave|early black metal]]<ref name = "hbj"/>
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2021}}
|cultural_origins = Mid 1980s, [[United States]] (particularly [[Florida]])
{{Infobox music genre
|instruments = [[singing|Vocals]] − [[Electric guitar]] − [[Bass guitar]] − [[Drum kit|Drums]]
| name = Death metal
|popularity = Underground in 1980s, gradual rise until peaking at small to medium in early 1990s, low since then.
| stylistic_origins = {{hlist|[[Thrash metal]]<ref name=allmusic>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/style/death-metal-ma0000002547|title=Death Metal|access-date=July 4, 2008|website=[[AllMusic]]|quote=Death Metal grew out of the thrash metal in the late '80s.|archive-date=April 2, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120402094104/http://www.allmusic.com/explore/style/d384|url-status=dead}}</ref>|[[Black metal#First wave|first wave black metal]]|[[hardcore punk]]<ref>{{cite book|first=Gerd|last=Bayer|title=Heavy Metal Music in Britain|publisher=[[Ashgate Publishing]]|year=2009|page=59|isbn=978-1-4094-9385-3}}</ref>}}
|derivatives =
| cultural_origins = Mid-1980s, United States
|subgenrelist = List of death metal genres
| derivatives =
|subgenres = [[Brutal death metal]] − [[Melodic death metal]] − [[Technical death metal|Technical/Progressive death metal]]
| subgenrelist =
|fusiongenres = [[Blackened death metal]] − [[Death/doom]] − [[Deathcore]] − [[Deathgrind]] − [[Death 'n' roll]] - [[Goregrind]]
| subgenres = * [[Brutal death metal]]
|regional_scenes = [[Music of Florida#Death metal|Florida]] − New York - [[Scandinavian death metal|Scandinavia]] − United Kingdom − [[Music of Brazil#Brazilian Metal|Brazil]] − [[Music of Japan#Heavy metal|Japan]]
** [[slam death metal]]
|other_topics = [[Extreme metal]] − [[Death growl]] − [[Blast beat]] − [[List of death metal bands|Bands]]
* industrial death metal
* [[melodic death metal]]
* old school death metal
* symphonic death metal
* [[technical death metal]]
| fusiongenres = * Blackened death-doom
* [[blackened death metal]] ([[melodic black-death]]
* [[war metal]])
* [[death-doom]] ([[funeral doom]])
* [[deathcore]]
* [[deathgrind]]
* deathrash
* [[death 'n' roll]]
* [[goregrind]]
* [[pornogrind]]
| regional_scenes =
* [[Florida death metal|Florida]]
* [[Death metal in Indonesia|Indonesia]]
* [[Music of the Netherlands#Death metal|Netherlands]]
* [[Swedish death metal|Sweden]]
* [[Music of Norway#Death metal|Norway]]
* [[Music of Poland#Death metal scene|Poland]]
| local_scenes = * [[Heavy metal in New York City|New York City]]
| other_topics = * [[Extreme metal]]
* [[blast beat]]
* [[death growl]]
* {{nowrap|[[list of death metal bands|list of bands]]}}
}}
}}
'''Death metal''' is an [[extreme metal|extreme]] subgenre of [[heavy metal music|heavy metal]]. It typically employs fast tempos, heavily distorted guitars, deep [[death growl|growling]] vocals, morbid lyrics, [[blast beat]] drumming, and complex song structures with multiple tempo changes.


'''Death metal''' is an [[extreme metal|extreme]] subgenre of [[heavy metal music]]. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as [[palm muting]] and [[tremolo picking]]; deep [[death growl|growling]] vocals; aggressive, powerful drumming, featuring [[double kick]] and [[blast beat]] techniques; minor keys or [[atonality]]; abrupt tempo, key, and [[time signature]] changes; and [[Chromatic scale|chromatic]] chord progressions.<ref name=loudwire>{{cite web |last=Wiederhorn |first=Jon
Building off the speed and complexity of [[thrash metal]], death metal emerged during the mid 1980s.<ref name="hbj">{{cite video | people = Dunn, Sam (Director) | year = 2005 | date = August 5 | url = http://imdb.com/title/tt0478209/ | title = Metal: A Headbanger's Journey | medium = motion picture | location = Canada | publisher = Dunn, Sam}}</ref> It was mainly inspired by thrash acts like [[Slayer]]<ref> Joel McIver ''Extreme Metal'', 2000, Omnibus Press pg.14 ISBN 88-7333-005-3</ref><ref>[http://www.mtv.com/bands/m/metal/greatest_metal_bands/071406/index7.jhtml The greatest metal band for Mtv]</ref>, [[Kreator]]<ref> Joel McIver ''Extreme Metal'', 2000, Omnibus Press pg.100 ISBN 88-7333-005-3</ref> and [[Celtic Frost]].<ref> Joel McIver ''Extreme Metal'', 2000, Omnibus Press pg.55 ISBN 88-7333-005-3</ref> Along with the band [[Death (band)|Death]] and its frontman [[Chuck Schuldiner]] (who is often hailed as "the father of death metal")<ref>[http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:3iftxqe5ld6e~T1 allmusic ((( Death > Biography )))<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><ref name="metal-rules">[http://www.metal-rules.com/interviews/chuck.htm Metal Rules Interview with Chuck Schuldiner]</ref><ref>[http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/industry_news/the_best_of_namm_2008_jimmy_page_satriani_models_among_the_highlights.html The Best Of NAMM 2008: Jimmy Page, Satriani Models Among The Highlights | News @ Ultimate-Guitar.Com<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>, bands like [[Possessed (band)|Possessed]],<ref>[http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:difuxqr5ldhe~T1 Rivadavia, E. ''Possessed: Biography'', allmusic], (accessed August 13, 2008)</ref> and [[Morbid Angel]] are often considered pioneers of the genre.<ref>[http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:giftxqe5ldte~T1 Morbid Angel page @ Allmusic] "Formed in 1984 in Florida, Morbid Angel (along with Death) would also help spearhead an eventual death metal movement in their home state"</ref> In the late 1980s and early 1990s, death metal gained more media attention as popular record labels like [[Earache Records]] and [[Roadrunner Records]] began to sign death metal bands at a rapid rate.<ref>[http://www.emptywords.org/Watt4-93ismetalstillalive.htm Is Metal Still Alive?] WATT Magazine, Written by: Robert Heeg, Published: April 1993</ref> Since then, death metal has diversified, spawning a rich variety of subgenres.<ref>[http://www.silver-dragon-records.com/death_metal.htm Silver Dragon Records] "During the 1990s death metal diversified influencing many subgenres"</ref><ref>[http://www.deathmetal.org/death_metal/music/ Deathmetal.org] "The golden years of death metal were from 1988 to 1994, during which time the classics of the genre and all of its variations formed"</ref>
|url=https://loudwire.com/heavy-metal-101-history-of-death-metal/|title=Heavy Metal 101: The History of Death Metal |website=[[Loudwire]] |date=31 August 2017 |access-date=28 August 2024}}</ref> The lyrical themes of death metal may include [[slasher film]]-style violence,<ref name="Moynihan, Michael 1998 p. 27">Moynihan, Michael, and Dirik Søderlind (1998). Lords of Chaos (2nd ed.). Feral House. {{ISBN|0-922915-94-6}}, p. 27</ref> [[political conflict]], [[religion]], [[nature]], [[philosophy]], [[true crime]] and [[science fiction]].{{sfn|Purcell|2003|p=39-42}}<ref name=allmusic/><ref name=masterclass>{{cite web| url=https://www.masterclass.com/articles/death-metal-guide | title=All About Death Metal: 5 Notable Death Metal Bands | work=[[Masterclass]] | date=16 June 2021 | access-date=28 August 2024}}</ref>


Building from the musical structure of [[thrash metal]] and [[Black metal#First wave|early black metal]], death metal emerged during the mid-1980s.<ref name="hbj">{{cite video|people=Dunn, Sam (Director)|date=August 5, 2005|url=http://imdb.com/title/tt0478209/|title=Metal: A Headbanger's Journey|medium=motion picture|location=Canada|publisher=Dunn, Sam}}</ref> Bands such as [[Venom (band)|Venom]], [[Celtic Frost]], [[Slayer]], and [[Kreator]] were important influences on the genre's creation.{{sfn|McIver|2000|p=14}}{{sfn|McIver|2000|p=100}}{{sfn|McIver|2000|p=55}} [[Possessed (band)|Possessed]],<ref>{{cite web|last=Rivadavia|first=Eduardo|title=Possessed Biography|url={{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p5171|pure_url=yes}}|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=August 13, 2008}}</ref> [[Death (metal band)|Death]],<ref>{{cite web|last=Renda|first=Patricia|title=Chuck Schuldiner: The pain of a genius|url=http://www.metal-rules.com/interviews/chuck.htm|publisher=[[Metal Rules]]|year=1999|access-date=February 14, 2014}}</ref> [[Necrophagia]],<ref>{{cite web|last=Rivadavia|first=Eduardo|title=Necrophagia Biography|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/necrophagia-mn0000862214/biography|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=June 11, 2018}}</ref> [[Obituary (band)|Obituary]],<ref>{{cite web|author=Jason Birchmeier |url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/obituary-mn0000465562/biography |title=Obituary &#124; Biography |website=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=April 4, 2015}}</ref> [[Autopsy (band)|Autopsy]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=113803 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120907181854/http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=113803 |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 7, 2012 |title=Autopsy's Chris Reifert Comments On First New Material In 15 Years - Blabbermouth.net |work=BLABBERMOUTH.NET }}</ref> and [[Morbid Angel]]<ref>{{cite web|last=Prato|first=Greg|title=Morbid Angel Biography|url={{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p4953|pure_url=yes}}|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=August 13, 2008}}</ref> are often considered pioneers of the genre.<ref name=loudwire/> In the late 1980s and early 1990s, death metal gained more media attention as a popular genre. Niche record labels like [[Combat Records|Combat]], [[Earache Records|Earache]], and [[Roadrunner Records|Roadrunner]] began to sign death metal bands at a rapid rate.<ref>{{cite web|last=Heeg|first=Robert|title=Is Metal Still Alive?|url=http://www.emptywords.org/Watt4-93ismetalstillalive.htm|publisher=[[WATT]]|date=April 1993|access-date=August 13, 2008}}</ref>
Death metal is considered an "underground" form of music, and has been met with considerable hostility from mainstream culture, mainly because of the socially unattractive themes, imagery and stage personae surrounding many bands.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/this_world/4446342.stm BBC News]: "Investigating the 'death metal' murders"</ref>


Since then, death metal has diversified, spawning several subgenres. [[Melodic death metal]] combines death metal elements with those of the [[new wave of British heavy metal]]. [[Technical death metal]] is a complex style, with uncommon time signatures, atypical rhythms, and unusual harmonies and melodies. [[Death-doom]] combines the deep growled vocals and double-kick drumming of death metal with the slow tempos and melancholic atmosphere of [[doom metal]]. [[Deathgrind]], [[goregrind]], and [[pornogrind]] mix the complexity of death metal with the intensity, speed, and brevity of [[grindcore]]. [[Deathcore]] combines death metal with [[metalcore]] traits. [[Death 'n' roll]] combines death metal's [[Death growl|growled vocals]] and highly [[Distortion|distorted]], [[Guitar tunings|detuned]] guitar riffs with elements of 1970s [[hard rock]] and [[Heavy metal music|heavy metal]].<ref name="Entombed">{{cite magazine|first=Cosmo|last=Lee|title=Phazm: Antebellum Death 'n' Roll|url=http://www.stylusmagazine.com/reviews/phazm/antebellum-death-n-roll.htm|magazine=[[Stylus Magazine]]|date=March 14, 2007|access-date=September 18, 2007|quote=Death 'n' roll arose with Entombed's 1993 album Wolverine Blues&nbsp;... Wolverine Blues was like '70s hard rock tuned down and run through massive distortion and death growls.|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080617183213/http://www.stylusmagazine.com/reviews/phazm/antebellum-death-n-roll.htm|archive-date=June 17, 2008}}</ref>
==Characteristics==
===Instrumentation===
The setup most frequently used in death metal is two [[electric guitar]]s, a [[bass guitar]], a [[vocalist]] and a [[drum kit]] almost universally using two [[bass drum]]s or a [[Bass drum#Double bass drum|double bass drum]] pedal. Although this is the standard setup, bands have been known to incorporate other instruments such as [[electronic keyboards]].


==History==
The genre is often identified by fast, highly [[distortion (guitar)|distorted]] and downtuned guitars, played with techniques such as [[palm muting]] and [[tremolo picking]]. The percussion is usually fast and dynamic; [[blast beat]]s, [[Bass drum#Double bass drum|double bass]] and exceedingly fast drum patterns frequently add to the ferocity of the genre.<ref>[http://www.fretjam.com/how-to-play-death-metal-guitar.html FretJam Guitar Lessons, "How to Play Death Metal Guitar"]</ref>


===Emergence and early history===
Death metal is known for its abrupt [[tempo]], [[Key (music)|key]], and [[time signature]] changes, as well as fast and complex guitar and [[drum]]work.<ref>[http://www.deathmetal.ca/ DeathMetal.ca] "all the above characteristics are clearly present: abrupt tempo and count changes, on occasion extremely fast drumming, morbid lyrics and growling delivery"</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Purcell |first=Natalie J. |title=Death Metal Music: The Passion and Politics of a Subculture |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=6ZErQs5hCUQC |accessyear=2007 |origyear=2003 |accessmonth= June |publisher= McFarland & Company |isbn=0786415851 |pages=12 |chapter=1 |quote=A good Death Metal song will keep the listener to the edge of his seat while the song twists and turns through numerous time changes and scale patterns - John Gallagher, Dying Fetus}}</ref> Death metal may include [[chromatic]] chord progressions and a varied song structure, rarely employing the standard [[Verse-chorus form|verse-chorus]] arrangement. These compositions tend to emphasize an ongoing development of themes and motifs.<ref>[http://www.deathmetal.org/death_metal/music/ Deathmetal.org] "We say death metal is "structuralist" because, in contrast to rock music, its goal is not a recursive rhythm riff that encourages constant intensity through verse-chorus structure"</ref>
[[Image:Death Mexico 06-89.jpg|thumb|right|Pioneering death metal band [[Death (metal band)|Death]] in 1989]]
English extreme metal band [[Venom (band)|Venom]], from [[Newcastle upon Tyne|Newcastle]], crystallized the elements of what later became known as [[thrash metal]], death metal and [[black metal]], with their first two albums ''[[Welcome to Hell]]''<ref>{{cite web |last=Rivadavia |first=Eduardo |title=Venom: Welcome to Hell |website=[[AllMusic]] |url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=mw0000268406|pure_url=yes}} |access-date=February 14, 2014}}</ref> and ''[[Black Metal (Venom album)|Black Metal]]'',{{sfn|Kahn-Harris|2007}} released in late 1981 and 1982, respectively. Their dark, blistering sound, harsh vocals, and [[macabre]], proudly Satanic imagery proved a major inspiration for extreme metal bands.<ref>{{cite web|last=Ankeny|first=Jason|title=Venom Biography|url={{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p5755|pure_url=yes}}|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=February 14, 2014}}</ref> Another highly influential band, [[Slayer]], formed in 1981. Although the band was a thrash metal act, Slayer's music was more violent than their thrash contemporaries [[Metallica]], [[Megadeth]], and [[Anthrax (American band)|Anthrax]].<ref name="Metal Hammer">{{cite web|last=de Paola|first=Enrico|title=Into The Lungs of Hell|url=http://www.emptywords.org/MetalHammerItaly03-2000.htm|work=[[Metal Hammer]]|publisher=Empty Words|date=March 2000|access-date=July 19, 2014}}</ref> Their breakneck speed and instrumental prowess combined with lyrics about death, violence, war, and Satanism won Slayer a cult following.<ref>{{cite web|last=Huey|first=Steve|title=Slayer Biography|url={{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p5453|pure_url=yes}}|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=February 14, 2014}}</ref> According to Mike McPadden, ''[[Hell Awaits]]'', Slayer's second album, "largely invent[ed] much of the sound and fury that would evolve into death metal."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.vh1.com/news/gfg7pz/slayer-hell-awaits-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404081929/https://www.vh1.com/news/gfg7pz/slayer-hell-awaits-30 |url-status=live |archive-date=April 4, 2023 |title='Hell Awaits' by Slayer Turns 30, Still Head Of The Thrash Class of '85 |last=McPadden |first=Mike |date=March 22, 2015 |website=[[VH1]] |access-date=July 5, 2019}}</ref> According to [[AllMusic]], their third album ''[[Reign in Blood]]'' inspired the entire death metal genre.<ref>{{cite web|first=Steve|last=Huey|title=Slayer: Reign in Blood|url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r18220|pure_url=yes}}|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=January 5, 2007}}</ref> It had a big impact on genre leaders such as [[Death (metal band)|Death]], [[Obituary (band)|Obituary]], and [[Morbid Angel]].<ref name="Metal Hammer"/>

[[File:Possessed - Jalometalli 2008 - 02.JPG|thumb|150px|left|[[Jeff Becerra]] of [[Possessed (band)|Possessed]]{{sfn|Mudrian|2004|p=}}]]

[[Possessed (band)|Possessed]], a band that formed in the [[San Francisco Bay Area]] during 1983, is described by AllMusic as "connecting the dots" between thrash metal and death metal with their 1985 debut album, ''[[Seven Churches (album)|Seven Churches]]''.<ref>{{cite web|first=Eduardo|last=Rivadavia|title=Possessed: Seven Churches|url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r15558|pure_url=yes}}|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=February 14, 2014}}</ref> While attributed as having a Slayer influence,<ref>{{cite web|last=Rivadavia|first=Eduardo|title=Possessed Biography|url={{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p5171|pure_url=yes}}|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=February 14, 2014}}</ref> current and former members of the band had actually cited Venom and [[Motörhead]], as well as early work by [[Exodus (band)|Exodus]], as the main influences on their sound. Although the group had released only two studio albums and an EP in their formative years, they have been described by music journalists and musicians as either being "monumental" in developing the death metal style,{{sfn|Purcell|2003|p=54}} or as being the first death metal band.<ref>{{cite book|last=McIver|first=Joel|title=The Bloody Reign of Slayer|publisher=[[Omnibus Press]]|year=2008|isbn=978-1-84772-109-9}}</ref>{{sfn|Ekeroth|2008|p=12}}{{sfn|Mudrian|2004|p=70}} [[Earache Records]] noted that "the likes of Trey Azagthoth and Morbid Angel based what they were doing in their formative years on the Possessed blueprint laid down on the legendary ''Seven Churches'' recording. Possessed arguably did more to further the cause of 'Death Metal' than any of the early acts on the scene back in the mid-late 80's."<ref>{{cite web|title=Interview With Jeff Becerra |url=http://www.earache.com/WickedWorld/interview/possessed/possessed.html |publisher=[[Earache Records]] |access-date=July 19, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121113120317/http://www.earache.com/WickedWorld/interview/possessed/possessed.html |archive-date=November 13, 2012 }}</ref>

[[File:Chuck Schuldiner.jpg|thumb|170px|right|[[Chuck Schuldiner]] (1967–2001) of [[Death (metal band)|Death]], during a 1992 tour in Scotland in support of the album ''[[Human (Death album)|Human]]''.]]

During the same period as the dawn of Possessed, a second influential metal band was formed in Orlando, Florida. Originally called Mantas, Death was formed in 1983 by [[Chuck Schuldiner]], [[Kam Lee]], and [[Rick Rozz]]. Inspired by the [[Brandon, Florida]] act [[Nasty Savage]], they took the sound of Nasty Savage and deepened it.<ref name=":0">{{cite web|last1=Stevenson|first1=Arielle|date=October 22, 2009|title=The way the music died: The earliest days of Tampa Death Metal|url=http://www.tampabay.com/features/music/the-way-the-music-died-the-earliest-days-of-tampa-death-metal/1046088|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091027025354/https://www.tampabay.com/features/music/the-way-the-music-died-the-earliest-days-of-tampa-death-metal/1046088/|archive-date=October 27, 2009|website=[[Tampa Bay Times]]|publisher=[[Times Publishing Company]]|accessdate=April 26, 2016}}</ref> In 1984, they released their first demo entitled ''Death by Metal'', followed by several more. The tapes circulated through the tape trader world, quickly establishing the band's name. With Death guitarist Schuldiner adopting vocal duties, the band made a major impact in the emerging [[Florida death metal]] scene. The fast minor-key riffs and solos were complemented with fast drumming, creating a style that would catch on in tape trading circles.{{sfn|Purcell|2003|p=54}} Schuldiner has been credited by AllMusic's Eduardo Rivadavia for being widely recognized as the "Father of Death Metal".<ref name="Death">{{cite web|last=Rivadavia|first=Eduardo|title=Death Biography|url={{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p4050|pure_url=yes}}|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=August 13, 2008}}</ref> Death's 1987 debut release, ''[[Scream Bloody Gore]]'', has been described by About.com's Chad Bowar as being the "evolution from thrash metal to death metal",<ref>{{cite web|last=Bowar|first=Chad|title=Death Profile|url=http://heavymetal.about.com/od/death/p/pro_death.htm|publisher=About.com|access-date=January 14, 2014|archive-date=May 2, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140502050614/http://heavymetal.about.com/od/death/p/pro_death.htm|url-status=unfit}}</ref> and "the first true death metal record" by the ''[[San Francisco Chronicle]]''.<ref>{{cite news|author1=Aldis, N.|author2=Sherry, J.|title=Heavy metal Thunder|newspaper=[[San Francisco Chronicle]]|year=2006}}</ref> In an Interview Jeff Becerra talked about the discussions of being the creator of the genre, saying that Schuldiner cited Possessed as a massive influence, and Death were even called "Possessed clones" early on.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.blabbermouth.net/news/jeff-beccera-puts-an-end-to-debate-over-who-was-the-first-death-metal-band-death-or-possessed/|title = JEFF BECERRA Puts an End to Debate over Who Was the First Death Metal Band: DEATH or POSSESSED|date = August 20, 2017}}</ref> Along with Possessed and Death, other pioneers of death metal in the United States include [[Macabre (band)|Macabre]], [[Master (American band)|Master]], [[Massacre (metal band)|Massacre]], [[Immolation (band)|Immolation]], [[Cannibal Corpse]], [[Obituary (band)|Obituary]], and [[Post Mortem (band)|Post Mortem]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Norton|first=Justin M.|title=Post Mortem - 'Coroner's Office' Retrospective|url=http://heavymetal.about.com/od/interviews/a/postmortem.htm|publisher=[[About.com]]|date=February 19, 2009|access-date=February 14, 2014|url-status=unfit|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140221221406/http://heavymetal.about.com/od/interviews/a/postmortem.htm|archive-date=February 21, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Marquard|first=Bryan|title=John McCarthy, at 40; was lead singer for local thrash rocker Post Mortem|url=http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/obituaries/articles/2009/02/08/john_mccarthy_at_40_was_lead_singer_for_local_thrash_rockers_post_mortem/?page=full|access-date=February 14, 2014|newspaper=[[The Boston Globe]]|date=February 8, 2009}}</ref>

===Growing popularity===
By 1989, many bands had been signed by eager record labels wanting to cash in on the subgenre, including Florida's Obituary, Morbid Angel and [[Deicide (band)|Deicide]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Sullivan|first=Andy|title=Death metal, the sound of Tampa, won't be heard at Republican convention|url=https://news.yahoo.com/death-metal-sound-tampa-wont-heard-republican-convention-113030167.html|agency=Reuters|publisher=Yahoo News|access-date=August 25, 2012|date=August 25, 2012|quote=When they convene in Tampa to nominate Mitt Romney for president next week, Republicans will not hear a note from the city's most notable musical exports: death-metal bands such as Deicide and Obituary.}}</ref> This collective of death metal bands hailing from Florida are often labeled as "[[Florida death metal]]". Morbid Angel pushed the genre's limits both musically and lyrically, with the release of their debut album ''[[Altars of Madness]]'' in 1989.{{sfn|Purcell|2003|p=18}}<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://decibelmagazine.com/hall-of-fame/2015/3/19/morbid-angel-altars-of-madness|title=Morbid Angel - "Altars of Madness"|work=Decibel Magazine|access-date=May 1, 2017}}</ref> The album "redefined what it meant to be heavy while influencing an upcoming class of brutal death metal."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://loudwire.com/morbid-angel-altars-of-madness-best-debut-metal-albums/|title=No. 4: Morbid Angel, 'Altars of Madness' – Best Debut Metal Albums|website=Loudwire|date=June 6, 2013 |access-date=May 1, 2017}}</ref>

Following the original death metal innovators, new subgenres began to develop the end of the decade, such as [[melodic death metal]]. Death released their fourth album ''[[Human (Death album)|Human]]'' in 1991, which has become a hallmark in [[technical death metal]]. Death's founder Schuldiner helped push the boundaries of the genre with uncompromising speed and technical virtuosity, combining intricate rhythm guitar work with complex arrangements and emotive guitar solos.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.emptywords.org|title=Welcome to Empty Words|website=www.emptywords.org}}</ref>

Earache Records, [[Relativity Records]] and Roadrunner Records became the genre's most important labels,<ref>'Death Metal Special: Dealers in Death' ''Terrorizer #151''</ref> with Earache releasing albums by Carcass, Napalm Death, Morbid Angel, and Entombed, and Roadrunner releasing albums by Obituary, and [[Pestilence (band)|Pestilence]]. Although these labels had not been death metal labels, they initially became the genre's flagship labels at the beginning of the 1990s. In addition to these, other labels formed as well, such as [[Nuclear Blast]], [[Century Media Records|Century Media]], and [[Peaceville]]. Many of these labels would go on to achieve successes in other genres of metal throughout the 1990s.

In September 1990, Death's manager [[Eric Greif]] held one of the first North American death metal festivals, ''Day of Death'', in [[Milwaukee]] suburb [[Waukesha, Wisconsin]], and featured 26 bands including Autopsy, [[Broken Hope]], Hellwitch, Obliveon, Revenant, Viogression, Immolation, [[Atheist (band)|Atheist]], and [[Cynic (band)|Cynic]].<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20100325022446/http://www.officialatheist.com/index.php?item=biography ''Biography'', Official Atheist site]}}. Retrieved December 10, 2008</ref>

[[File:Jungle_Rot_performing_in_Chula_Vista,_CA_on_Mayhem_Fest_2015.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Death metal band [[Jungle Rot]]]]

===Later history===
Death metal's popularity achieved its initial peak during 1992–1993, with some bands such as Morbid Angel and Cannibal Corpse enjoying mild commercial success. However, the genre as a whole never broke into the mainstream. The genre's mounting popularity may have been partly responsible for a strong rivalry between [[Early Norwegian black metal scene|Norwegian black metal]] and [[Swedish death metal]] scenes. [[Fenriz]] of [[Darkthrone]] has noted that Norwegian black metal musicians were "fed up with the whole death metal scene" at the time. Death metal diversified in the 1990s, spawning a rich variety of subgenres that still have a large "underground" following at the present.<ref>{{cite video|first=Bill|last=Zebyb|year=2007|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZd13-dSrAc| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120414005145/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZd13-dSrAc&gl=US&hl=en| archive-date=2012-04-14|title=Black Metal: A Documentary|medium=motion picture}}</ref>

In the 2000s, a number of bands in the [[hardcore punk]] scene, including [[Black Breath (band)|Black Breath]] and [[Trap Them]] began to incorporate elements of death metal into their sound.<ref name="Schafer, 2018">{{cite web |last1=Schafer |first1=Joseph |title=In 2018, Death Metal Reigned Supreme |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/in-2018-death-metal-reigned-supreme/ |website=[[Vice Media]] |access-date=24 October 2024}}</ref> This was followed by a wave of bands expanding upon the death-doom style of [[Incantation (American band)|Incantation]] while incorporating elements of [[ambient music]], including [[Dead Congregation]] and [[Necros Christos]].<ref name="Schafer, 2018" />

In the 2010s, a movement of bands reviving the sound of original 1980s death metal emerged, termed the "New Wave of Old School Death Metal".<ref>{{cite web |title=BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO OLD SCHOOL DEATH METAL |url=https://toiletovhell.com/beginners-guide-to-old-school-death-metal/ |access-date=24 October 2024}}</ref> One of the earliest groups in this wave was [[Horrendous]], who formed in 2009,<ref>{{cite web |title=A History of North American Death Metal in 30 Albums |url=https://www.treblezine.com/a-history-of-north-american-death-metal-in-30-albums/ |access-date=24 October 2024}}</ref> who along with [[Tomb Mold]] took a progressive take the genre.<ref name="Schafer, 2018" /> Tomb Mold, Necrot, Undergang and [[Blood Incantation]] were some of the earliest bands to gain traction in the 2010s, with the [[COVID-19 pandemic]] amplifying the amount of attention drawn to the movement, through [[Cryptic Shift]], Slimelord and Vaticinal Rites.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Deller |first1=Alex |title=The Young Upstarts of UK Death Metal |url=https://daily.bandcamp.com/scene-report/uk-death-metal-scene-report |website=[[Bandcamp Daily]] |access-date=24 October 2024}}</ref> In a 2022 article by ''[[MetalSucks]]'' writer Christopher Krovatin stated "Right now, as a music journalist, all I hear about is death metal."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Rhombus |first1=Emperor |title=Poll: Which Band in the New Wave of Death Metal Is Your Favorite? |url=https://www.metalsucks.net/2022/06/30/poll-which-of-the-new-wave-of-death-metal-bands-is-your-favorite/ |website=[[MetalSucks]] |access-date=24 October 2024}}</ref> In the UK, this movement became the "New Wave of British Death Metal", fronted by Mortuary Spawn, Vacuous and Celestial Sanctuary, this name being coined by Tom Cronin, of Celestial Sanctuary, in order to separate these hardcore-indebted bands from the country's prior movements. The earliest bands in this wave were Cruciamentum and Grave Miasma.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Frankel |first1=Eddy |title=What the hell is the New Wave of British Death Metal? |url=https://www.timeout.com/uk/arts-and-culture/what-is-the-new-wave-of-british-death-metal |website=[[Time Out Group]] |access-date=24 October 2024}}</ref>

A large part of the New Wave of Old School Death Metal was death metal bands who originated from the hardcore scene, some of which merge elements of hardcore into their style. [[Xibalba (band)|Xibalba]] and Fuming Mouth were two of the earliest groups, with the wave being solidified by [[Gatecreeper]], 200 Stab Wounds, Creeping Death,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Breiham |first1=Tom |title=Hardcore And Death Metal: Two Great Tastes That Taste Great Together |url=https://www.stereogum.com/2199510/hardcore-and-death-metal-two-great-tastes-that-taste-great-together/columns/let-the-roundup-begin/ |website=[[Stereogum]] |access-date=24 October 2024}}</ref> [[Sanguisugabogg]] and Kruelty.<ref>{{cite web |title=Kruelty – "Untopia" |url=https://everythingisnoise.net/reviews/kruelty-untopia/ |access-date=24 October 2024}}</ref> [[Venom Prison]] came from this scene and gained particular attention for their confrontation of what ''[[Kerrang!]]'' called death metal's "misogyny problem", by instead writing "rape-revenge narrative[s]".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Zorgdrager |first1=Bradley |title=How Brutal Death Metal Is Confronting Its Misogyny Problem |url=https://www.kerrang.com/how-brutal-death-metal-is-confronting-its-misogyny-problem |website=[[Kerrang!]] |access-date=24 October 2024}}</ref> Their lead vocalist Larissa Stupar was described by the publication as "metal's most important - and uncompromising - voice".<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Morton |first1=Luke |title=Venom Prison the Remarkable Story of the Rise and Rise of Metal's Most Important - and Uncompromising - Voice |journal=[[Kerrang!]] |date=27 May 2019}}</ref>

==Characteristics==

===Instrumentation===
The setup most frequently used within the death metal genre is two guitarists, a bass player, a vocalist, and a drummer often using "hyper [[Bass drum#Double bass drum|double-bass]] [[blast beat]]s".{{sfn|Purcell|2003|p=9}}{{sfn|Kahn-Harris|2007|p=32}} Although this is the standard setup, bands have been known to occasionally incorporate other instruments such as [[electronic keyboard]]s.<ref>[http://heavymetal.about.com/od/heavymetal101/p/melodicdeathmetalprofile.htm Marsicano, D. ''Melodic Death Metal''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202223443/http://heavymetal.about.com/od/heavymetal101/p/melodicdeathmetalprofile.htm |date=February 2, 2017|url-status=unfit }}, About.com (Retrieved October 27, 2010)</ref>
[[File:Deicide_band_010.jpg|thumb|left|Guitarist [[Jack Owen]] has performed with death metal bands [[Cannibal Corpse]], [[Deicide (band)|Deicide]] and [[Six Feet Under (band)|Six Feet Under]].]]
[[File:Deicide band 016.jpg|right|thumb|220px|[[Deicide]] drummer [[Steve Asheim]]]]


===Vocals and lyrics===
===Vocals and lyrics===
[[File:Cannibal Corpse @ 70000 tons of metal 02.jpg|thumb|right|[[Cannibal Corpse]] vocalist [[George Fisher (musician)|George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher]]]]
Death metal vocals are often guttural roars, grunts, snarls, and low gurgles colloquially called death grunts or [[death growl]]s. This vocal style is sometimes referred to as [[Cookie Monster]] vocals, tongue-in-cheek, because of the similarity with the popular ''[[Sesame Street]]'' character of the same name.<ref>{{cite web | title=Cookie Monster Vocals | work=about.com | url=http://heavymetal.about.com/od/glossary/g/gl_cookiemonste.htm | accessmonthday=January 21 | accessyear=2006}}. See further examples of this usage at {{cite web | title=The cookie monster vocal explained | work=rocknerd | url=http://rocknerd.org/article.pl?sid=04/07/15/1626209 | accessmonthday=January 21 | accessyear=2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=The categorization of death metal | work=metalstorm.ee | url=http://www.metalstorm.ee/articles/article.php?id=73 | accessmonthday=January 21 | accessyear=2006}}</ref> Although often criticized, death growls serve the aesthetic purpose of matching death metal's violent or bleak lyrical content.<ref>Sharpe-Young, Garry. ''Death Metal'', ISBN 0958268444</ref>

Death metal vocals are referred to as [[death growl]]s; which are coarse roars/snarls. Death growling is mistakenly thought to be a form of screaming using the lowest vocal register known as [[vocal fry]], however vocal fry is actually a form of overtone screaming, and while growling can be performed this way by experienced vocalists who use the fry screaming technique, "true" death growling is in fact created by an altogether different technique.<ref>Interview with Samuel Deschaine, Death Metal Vocal Instructor 2011</ref> Growling has been called [[Cookie Monster]] vocals, tongue-in-cheek, due to the vocal similarity to the voice of the popular ''[[Sesame Street]]'' character of the same name.<ref>{{cite web|title=Cookie Monster Vocals|url=http://heavymetal.about.com/od/glossary/g/gl_cookiemonste.htm|publisher=[[About.com]]|access-date=January 21, 2006|archive-date=February 5, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060205192652/http://heavymetal.about.com/od/glossary/g/gl_cookiemonste.htm|url-status=unfit}}</ref> Although often criticized, death growls serve the aesthetic purpose of matching death metal's aggressive lyrical content.<ref>Sharpe-Young, Garry. ''Death Metal'', {{ISBN|0-9582684-4-4}}</ref>


[[File:Suffocation_(11_von_30).jpg|thumb|left|200px|[[Suffo]]cation vocalist [[Frank Mullen]]]]
Death metal's lyrical themes typically invoke [[Z movie|Z-grade]] [[slasher film|slasher and splatter movie]] violence,<ref>Moynihan, Michael, and Dirik Søderlind (1998). Lords of Chaos (2nd ed.). Feral House. ISBN 0-922915-94-6, p. 27</ref> but may also extend to contain themes of [[Satanism]], criticism of religion, [[Occultism]], [[mysticism]], and/or [[social commentary]].<ref>[http://www.deathmetal.org/death_metal/music/ Deathmetal.org] "However, few practise mysticism and most seem to use it solely as metaphorology for their works"</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Purcell |first=Natalie J. |title=Death Metal Music: The Passion and Politics of a Subculture |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=6ZErQs5hCUQC |accessyear= 2007 |origyear=2003 |accessmonth= June |publisher= McFarland & Company |isbn=0786415851 |pages=39-42 |chapter=3}}</ref> Although violence may be explored in various other genres as well, death metal elaborates on the details of extreme acts, including [[mutilation]], [[dissection]], torture, [[rape]] and [[necrophilia]]. [[Sociologist]] Keith Kahn-Harris (author of ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'') commented that this may be attributed to a "fascination" with the human body that all people share to some degree, a "primal desire", and that although the genre often glamorizes violence and obscurities, there is equally as much fear and disgust amid the exploration.<ref>Khan-Harris, Keith. ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge''. Oxford: Berg, 2006. ISBN 9781845203993</ref> Heavy metal [[author]] [[Gavin Baddeley]] also stated that there does seem to be a connection between "how acquainted one is with their own mortality" and "how much they crave images of death and violence" via the media.<ref>Baddeley, Gavin. ''Raising Hell!: The Book of Satan and Rock 'n' Roll''</ref> Additionally, contributing artists to the genre often defend death metal as little more than an extreme form of art and entertainment, similar to [[horror films]] in the motion picture industry.<ref>{{cite video | people = Dunn, Sam (Director) | year = 2005 | date = August 5 | url = http://imdb.com/title/tt0478209/ | title = Metal: A Headbanger's Journey | medium = motion picture | location = Canada | publisher = Dunn, Sam}}</ref> Needless to say, this has brought such musicians under fire from activists internationally, who claim that this is often lost on a large number of adolescents, who are left with the glamorization of such violence without social context or awareness of why such imagery is stimulating.<ref name="hbj"/>


The lyrical themes of death metal may invoke slasher film-stylised violence,<ref name="Moynihan, Michael 1998 p. 27"/> but may also extend to topics like religion (sometimes including [[Satanism]]), [[occultism]], [[Lovecraftian horror]], nature, [[mysticism]], [[mythology]], [[theology]], philosophy, science fiction, and politics.{{sfn|Purcell|2003|p=39-42}} Although violence may be explored in various other genres as well, death metal may elaborate on the details of extreme acts, including [[Graphic violence|blood and gore]], [[psychopathy]], [[delirium]], [[mutilation]], [[mutation]], [[dissection]], [[exorcism]], [[torture]], [[rape]], [[Human cannibalism|cannibalism]], and [[necrophilia]]. Sociologist [[Keith Kahn-Harris]] commented this apparent glamorisation of violence may be attributed to a "fascination" with the human body that all people share to some degree, a fascination that mixes desire and disgust.{{sfn|Kahn-Harris|2007|p=}} Heavy metal author [[Gavin Baddeley]] also stated there does seem to be a connection between "how acquainted one is with their own mortality" and "how much they crave images of death and violence" via the media.<ref>Baddeley, Gavin. ''Raising Hell!: The Book of Satan and Rock 'n' Roll''</ref> Additionally, contributing artists to the genre often defend death metal as little more than an extreme form of art and entertainment, similar to horror films in the motion picture industry.<ref name="hbj"/> This explanation has brought such musicians under fire from activists internationally, who claim that this is often lost on a large number of adolescents, who are left with the glamorisation of such violence without social context or awareness of why such imagery is stimulating.<ref name="hbj"/>
According to Alex Webster, bassist of [[Cannibal Corpse]], "The gory lyrics are probably not, as much as people say, [what's keeping us] from being mainstream. Like, 'Death metal would never go into the mainstream because the lyrics are too gory'? I think it's really the music, because violent entertainment is totally mainstream."<ref name="Cannibal Corpse Alex Webster">[http://www.waytooloud.com/2007/10/23/cannibal-corpse-alex-webster-and-george-%E2%80%9Ccorpsegrinder%E2%80%9D-fisher/ Alex Webster ([[Cannibal Corpse]]) interview] </ref>


According to [[Alex Webster]], bassist of Cannibal Corpse, "The gory lyrics are probably not, as much as people say, [what's keeping us] from being mainstream. Like, 'death metal would never go into the mainstream because the lyrics are too gory?' I think it's really the music, because violent entertainment is totally mainstream."<ref name="Cannibal Corpse Alex Webster">{{Cite web|url=http://www.waytooloud.com/2007/10/23/cannibal-corpse-alex-webster-and-george-%E2%80%9Ccorpsegrinder%E2%80%9D-fisher/|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080604092255/http://www.waytooloud.com/2007/10/23/cannibal-corpse-alex-webster-and-george-%E2%80%9Ccorpsegrinder%E2%80%9D-fisher/|url-status=dead|title=Alex Webster (Cannibal Corpse) interview|archivedate=June 4, 2008}}</ref>
==Origin of the term==
There are several theories how the term "death metal" originated. One theory is that the name originates from an early pioneer of the genre, [[Death (band)|Death]]. A [[Florida]] journalist explained to his readers that [[Death (band)|Death]] play their own kind of metal: "Death's Metal".<ref>[http://www.crudedude.net/mcdeath/interviews/nunslaughter.html Nunslaughter interview] "The term Death Metal was coined by a Florida journalist that was explaining to his readers that Death play their own kind of metal it is “Deaths Metal” so we owe the term to him but I think it was a global movement. Bathory's demo was 1983 and so was Hellhammers first demo"</ref> Others contest that Death is not the origin, but that the harsh vocals and morbid lyrical content generally inspired the genre.<ref>[http://www.emptywords.org/ASinterview4-95.htm Death / meer dan death metal] Aardschok Magazine, Written by: Robert Haagsma, Published: April 1995 "The definition death metal was called into being because of the drift of the lyrics - death in all its shapes - and the death rasp which the "singers" use. That one of the founders of the genre is going by the name Death might be a coincidence"</ref> Another possible origin is a fanzine called "Death Metal", started by [[Thomas Gabriel Fischer|Thomas Fischer]] and [[Martin Eric Ain|Martin Ain]] of the band [[Hellhammer]] (later [[Celtic Frost]]). The name was later given to the 1984 compilation ''[[Death Metal (Split album)|Death Metal]]'' released by [[Hellhammer]]'s label [[Noise Records (Germany)|Noise Records]].<ref name="bookfanzine">{{cite book |last=Purcell |first=Natalie J. |title=Death Metal Music: The Passion and Politics of a Subculture |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=6ZErQs5hCUQC |accessyear=2007 |origyear=2003 |accessmonth= June |publisher= McFarland & Company |isbn=0786415851 |pages=53 |chapter=3 |quote=The term "Death Metal" emerged when Thomas Fischer and Martin Ain, a pair of Swiss Venom fans in the band Hellhammer (later Celtic Frost), started a fanzine called "Death Metal". Later, their record label German Noise Records used the "Death Metal" name for a compilation featuring Hellhammer}}</ref><ref>[http://www.hellhammer.nl/bio.html Hellhammer biography]"Karl from Noise is planning to call the LP ''Black Mass'' but it is Tom who talks him out of it and proposes ''Death Metal'' which actually is the name of the underground mag Tom used to run"</ref> The term might also have originated from other recordings. [[Possessed (band)|Possessed]]'s 1984 demo is called ''Death Metal'', and a song with the same name is featured on their 1985 debut album ''[[Seven Churches]]''.<ref name="mapos">[http://www.metal-archives.com/more.php?id=914 Encyclopaedia Metallum] "Possessed are hailed as the godfathers of the death metal genre ... They're considered the first death metal group with the name coming from their first demo entitled, ''Death Metal''."</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Purcell |first=Natalie J. |title=Death Metal Music: The Passion and Politics of a Subculture |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=6ZErQs5hCUQC |accessyear=2007 |origyear=2003 |accessmonth= June |publisher= McFarland & Company |isbn=0786415851 |pages=53 |chapter=4 |quote=Meanwhile, in 1983, the term was co-coined by some American teens who formed the band Possessed and labeled their demo "Death Metal".}}</ref> A demo released by [[Death (band)|Death]] in 1983 is called ''[[Death by Metal]]''.<ref>[http://www.emptywords.org/Martelgang01-2002.htm THE DEATH OF DEATH] Martelgang Magazine, Written by: Anton de Wit, Published: January 2002, "Yet it's almost unthinkable that the term wasn't inspired by the band name Death or their first demo, ''Death By Metal'' from 1983."</ref>


==Etymology==
== Early history (up to 1991) ==
The most popular theory of the subgenre's christening is [[Possessed (band)|Possessed]]'s 1984 demo, ''Death Metal''; the song from the eponymous demo would also be featured on the band's 1985 debut album, ''[[Seven Churches (album)|Seven Churches]]''.{{sfn|Purcell|2003|p=53}} Possessed vocalist/bassist Jeff Becerra said he coined the term in early 1983 for a high school English class assignment.{{sfn|Ekeroth|2008|p=11}} Another possible origin was a magazine called ''Death Metal'', started by [[Thomas Gabriel Fischer|Thomas Fischer]] and [[Martin Eric Ain|Martin Ain]] of [[Hellhammer]] and [[Celtic Frost]]. The name was later given to the 1984 compilation ''[[Death Metal (split album)|Death Metal]]'' released by [[Noise Records]].{{sfn|Purcell|2003|p=53}} The term might also have originated from other recordings, such as the demo released by [[Death (metal band)|Death]] in 1984, called ''Death by Metal''.<ref>{{cite web|first=Anton|last=de Wit|url=http://www.emptywords.org/Martelgang01-2002.htm|title=The Death of Death|work=Martelgang Magazine|date=January 2002|access-date=February 14, 2014}}</ref>
The history of death metal begins in the early 1980s. With bands like [[Metallica]] and [[Slayer]] advancing the [[thrash metal]] genre, metal's focus on melody was taking a backseat to pure aggression and speed. <ref>Metal: The Definitive Guide by Garry Sharpe-Young, page 162</ref> Several bands began merging metal with punk ethos; rhythm was forced to accelerate to maintain parity. The [[blastbeat]], [[double bass]], downed-tuned [[guitars]], and atonal [[death growls]] (often attributed to [[Massacre (band)|Massacre]]'s Kam Lee)<ref>Metal: The Definitive Guide by Garry Sharpe-Young, page 162</ref> would end up becoming key signatures in death metal as a result.<ref>Metal: The Definitive Guide by Garry Sharpe-Young, page 162</ref>


==Subgenres and fusion genres==
Eearly on, European bands like [[Venom (band)|Venom]], [[Bathory (band)|Bathory]], and [[Hellhammer]], and bands from the US like [[Possessed (band)|Possessed]] and [[Slayer]], formed the basis of this extreme heavy metal music style. From these founding acts, styles diversified into death metal and [[black metal]].<ref>[http://www.deathmetal.org/death_metal/music/ Deathmetal.org]</ref>
<!-- Please refrain from name-dropping your favorite band; as we would all love to include our favorites, only a few examples are needed to benefit the article. -->
{{Sound sample box align left|Music sample:}}{{listen|filename=Possessed_-_Seven_Churches_-_10_-_Death_Metal_(partial).ogg|title="Death Metal"|description=Music sample of [[Possessed (band)|Possessed]]'s "Death Metal" from the album ''[[Seven Churches (album)|Seven Churches]]'' (1985).|format=[[Ogg]]}}{{Sample box end}}
Cited examples are not necessarily exclusive to one particular style. Many bands can easily be placed in two or more of the following categories, and a band's specific categorization is often a source of contention due to personal opinion and interpretation. The musical genres in this list are sorted alphabetically.
The [[United Kingdom|British]] band Venom also crystallized the elements of what later became known as death metal and black metal, with their 1981 album ''[[Welcome to Hell]]''.<ref>[http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:ykuh6jo371q0 Venom - Welcome to Hell review @ Allmusic] "Make no mistake: Welcome to Hell, more than any other album, crystallized the elements of what later became known as thrash, death, black, and virtually every other form of extreme metal"</ref> Their dark, blistering sound, harsh vocals, and macabre, proudly Satanic imagery proved a major inspiration for extreme metal bands.<ref>[http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:jiftxqr5ldde~T1 Venom band page @ Allmusic] "Venom developed a dark, blistering sound which paved the way for the subsequent rise of thrash music; similarly, their macabre, proudly [[Satanic]] image proved a major inspiration for the legions of black metal bands"</ref> Another highly influential band, Slayer, formed in 1981. Although the band is a thrash metal act, Slayer's music is more violent than thrash metal contemporaries [[Metallica]], [[Megadeth]] or [[Exodus (band)|Exodus]].<ref name="metalhammer">[http://www.emptywords.org/MetalHammerItaly03-2000.htm Into The Lungs of Hell] Metal Hammer magazine, Written by: Enrico de Paola, Translated by: Vincenzo Chioccarelli, Published: March 2000 ""</ref> [[Slayer]] is regarded as one of the most sinister thrash metal bands from the early 1980s<ref>[http://www.rockdetector.com/officialbio,8188.sm Slayer band page @ Rockdetector]</ref> and are considered the ancestors of and directly responsible for the rise of death metal.<ref>[http://www.mtv.com/bands/m/metal/greatest_metal_bands/071406/index7.jhtml Slayer on MTV]</ref> Their breakneck speed and instrumental prowess combined with lyrics about death, violence, war and Satanism won Slayer a rabid cult following.<ref>[http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:giftxqr5ld0e~T1 Slayer band page @ Allmusic]</ref> According to [[Allmusic]], their third album, ''[[Reign in Blood]]'', "inspired the entire death metal genre" <ref>{{cite web| title = Reign in Blood - Slayer| author = Huey, Steve| publisher = Allmusicguide.com| url = http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:jbkzu3q5an5k| accessdate = 2007-01-05 }}</ref> and had a big impact on the genre leaders: [[Death (band)|Death]], [[Obituary (band)|Obituary]] and [[Morbid Angel]].<ref name="metalhammer" />[[Image:Chuck Schuldiner.jpg|thumb|120px|right|[[Death (band)|Death]]'s [[Chuck Schuldiner]], widely recognized as the father of death metal<ref>Rivadavia, Eduardo. [http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:3iftxqe5ld6e~T1 "Death—Biography"]. Allmusic. Retrieved on [[November 23]], [[2007]].</ref>]]


{{dynamic list}}
[[Possessed (band)|Possessed]], a band that formed in 1983, was influenced by early [[Slayer]].<ref name="amr2">[http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:a9ftxqr5ldae Possessed - Seven Churches review @ Allmusic] "the band definitely displayed a strong Slayer influence; but it was ... Jeff Becerra who first introduced the barely decipherable grunting vocal style which would epitomize the death metal genre"</ref> Although Possessed's brand of metal resembled Slayer's fast and Satanic thrash metal they're often cited as the "first" death metal band.<ref name="am">[http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:difuxqr5ldhe~T1 Possessed band page @ Allmusic] "the brutal Seven Churches was arguably the first true death metal album and set the stage for the genre's breakaway from thrash"</ref><ref name="ma">[http://www.metal-archives.com/more.php?id=914 Possessed band page @ Encyclopaedia Metallum] "Possessed are hailed as the godfathers of the death metal genre ... They're considered the first death metal group with the name coming from their first demo entitled, ``Death Metal.``"</ref><ref name="mo">[http://www.metal-observer.com/articles.php?lid=1&sid=1&id=3690 Possessed - Seven Churches review @ Metal Observer] "This band gets props from everyone and it isn't surprising, as they essentially invented Death Metal waaaayy back in about 1983"</ref> This is largely because of the grunted vocals which set the stage for death metal's breakaway from thrash metal.<ref name="amr2" /> The 1984 demo ''Death Metal'' and 1985 album ''[[Seven Churches]]'' are regarded as their most influential material. Not long after the dawn of Possessed, a second monumental death metal band was formed in [[Florida]].


===Blackened death-doom===
The band was Mantas: composed of [[Chuck Schuldiner]], [[Kam Lee]], and [[Rick Rozz]]. They released a demo entitled ''[[Death by Metal]]'' in 1983. In 1984, under their new name [[Death (band)|Death]], more demos were released. The tapes circulated through the tape trader world, quickly establishing the band's name. With Death guitarist Schuldiner adopting vocal duties, the band made a major impact on the scene. Fast, dark minor-key riffs and fierce solos were complimented with fast drumming, creating a style that would catch on in tape trading circles.<ref>[http://www.emptywords.org/BAND.htm Death band page]</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Purcell |first=Natalie J. |title=Death Metal Music: The Passion and Politics of a Subculture |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=6ZErQs5hCUQC |accessyear=2007 |origyear=2003 |accessmonth= June |publisher= McFarland & Company |isbn=0786415851 |pages=54 |chapter=3}}</ref> Subsequently, Schuldiner has been "widely recognized as the father of death metal".<ref>[http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:3iftxqe5ld6e~T1 ''Death biography'', allmusic]</ref>
Blackened death-doom is a microgenre that combines the slow tempos and monolithic drumming of [[doom metal]], the complex and loud riffage of death metal and the [[Screaming (music)#Black metal|shrieking vocals]] of [[black metal]].<ref name=BDD>{{cite web |last1=Kelly |first1=Kim |title=Morast Expertly Synthesize Black, Death, and Doom Metal on 'Ancestral Void' |url=https://noisey.vice.com/en_us/article/aepy85/morast-expertly-synthesize-black-death-and-doom-metal-on-ancestral-void |website=Noisey Vice |date=March 29, 2017 |access-date=August 18, 2018}}</ref> Examples of blackened death-doom bands include Morast,<ref name=BDD/> Faustcoven,<ref name=BDD/> [[The Ruins of Beverast]],<ref name=BDD/> [[Bölzer]],<ref name=BDD/> Necros Christos,<ref name=BDD/> Harvest Gulgaltha,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Mattia |first1=A. |title=DON'T LOOK BELOW: HARVEST GULGALTHA – 'ALTARS OF DEVOTION' REVIEW + STREAM |url=https://www.cvltnation.com/dont-look-below-harvest-gulgaltha-altars-of-devotion-review-stream/ |website=Cvlt Nation |date=February 7, 2017 |access-date=August 18, 2018}}</ref> [[Dragged into Sunlight]],<ref>{{cite web |last1=Falzon |first1=Denise |title=Dragged Into Sunlight 'Widowmaker' (album stream) |url=https://exclaim.ca/music/article/dragged_into_sunlight-widowmaker_album_stream |website=[[Exclaim!]] |date=October 31, 2012 |access-date=August 18, 2018}}</ref> Hands of Thieves,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Moore |first1=Doug |title=The Black Market: The Month In Metal – August 2016 |url=https://www.stereogum.com/1896781/the-black-market-the-month-in-metal-august-2016/franchises/the-black-market/ |website=[[Stereogum]] |date=August 31, 2016 |access-date=August 18, 2018}}</ref> and [[Soulburn]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Daniels |first1=Eric |title=ERIC DANIELS / SOULBURN |url=https://www.jacksonguitars.com/artists/eric-daniels-bio |website=[[Jackson Guitars]] |access-date=August 18, 2018 |archive-date=June 18, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210618114517/https://www.jacksonguitars.com/artists/eric-daniels-bio |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Whelan |first1=Kez |title=Soulburn: Band Of The Day |url=http://www.terrorizer.com/news/botd/soulburn-band-day/ |website=[[Terrorizer (magazine)|Terrorizer]] |date=June 11, 2014 |access-date=August 18, 2018}}</ref>


===Blackened death metal===
Along with [[Possessed (band)|Possessed]] and [[Death (band)|Death]] there were other influential bands who introduced an early raw extreme metal style, guttural vocals and lyrics concerning death and/or Satanism. Also, in 1984, [[Hellhammer]] was featured on the split album ''[[Death Metal (split album)|Death Metal]]'', an effort regarded by many as influential on both the death and [[black metal]] genres <ref>[http://www.bnrmetal.com/v2/search.php?name=hellhammer BNR Metal Hellhammer page] "Regarded as an influential band in both the death and black black metal fields"</ref>
{{Main|Blackened death metal}}
[[File:Goatwhore Party.San Metal Open Air 2016 11.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Blackened death metal band [[Goatwhore]].]]


Blackened death metal is commonly death metal that incorporates musical, lyrical or ideological elements of [[black metal]], such as an increased use of [[alternate picking|tremolo picking]], anti-[[Christianity|Christian]] or [[Satanism|Satanic]] lyrical themes and chord progressions similar to those used in black metal.<ref name="Sound, Symbol, Sociality">{{cite book |last1=Unger |first1=Matthew |title=Sound, Symbol, Sociality: The Aesthetic Experience of Extreme Metal Music |page=27}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/ninewinged-serpent-mw0000780983 |title=Ninewinged Serpent - Devian |last=Henderson |first=Alex |work=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=September 3, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://heavymetal.about.com/od/reviews/gr/hacavitz.htm |title=Hacavitz - Venganza Review |last=Bowar |first=Chad |work=[[About.com]] |access-date=September 3, 2012 |archive-date=June 17, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090617104950/http://heavymetal.about.com/od/reviews/gr/hacavitz.htm |url-status=unfit }}</ref> Blackened death metal bands are also more likely to wear [[corpse paint]] and suits of armour, than bands from other styles of death metal.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Gardner |first1=Robert Owen |title=Studies in Symbolic Interaction |page=119}}</ref> Lower range guitar tunings, [[death growl]]s and abrupt [[tempo]] changes are common in the genre.<ref>{{Cite youtube |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_rpgS73sPI |title=Blackened Death Metal band debate with Jason Deaville of Bravewords {{!}} LOCK HORNS (archive) |date=2016-10-05 |last=Dunn |first=Sam |author-link=Sam Dunn |last2=Deaville |first2=Jason |type=Podcast}}</ref> Examples of blackened death metal bands are [[Belphegor (band)|Belphegor]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.terrorizer.com/blog1.php/2011/10/21/belphegor-suspend-all-activities |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120714222121/http://www.terrorizer.com/blog1.php/2011/10/21/belphegor-suspend-all-activities |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 14, 2012 |title=Belphegor Suspends All Activities |date=October 21, 2011 |work=[[Terrorizer (magazine)|terrorizer.com]] |access-date=September 3, 2012 }}</ref> [[Behemoth (band)|Behemoth]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/behemoth-mn0000789429 |title=Behemoth |last=Prato |first=Greg |work=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=September 3, 2012}}</ref> [[Akercocke]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stylusmagazine.com/reviews/akercocke/words-that-go-unspoken-deeds-that-go-undone.htm |title=Akercocke – Words That Go Unspoken, Deeds That Go Undone – Review – Stylus Magazine |last=Lee |first=Cosmo |date=February 21, 2006 |work=[[Stylus Magazine]] |access-date=October 22, 2012 |quote=Death metal and black metal are notoriously insular, but Akercocke has distinguished itself by freely drawing from both. Death metal tends to emphasize the low end, while black metal mainly resides in the midrange and treble, so Akercocke's 'blackened death' hybrid is rich and full-bodied. |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120509181014/http://stylusmagazine.com/reviews/akercocke/words-that-go-unspoken-deeds-that-go-undone.htm |archive-date=May 9, 2012 }}</ref> and [[Sacramentum (band)|Sacramentum]].<ref>Pretorious, Neil (July 30, 2009). "Review - Sacramentum - Far Away from the Sun"]. ''The Metal Observer''. "If you think that Blackened Death Metal begins and ends with DISSECTION, then think again. SACRAMENTUM seriously dropped the (snow) ball with 'The Coming of Chaos' and 'Thy Black Destiny', but on 'Far Away from the Sun' they really delivered the goods on all fronts."</ref>
An early death metal album, ''[[Season of the Dead]]'', was released by [[Necrophagia]] in 1987. That same year saw the release of Death's ''[[Scream Bloody Gore]]'', which some writers consider the genre's first "proper" release.<ref>[http://heavymetal.about.com/od/death/p/pro_death.htm About.com]</ref>


====Melodic black-death====
By 1989, many bands had been signed by eager record labels wanting to cash in on the subgenre, including Florida's [[Obituary (band)|Obituary]], [[Morbid Angel]] and [[Deicide (band)|Deicide]]. This collective of death metal bands hailing from Florida are often labeled as "Florida death metal". Death metal spread to [[Sweden]] in the mid 1980s, and flourished in the latter part of the decade, with pioneers such as [[Nihilist (band)|Nihilist]], [[Entombed (band)|Entombed]], [[Dismember (band)|Dismember]] and [[Unleashed (band)|Unleashed]]. In the early 1990s, the rise of typically melodic "[[Gothenburg metal]]" was recognized, with bands such as [[Dark Tranquillity]] and, later, [[At the Gates]], [[In Flames]] and [[Soilwork]]. <!-- PLEASE REFRAIN from name-dropping your favorite band; as we would all love to include our favorites, only a few examples are needed to benefit the article. --> {{Sound sample box align right|Music sample:}}{{listen|filename=Morbid Angel - 05 - Blessed Are The Sick.ogg|title="Blessed Are the Sick"|description=Music sample of [[Morbid Angel]]'s "Blessed Are the Sick" from the live album ''[[Entangled in Chaos]]'' (1991).|format=[[Ogg]]}}{{Sample box end}}
Melodic black-death<ref name="Dissection Clones" /> (also known as blackened melodic death metal or melodic blackened death metal)<ref name="Blackened Melodic Death Metal: A History Lesson" /> is a genre of [[extreme metal]] that describes the style created when [[melodic death metal]] bands began being inspired by black metal and European [[romanticism]]. However, unlike most other black metal, this take on the genre would incorporate an increased sense of melody and narrative.<ref name="Blackened Melodic Death Metal: A History Lesson">{{cite web |last1=ANDREW |first1=J |title=Blackened Melodic Death Metal: A History Lesson |url=http://www.metalinjection.net/lists/blackened-melodic-death-metal-a-history-lesson |website=Metal Injection |access-date=July 25, 2018|date=February 19, 2015 }}</ref> Some bands who have played this style include [[Dissection (band)|Dissection]],<ref name="Blackened Melodic Death Metal: A History Lesson" /><ref name="Dissection Clones" /><ref name="Swedish Death Metal">{{cite book |last1=Ekeroth |first1=Daniel |title=Swedish Death Metal |page=267}}</ref> [[Sacramentum (band)|Sacramentum]],<ref name="Blackened Melodic Death Metal: A History Lesson" /><ref name="Dissection Clones" /> [[Naglfar (band)|Naglfar]],<ref name="Blackened Melodic Death Metal: A History Lesson" /> [[God Dethroned]],<ref>{{cite web |last1=Divita |first1=Joe |title=GOD DETHRONED RETURN WITH 'THE WORLD ABLAZE,' UNLEASH DEATHLY MELODIC NEW SINGLE 'ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE WIRE' |url=http://loudwire.com/god-dethroned-the-world-ablaze-new-single-on-the-wrong-side-of-the-wire/ |website=Loudwire |date=5 April 2017 |access-date=25 July 2018}}</ref> [[Dawn (Swedish band)|Dawn]],<ref name="Blackened Melodic Death Metal: A History Lesson" /> [[Unanimated]],<ref name="Blackened Melodic Death Metal: A History Lesson" /> [[Thulcandra (band)|Thulcandra]],<ref name="Dissection Clones" /><ref name="Blackened Melodic Death Metal: A History Lesson" /> [[Skeletonwitch]]<ref>{{cite web |last1=WIEDERHORN |first1=JON |title=SKELETONWITCH: HOW AN ANTON LAVEY–LOVING EX–CHOIR MEMBER PUSHED THRASHERS TO NEW LEVEL |url=https://www.revolvermag.com/music/skeletonwitch-how-anton-lavey%E2%80%93loving-ex%E2%80%93choir-member-pushed-thrashers-new-level |website=[[Revolver (magazine)|Revolver]] |access-date=25 July 2018|date=18 June 2018 }}</ref> and [[Cardinal Sin (band)|Cardinal Sin]].<ref name="Dissection Clones">{{cite magazine |last1=D |first1=Chris |title=Top 5 Dissection Clones |url=http://decibelmagazine.com/featured/36966/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160325001026/http://decibelmagazine.com/featured/36966/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=25 March 2016 |magazine=[[Decibel (magazine)|Decibel]] |access-date=25 July 2018}}</ref><!---The Metal Injection source references to this list as a list of bands playing this style. Also don't add unreliable sources for listings. --->


====War metal====
Following the original death metal innovators, new subgenres began by the end of the decade. British band [[Napalm Death]] became increasingly associated with death metal, in particular, on 1990's ''[[Harmony Corruption]]''. This album displays aggressive and fairly technical guitar riffing, complex rhythmics, a sophisticated growling vocal delivery by [[Mark "Barney" Greenway]], and thoughtful lyrics, leading to the creation of the "[[deathgrind]]" subgenre. Other bands contributing significantly to this early movement include Britain's [[Bolt Thrower]] and [[Carcass (band)|Carcass]], and [[New York]]'s [[Suffocation (band)|Suffocation]].
War metal<ref name=mh112011>Robert Müller: ''Wollt Ihr den ewigen Krieg?''. ''Der tote Winkel''. In: ''[[Metal Hammer]]'', November 2011.</ref><ref name=wbm/><ref name=rh304>Wolf-Rüdiger Mühlmann: ''SARCOFAGO''. ''I.N.R.I.'' In: ''Rock Hard'', Nr. 304, September 2012, p. 73.</ref> (also known as war black metal<ref name=wbm>Wolf-Rüdiger Mühlmann: ''War Black Metal: Die Extremsten der Extremen''. ''Was bleibt, ist Schutt und Asche''. In: ''Rock Hard'', no. 279, pp. 71-73.</ref> or bestial black metal)<ref name=rh304/> is an aggressive,<ref name=wbm/> cacophonous<ref name=mh112011/> and chaotic<ref name=mh112011/><ref name=wbm/> subgenre of blackened death metal,<ref>{{cite news |last1=KATEL |first1=JACOB |title=Florida's Top Ten Black Metal Bands |newspaper=[[Miami New Times]] |date=2013}}</ref> described by ''[[Rock Hard (magazine)|Rock Hard]]'' journalist Wolf-Rüdiger Mühlmann as "rabid"<ref name=wbm/> and "hammering".<ref name=wbm/> Important influences include first wave black metal band [[Sodom (band)|Sodom]],<ref name=mh112011/><ref name=wbm/> first wave black metal/death metal band [[Possessed (band)|Possessed]]<ref name=wbm/> as well as old [[grindcore]], black and death metal bands like [[Repulsion (band)|Repulsion]],<ref name=mh112011/><ref name=wbm/> [[Autopsy (band)|Autopsy]],<ref name=wbm/> [[Sarcófago]]<ref name=mh112011/><ref name=wbm/><ref name=rh304/><ref name=rh307/> and the first two [[Sepultura]] releases.<ref name=wbm/><ref name=rh307/> War metal bands include [[Blasphemy (band)|Blasphemy]],<ref name=mh112011/><ref name=wbm/><ref name=rh307>Wolf-Rüdiger Mühlmann: ''Impaled Nazarene''. ''Tol Cormpt Norz Norz Norz''. In: ''Rock Hard'', no. 307, December 2012, p. 77.</ref> [[Archgoat]],<ref name=wbm/> [[Impiety (band)|Impiety]],<ref name=wbm/> [[In Battle]],{{sfn|Ekeroth|2008|p=359}} [[Beherit]], [[Crimson Thorn]],<ref>{{cite web |title=A HILL TO DIE UPON - OMENS CD |url=https://boonesoverstock.com/products/a-hill-to-die-upon-omens |access-date=August 8, 2018}}</ref> [[Bestial Warlust]],<ref>{{cite web |last1=DISTEFANOl |first1=ALEX |title=The 13 Most Satanic Metal Bands |url=http://www.laweekly.com/music/13-most-satanic-metal-bands-8798306 |website=[[LA Weekly]] |access-date=August 8, 2018 |date=October 30, 2017 |archive-date=August 1, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180801232853/http://www.laweekly.com/music/13-most-satanic-metal-bands-8798306 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and [[Zyklon-B (band)|Zyklon-B]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Christe|first=Ian|title=Sound of the beast: the complete headbanging history of heavy metal|publisher=[[HarperCollins]]|isbn=978-0-380-81127-4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eWRv3E59V0YC|author-link=Ian Christe|access-date=March 13, 2012|page=281|date=February 17, 2004}}</ref>


===Brutal death metal===
To close the circle, the band [[Death (band)|Death]] released ''[[Human (album)|Human]]'' in 1991, an example of modern death metal. Death's founder Schuldiner helped push the boundaries of uncompromising speed and technical virtuosity, mixing technical and intricate rhythm guitar work with complex arrangements and emotive guitar solos.<ref>[http://www.emptywords.org Empty Words, where there are dozens of reviews along this line]</ref> Other examples are Carcass's ''[[Necroticism: Descanting the Insalubrious]]'', Suffocation's ''[[Effigy of the Forgotten]]'' and Entombed's ''[[Clandestine (album)|Clandestine]]'' from 1991. At this point, all the above characteristics are present: abrupt [[tempo]] and count changes, on occasion extremely fast [[Drum kit|drumming]], morbid lyrics and growling vocal delivery.
{{Main|Brutal death metal}}
Brutal death metal is a subgenre of death metal that privileges heaviness, speed, and complex rhythms over other aspects, such as melody and timbres.<ref name=masterclass/><ref name=Lexington>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rSZOph-zlEgC|title=Death Metal and Music Criticism: Analysis at the Limits|first=Michelle|last=Phillipov|date=August 31, 2018|publisher=Lexington Books|via=Google Books|isbn=9780739164594}}</ref> Brutal death metal bands employ high-speed, palm-muted power chording and single-note riffage.<ref name=Lexington/> Notable bands include [[Cannibal Corpse]],<ref>{{cite book |last1=Purcell |first1=Natalie J. |title=Death Metal Music: The Passion and Politics of a Subculture |date=September 17, 2015 |publisher=[[McFarland & Company]] |isbn=9780786484065 |page=59 |quote=Cannibal Corpse's first album, Eaten Back to Life, was deemed pure, brutal Death Metal}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=McIver |first1=Joel |title=Extreme Metal II |date=March 10, 2010 |publisher=[[Wise Music Group|Music Sales]] |isbn=9780857122247 |quote=Buffalo band Cannibal Corpse are perhaps the most devoted brutal death metal act in this book, rarely diverging from the path of the blastbeat and the throaty roar.}}</ref> [[Dying Fetus]],<ref name=Lexington /> [[Suffocation (band)|Suffocation]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://loudwire.com/best-metal-bands-different-subgenres/#photogallery-1=5|title=Best Metal Bands From 40 Different Subgenres|website=Loudwire|date=June 21, 2017 }}</ref> [[Cryptopsy]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.decibelmagazine.com/2011/12/02/cryptopsy-none-so-vile/|title=Cryptopsy - "None so Vile"|first=Kevin|last=Stewart-Panko|date=December 2, 2011|website=Decibel Magazine}}</ref> and [[Skinless]].<ref name="BMDestroy">{{cite news|url=http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/reunited-skinless-were-back-to-destroy/|title=Reunited Skinless: 'We're Back To Destroy'|work=[[Blabbermouth.net]]|date=August 13, 2013|access-date=October 16, 2013}}</ref><ref name="BMTrampleReview">{{cite news|url=http://www.blabbermouth.net/cdreviews/trample-the-weak-hurdle-the-dead/|title=Trample The Weak, Hurdle the Dead Skinless|work=[[Blabbermouth.net]]|access-date=October 16, 2013|date=June 26, 2006}}</ref>


====Slam death metal====
[[Earache Records]], [[Relativity Records]] and [[Roadrunner Records]] became the genre's most important labels,<ref>'Death Metal Special: Dealers in Death' ''Terrorizer #151''</ref> with Earache releasing albums by [[Carcass (band)|Carcass]], [[Napalm Death]], [[Morbid Angel]], and [[Entombed (band)|Entombed]], and Roadrunner releasing albums by [[Obituary (band)|Obituary]], [[Sepultura]], and [[Pestilence (band)|Pestilence]]. Although these labels had not been death metal labels, initially, they became the genre's flagship labels in the beginning of the 1990s. In addition to these, other labels formed as well, such as [[Nuclear Blast]], [[Century Media Records]], and [[Peaceville]]. Many of these labels would go on to achieve successes in other genres of metal throughout the 1990s.
{{further|Brutal death metal#Slam death metal}}
Slam death metal is a brutal death metal [[microgenre]] that evolved from the 1990s [[New York City|New York]] death metal scene, incorporating elements of [[hardcore punk]].<ref name=masterclass/><ref name="auto">{{cite web| url=http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/music/discover-your-next-favorite-phoenix-metal-band-at-az-brutal-fest-7287179 | title=Discover Your Next Favorite Phoenix Metal Band at AZ Brutal Fest | work=[[Phoenix New Times]] | date=April 14, 2015 | access-date=July 6, 2017 | last=Wise | first=Lauren }}</ref> In contrast to other death metal styles, it is not generally focused on guitar solos and blast beats; instead, it employs mid-tempo rhythms, breakdowns, and palm-muted riffing, as well as [[Hip hop music|hip hop]]-inspired vocal and drum beat rhythms.<ref name="auto"/> The [[Breakdown (music)#Heavy metal and punk rock|breakdown]] riff of [[Suffocation (band)|Suffocation]]'s "[[Effigy of the Forgotten|Liege of Inveracity]]" has been credited by [[Rolling Stone]] as the first slam riff in death metal.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/suffocation-gramercy-theatre-frank-mullen-final-show-review-758169/ |title=Farewell, Frank Mullen: Suffocation's Death-Metal Maestro Goes Out on Top |last=Shteamer |first=Hank |date=November 19, 2018 |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |access-date=September 9, 2019}}</ref> The first wave of bands in the genre were New York bands like [[Internal Bleeding (band)|Internal Bleeding]] and Pyrexia,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Purcell |first1=Natalie J. |title=Death Metal Music: The Passion and Politics of a Subculture |date=September 17, 2015 |publisher=[[McFarland & Company]] |isbn=9780786484065 |page=9 |quote=Many New York style bands like Suffocation, Dying Fetus and Internal Bleeding are slam-orientated and bass-based; this sort of music promotes dancing with rapid shifts from low and slow to fast and blast.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Purcell |first1=Natalie J. |title=Death Metal Music: The Passion and Politics of a Subculture |date=September 17, 2015 |publisher=[[McFarland & Company]] |isbn=9780786484065 |page=19 |quote=Slow 'slam' riffs helped bands like Internal Bleeding and Pyrexia, inspired by Suffocation, to become successful in the mid 1990s. Today, New York style bands like Skinless and Dying Fetus dominate the scene with 'crowd-pleasing mosh riffs'}}</ref> with notable subsequent acts including [[Devourment]]<ref name=K!>{{cite web| url=https://www.kerrang.com/features/how-brutal-death-metal-is-confronting-its-misogyny-problem/ | title=How Brutal Death Metal Is Confronting Its Misogyny Problem | work=[[Kerrang!]] | date=August 29, 2019 | access-date=January 19, 2021 | last=Zorgdrager | first=Bradley }}</ref> and [[Cephalotripsy (band)|Cephalotripsy]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Butler |first1=Will |title=Cannabis Corpse - Beneath Grow Lights Thou Shalt Rise LP |journal=Don't be Swindle |issue=1 |quote= Most standard death metal, and particularly its more brutal offshoots, is just too damn serious. Not too many people can enthusiastically back slam metal shit like Devourment or Cephalotripsy.}}</ref>


===Death-doom===
== Later history (1991–present) ==
{{Main|Death-doom}}
{{SectOR|date=February 2008}}
[[File:My Dying Bride 44.jpg|right|thumb|[[My Dying Bride]] at Frozen Rock Fest. 2007.]]
Death metal's popularity achieved its peak between the 1992-93 era, with some bands such as [[Morbid Angel]], [[Cannibal Corpse]] and [[Obituary (band)|Obituary]] enjoying mild commercial successes. However, the genre as a whole never broke in to the mainstream. Nevertheless, death metal diversified in the 1990s, spawning a rich variety of subgenres. It should be noted that cited examples are not necessarily exclusive to one particular style. Many bands can easily be placed in two or more of the following categories, and a band's specific categorization is often a source of contention due to personal opinion and interpretation.
Death-doom is a style that combines the slow tempos and pessimistic atmosphere of [[doom metal]] with the deep [[death growl|growling vocals]] and double-kick drumming of death metal.<ref name="Doom Metal Special: Doom/Death Terrorizer #142">"Doom Metal Special: Doom/Death", ''Terrorizer #142''.</ref> Influenced mostly by the early work of [[Hellhammer]] and [[Celtic Frost]], the style emerged during the late 1980s and gained a certain amount of popularity during the 1990s.<ref name="Doom Metal Special: Doom/Death Terrorizer #142" /> Death-doom was also pioneered by bands such as [[Winter (metal band)|Winter]],{{sfn|Purcell|2003|p=23}} [[Disembowelment (band)|Disembowelment]],{{sfn|Purcell|2003|p=23}} [[Paradise Lost (band)|Paradise Lost]],{{sfn|Purcell|2003|p=23}} [[Autopsy (band)|Autopsy]], [[Anathema (band)|Anathema]], and [[My Dying Bride]].{{sfn|Purcell|2003|p=23}}


====Funeral doom====
=== Melodic death metal ===
{{main|Melodic death metal}}
{{Main|Funeral doom}}
Funeral doom is a genre that crosses [[death-doom]] with [[Dirge|funeral dirge music]].<ref name="Dirge">{{cite news |author=Davis, Cody |title=Funeral Doom Friday: FUNERAL MOURNING's Blackened, Deadly Inertia of Dissonance (A Sermon in Finality) |url=http://www.metalinjection.net/av/funeral-doom-friday/funeral-mournings-blackened-deadly-inertia-of-dissonance-a-sermon-in-finality |work=Metal Injection |access-date=July 29, 2018|date=September 9, 2016 }}</ref> It is played at a very slow tempo, and places an emphasis on evoking a sense of emptiness and despair.<ref name="Bandcamp">{{cite web |url=https://daily.bandcamp.com/2017/02/02/doom-metal-a-brief-timeline/ |title=Doom Metal: A Brief Timeline |work=Bandcamp daily |access-date=June 30, 2018|date=February 2, 2017 }}</ref> Typically, electric guitars are heavily distorted and [[dark ambient]] aspects such as [[keyboard instrument|keyboards]] or [[synthesizer]]s are often used to create a dreamlike atmosphere.<ref name=AE>{{cite thesis |last=Ebner |first=Arne |date=July 25, 2010 |title=Ästhetik des Doom |type=Bachelor |institution=Macromedia University of Applied Sciences for Media and Communication - Cologne |url=http://doom.resettheworld.com/aesthetik_des_doom_arne_ebner_40mb.pdf |access-date=August 18, 2018 |language=de |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304075156/http://doom.resettheworld.com/aesthetik_des_doom_arne_ebner_40mb.pdf |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Vocals consist of mournful chants or growls and are often in the background.<ref name=AE/> Funeral doom was pioneered by [[Mournful Congregation]] (Australia), [[Esoteric (band)|Esoteric]] (United Kingdom), [[Evoken]] (United States), [[Funeral (band)|Funeral]] (Norway), [[Thergothon]] (Finland), and [[Skepticism (band)|Skepticism]] (Finland).<ref>James Minton, Kim Kelly, and Jenn Selby, "Filth Parade", ''Terrorizer'' #188, September 2009, p. 56.</ref>
[[Scandinavian death metal]] could be considered the forerunner of "melodic death metal". Melodic death metal, sometimes referred to as "melodeath", is heavy metal music mixed with some death metal elements, such as growled vocals and the liberal use of blastbeats. Songs are typically based around [[Iron Maiden (band)|Iron Maiden]]-esque guitar harmonies and melodies with typically higher-pitched growls, as opposed to traditional death metal's brutal riffs and much lower death grunts. [[Carcass (band)|Carcass]] is sometimes credited with releasing the first melodic death metal album with 1993's ''[[Heartwork]]'', although Swedish bands [[In Flames]], [[Dark Tranquillity]],<!-- PLEASE REFRAIN from name-dropping your favorite band; as we would all love to include our favorites, only a few examples are needed to benefit the article. --> and [[At the Gates]] are usually mentioned as the main pioneers of the genre and of the [[Melodic death metal#Background|Gothenburg metal]] sound. Additionally, [[Afflicted (band)|Afflicted]], [[Entombed (band)|Entombed]], <!-- PLEASE REFRAIN from name-dropping your favorite band; as we would all love to include our favorites, only a few examples are needed to benefit the article. -->[[Amon Amarth (band)|Amon Amarth]], [[Unleashed (band)|Unleashed]] and [[Tiamat (band)|Tiamat]] helped to define the sound that would evolve into common [[melodic death metal]].


===Death 'n' roll===
=== Technical/Progressive death metal ===
{{main|Technical death metal}}
{{Main|Death 'n' roll}}
Death 'n' roll is a style that combines death metal's [[Death growl|growled vocals]] and highly [[Distortion|distorted]] [[Guitar tunings|detuned]] guitar riffs along with elements of 1970s [[hard rock]] and [[Heavy metal music|heavy metal]].<ref name="Entombed"/><ref name="Gorefest">{{cite web|first=Huey|last=Steve|title=Gorefest Biography|url={{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p39113/biography|pure_url=yes}}|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=February 15, 2008|quote=Erase, was released in 1994 and found the band moving subtly toward more traditional forms of metal, partly through its sure sense of groove. That approach crystallized on 1996's Soul Survivor, which combined death metal with the elegant power and accessibility of '70s British metal.}}</ref> Notable examples include [[Entombed (band)|Entombed]],<ref name="Entombed"/> [[Gorefest]],<ref name="Gorefest"/> and [[Six Feet Under (band)|Six Feet Under]].
Technical death metal and progressive death metal are related terms that refer to bands distinguished by the complexity of their music. Common traits are dynamic song structures, uncommon time signatures, atypical rhythms and unusual harmonies and melodies. Bands described as technical death metal or progressive death metal usually fuse common death metal aesthetics with elements of [[progressive rock]], [[jazz]] or [[classical music]]. While the term technical death metal is sometimes used to describe bands that focus on speed and extremity as well as complexity, the line between progressive and technical death metal is thin. "Tech death" and "prog death", for short, are terms commonly applied to such bands as [[Cryptopsy]], <!-- PLEASE REFRAIN from name-dropping your favorite band; as we would all love to include our favorites, only a few examples are needed to benefit the article. -->[[Edge of Sanity]], [[Opeth]], [[Origin (band)|Origin]] and [[Sadist (band)|Sadist]]. [[Cynic (band)|Cynic]], [[Atheist (band)|Atheist]], [[Pestilence (band)|Pestilence]] and [[Gorguts]] are examples of bands noted for creating [[jazz]]-influenced death metal. [[Necrophagist]] and [[Spawn of Possession]] are known for a [[classical music]] influenced death metal style. Death metal pioneers [[Death (band)|Death]] also refined their style in a more progressive direction in their final years.


=== Brutal death metal ===
===Deathcore===
{{Main|Deathcore}}
{{main|Brutal death metal}}
With the rise in popularity of [[metalcore]], some of its traits have been combined with death metal. Bands such as [[Suicide Silence]], [[Carnifex (band)|Carnifex]] and [[Salt the Wound]] combine death metal with a variance of metalcore elements.<ref>{{cite web|last=Sharpe-Young|first=Garry|title=Salt the Wound|url=http://www.musicmight.com/artist/united+states/ohio/cleveland/salt+the+wound1|publisher=[[MusicMight]]|access-date=July 8, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121001083537/http://www.musicmight.com/artist/united+states/ohio/cleveland/salt+the+wound1|archive-date=October 1, 2012}}</ref> Characteristics of death metal, such as fast drumming (including [[blast beats]]), down-tuned guitars, [[tremolo picking]], [[death growl|growled vocals]], and [[screaming (music)|high-pitched shrieks]] are combined with the [[Break (music)#Metal and punk|breakdowns]] of metalcore. ''[[Decibel (magazine)|Decibel]]'' magazine stated that "one of [[Suffocation (band)|Suffocation]]'s trademarks, breakdowns, has spawned an entire metal subgenre: deathcore."<ref>{{cite journal|last=Lee|first=Cosmo|title=Suffocation reclaim their rightful place as kings of death metal|issue=59|quote=One of Suffocation's trademarks, breakdowns, has spawned an entire metal subgenre: deathcore|journal=[[Decibel (magazine)|Decibel]]|date=September 2009}}</ref>
Brutal death metal developed by combining death metal with aspects of [[grindcore]], and took death metal to greater extremes in terms of speed and aggression. Brutal death metal tends to be drum-heavy and rhythm oriented leaving little room for melody and harmony. Typically, guitar riffs make use of fast [[tremolo picking]], and heavy [[palm muting]] for a percussive effect. The drum lines are fast and [[blast beats]] are predominant. Brutal death metal vocalists employ low-pitched [[death grunts]] and the lyrics are often, but not always [[Graphic violence|gore]] related. Some bands occasionally alternate fast and aggressive parts with slower grooves and [[Break (music)#Metal and punk|breakdowns]]. Bands who focus more on these slower groovy parts and breakdowns are sometimes referred to as slam death metal.<ref>[http://www.rocknworld.com/thrashpit/reviews/07/Diskreet-ep.shtml Diskreet - Infernal Rise Review]</ref>


===Deathgrind, goregrind and pornogrind===
Certain bands in this genre, for example [[Nile (band)|Nile]] and [[Suffocation (band)|Suffocation]], have also been categorized as [[#Technical/Progressive death metal|technical death metal]]. There is a sizable overlap between the two genres, as some bands not only focus on speed and aggression but also incorporate technical and progressive elements. Brutal death metal is also associated with bands like [[Suffocation (band)|Suffocation]], [[Disgorge]] and [[Hate Eternal]]<!-- PLEASE REFRAIN from name-dropping your favorite band; as we would all love to include our favorites, only a few examples are needed to benefit the article. -->.
{{Main|Goregrind|Pornogrind}}
[[File:Aborted Coolness'tival 31107 06.jpg|thumb|right|[[Aborted]] are "key contributors to the [[Deathgrind|death-grind]] genres," according to [[AllMusic]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Rivadavia|first=Eduardo|title=Aborted Biography|url={{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p568178|pure_url=yes}}|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=June 10, 2009}}</ref>]]
Goregrind, deathgrind and pornogrind<ref>{{cite news|last=Brown|first=Jonathon|title=Everything you ever wanted to know about pop (but were too old to ask)|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/everything-you-ever-wanted-to-know-about-pop-but-were-too-old-to-ask-463915.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080614094343/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/everything-you-ever-wanted-to-know-about-pop-but-were-too-old-to-ask-463915.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 14, 2008|work=[[The Independent]]|access-date=June 16, 2009|location=London|date=September 6, 2007}}</ref>{{sfn|Purcell|2003|p=24}} are styles that mix [[grindcore]] with death metal, with goregrind focused on themes like [[Graphic violence|gore]] and [[forensic pathology]],<ref name=Terrorizer>Badin, Olivier (2009). "Goregrind". ''Terrorizer'', 181, p.41.</ref> and pornogrind dealing with sexual and [[porn]]ographic themes.<ref>{{cite news |author=Anderson, Vicki |title=Running the musical gauntlet |url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/lifestyle/166537 |newspaper=[[The Press]]|access-date=June 16, 2009}}</ref><ref name=washingtoncity>{{cite news |author=Hess, Amanda |title=Brick and Mordor: A record store heavy on the metal spins its last gloom and doom |url=http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/arts/article/13034822/brick-and-mordor |newspaper=[[Washington City Paper]]|access-date=June 16, 2009}}</ref> Some notable examples of these genres are [[Brujeria (band)|Brujeria]], [[Cattle Decapitation]],<ref>{{cite news|title=Pop and Rock Listings:The Locust, Cattle Decapitation, Daughters|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/13/arts/music/13pop.html|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=August 6, 2008|date=April 13, 2007}}</ref> [[Cephalic Carnage]], [[Pig Destroyer]],<ref>{{cite news|first=Bryan|last=Reed|title=The Daily Tar Heel Column|url=http://media.www.dailytarheel.com/media/storage/paper885/news/2007/07/19/Arts/phantom.Limb.Exorcises.Its.Emotions-2925041.shtml|work=[[The Daily Tar Heel]]|access-date=August 6, 2008|date=July 19, 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20081202153909/http://media.www.dailytarheel.com/media/storage/paper885/news/2007/07/19/Arts/phantom.Limb.Exorcises.Its.Emotions-2925041.shtml|archive-date=December 2, 2008}}</ref> [[Circle of Dead Children]], [[Rotten Sound]], [[Gut (band)|Gut]],<ref>{{cite web|last=Hess|first=Amanda|title=Brick and Mordor: A record store heavy on the metal spins its last gloom and doom|url=http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/display.php?id=34450|work=[[Washington City Paper]]|date=January 18, 2008|access-date=June 16, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080519084649/http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/display.php?id=34450|archive-date=May 19, 2008}}</ref> and [[Cock and Ball Torture (band)|Cock and Ball Torture]].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Mincemoyer|first=John|title=Gore International|journal=[[Terrorizer (magazine)|Terrorizer]]|year=2002|issue=98|pages=19–20}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Sharpe-Young|first=Garry|title=Deaden Biography|url=http://www.musicmight.com/artist/usa/deaden|publisher=[[MusicMight]]|access-date=July 17, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090925031003/http://www.musicmight.com/artist/usa/deaden|archive-date=September 25, 2009}}</ref>


=== Death/Doom ===
===Deathrash===
Deathrash, also known as death-thrash, is a shorthand term to describe bands who play a fusion of death metal and [[thrash metal]].<ref name=Deathrash>{{cite web|url=http://www.metalsucks.net/2012/01/03/album-of-the-day-deathchains-deathrash-assault/|title=ALBUM OF THE DAY: DEATHCHAIN'S DEATHRASH ASSAULT|date=January 3, 2012|publisher=Metal Sucks|last=FORD|first=LEYLA|access-date= August 30, 2018}}</ref>{{sfn|Ekeroth|2008|p={{page needed|date=June 2021}}}} The genre gained notoriety in [[Bali]], Indonesia, where it attracted criticism of being related to the accelerated tourism development on the island and the superseding of its local culture, particularly by [[Jakarta]]n one.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Baulch |first1=Emma |date=June 26, 2003 |title=Gesturing elsewhere: the identity politics of the Balinese death/thrash metal scene |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/popular-music/article/gesturing-elsewhere-the-identity-politics-of-the-balinese-deaththrash-metal-scene/445967636598FFB140ACA6DCE39892F8 |journal=Popular Music |volume=22 |issue=2 |pages=195–215 |doi=10.1017/S026114300300312X |s2cid=154198377 |access-date=August 30, 2018}}</ref> Notable bands include [[Grave (band)|Grave]],<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.decibelmagazine.com/2012/10/09/a-very-heavy-halloween-ii-into-the-darkness-into-the-grave/|title=A Very Heavy Halloween II: Into the Darkness, Into the Grave|date=October 9, 2012|magazine=Decibel Magazine|access-date= August 29, 2018}}</ref> [[Mortification (band)|Mortification]],<ref name="AMO">{{cite web | url = http://www.amo.org.au/artist.asp?id=332 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080810182831/http://www.amo.org.au/artist.asp?id=332 | title = Mortification | work = Australian Music Online (AMO) | publisher = [[Australia Council for the Arts]] ([[Government of Australia]]) | archive-date = August 10, 2008 | access-date =August 18, 2011 }}</ref> [[The Crown (band)|The Crown]],{{sfn|Ekeroth|2008|p={{page needed|date=June 2021}}}} Incapacity,{{sfn|Ekeroth|2008|p={{page needed|date=June 2021}}}} [[Darkane]],{{sfn|Ekeroth|2008|p={{page needed|date=June 2021}}}} [[Deathchain]],<ref name=Deathrash/> and [[Sepultura]].<ref name=aln97>{{cite AV media notes |title=Arise |title-link=Arise (Sepultura album) |others=[[Sepultura]] |year=1997 |first=Don |last=Kaye |page=10 |type=CD booklet |publisher=[[Roadrunner Records]] |location=[[New York City|New York]], [[New York (state)|NY]]}}</ref>
{{main|Death/doom}} <!-- PLEASE REFUSE from name-dropping your favorite band; as we would all love to include our favorites, only a few examples are needed to benefit the article. -->
Death/doom (also known as doom/death) is a style that combines the slow tempos and melancholic atmosphere of [[doom metal]] with the deep [[death growl|growling vocals]] and double-kick drumming of death metal.<ref name="Doom Metal Special:Doom/Death Terrorizer #142">'Doom Metal Special:Doom/Death' ''Terrorizer #142''</ref> The style emerged during the late 1980s and gained a certain amount of popularity during the 1990s.<ref name="Doom Metal Special:Doom/Death Terrorizer #142">'Doom Metal Special:Doom/Death' ''Terrorizer #142''</ref> It was pioneered by bands such as [[Autopsy (band)|Autopsy]], [[Winter (band)|Winter]],<ref name = "Death Metal Music">{{cite book | last = Purcell | first = Nathalie J. | title = Death Metal Music: The Passion and Politics of a Subculture | publisher = McFarland & Company | date = 2003 | pages = 23 | url = http://books.google.com/books?id=6ZErQs5hCUQC | accessyear = 2008 | accessmonth = April | isbn = 0786415851 }}</ref> [[Asphyx]],<ref name="Death Metal Music"/> [[Disembowelment (band)|Disembowelment]],<ref name="Death Metal Music"/> [[Paradise Lost (band)|Paradise Lost]],<ref name="Death Metal Music"/> and [[My Dying Bride]].<ref name="Death Metal Music"/> Death doom subsequently gave rise to the [[gothic metal]] genre.


===Industrial death metal===
[[Image:Metalmania 2007 - Zyklon 10.jpg|200px|thumb|right|[[Zyklon (band)|Zyklon]] are popular contributors to the blackened death metal subgenre]]
Industrial death metal is a genre of death metal that adds elements of [[industrial music]].<ref name=Kerrang>{{cite magazine|last=Arnopp|first=Jason|year=1993|title=Industrial Metal: A User's Guide|magazine=[[Kerrang!]]|pages=44|number=462}}</ref> Some notable bands include [[Fear Factory]],<ref name="AM FF">{{Cite web |url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/fear-factory-mn0000167320/biography |title=Fear Factory — Biography |last=Huey |first=Steve |website=AllMusic |publisher=All Media Network |access-date=September 15, 2017}}</ref> [[Anaal Nathrakh]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.metalinjection.net/upcoming-releases/anaal-nathrakh-announces-new-album-a-new-kind-of-horror|title=ANAAL NATHRAKH Announces New Album A New Kind Of Horror|date=May 21, 2018}}</ref><ref name="allmusic.com">{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/hell-is-empty-and-all-the-devils-are-here-mw0000582701|title=Hell Is Empty, and All the Devils Are Here - Anaal Nathrakh - Songs, Reviews, Credits - AllMusic|website=AllMusic}}</ref> [[Autokrator (metal band)|Autokrator]],<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.nocleansinging.com/2015/04/16/autokrator-a-get-to-the-point-interview-and-a-review| title=Autokrator, a get to the point interview and a review| publisher=No Clean Singing| year=2015| access-date=April 16, 2015}}</ref> and [[Meathook Seed]].<ref name=Kerrang/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=16769|title=It's Official: CANNIBAL CORPSE Are The Top-Selling Death Metal Band Of The SoundScan Era|date=November 17, 2003|publisher=BLABBERMOUTH.NET|access-date=September 13, 2017|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080602230201/http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=16769|archive-date=June 2, 2008}}</ref>


=== Blackened death metal ===
===Melodic death metal===
{{main|Blackened death metal}}
{{Main|Melodic death metal}}
[[File:At the Gates Sweden Rock 2008.jpg|thumb|220px|right|Melodic death metal band [[At the Gates]] performing in 2008.]]
Blackened death metal is a subgenre of death metal fused with the more fluid and melodic elements of [[black metal]]. These bands also tend to adopt some of the thematic characteristics of that genre as well: evil, [[Satanism]], and occultism are all common topics and images. Early influences for blackened death metal include death metal bands such as [[Deicide (band)|Deicide]], [[Acheron (band)|Acheron]], and [[Immolation (band)|Immolation]]. Some examples of this subgenre include [[Akercocke]], [[Belphegor (band)|Belphegor]], [[Angelcorpse]], [[Zyklon (band)|Zyklon]], and [[Sacramentum (band)|Sacramentum]].
[[Swedish death metal]] could be considered the forerunner of "melodic death metal." Melodic death metal, occasionally shortened to "melodeath", is a fusion of [[heavy metal music|heavy metal]] with elements of death metal. The subgenre is heavily influenced by the [[new wave of British heavy metal]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.liveabout.com/what-is-melodic-death-metal-1756186|title = What is Melodic Death Metal?|url-status=unfit}}</ref> Unlike most other death metal, melodeath usually features screams instead of growls, slower tempos, and much stronger emphasis on melody. Clean vocals may be used on occasion. [[Carcass (band)|Carcass]] is sometimes credited with releasing the first melodic death metal album with 1993's ''[[Heartwork]]'', although Swedish bands [[In Flames]], [[Dark Tranquillity]], and [[At the Gates]] are usually mentioned as the main pioneers of the genre and of the [[Melodic death metal#Background|Gothenburg metal]] sound.


=== Deathgrind ===
===Old school death metal===
Old school death metal is a style of death metal characterized by its slower and simpler song structures, less focused on the technical aspects of its composition and employing less usage of blast beats.{{sfn|Purcell|2003|p=23}} It gained notoriety in the late 1990s, with bands like [[Repugnant]],<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.stim.se/sv/nyheter/tobias-forge-far-stims-platinagitarr-2019 |title=Tobias Forge får Stims Platinagitarr 2019 |magazine=[[STIM]] |language=Swedish |date=14 November 2019 |access-date=27 April 2020}}</ref>{{sfn|Ekeroth|2008|p={{page needed|date=June 2021}}}} [[Thanatos (band)|Thanatos]],<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.decibelmagazine.com/2019/04/04/interview-thanatos/ | title=Interview: Old-School Dutch Death Metallers Thanatos at 35 Years, with New Compilation, New Label, and New Album in 2020 | work=[[Decibel Magazine]] | date=April 4, 2019 | access-date=May 1, 2021 | last=Lewis | first=James}}</ref> [[Necrophagia]],{{sfn|Purcell|2003|p=23}} [[Abscess (band)|Abscess]],{{sfn|Purcell|2003|p=23}} [[Bloodbath]]{{sfn|Purcell|2003|p=23}} and [[Mortem]].{{sfn|Purcell|2003|p=23}}
Deathgrind mixes the intensity, speed, and brevity of [[grindcore]] with the complexity of death metal. It differs from death metal in that [[guitar solo]]s are often a rarity, [[Screaming (music)|shrieked vocals]] are more prominent as the main vocal style (though death growls are still utilized and some deathgrind bands make more use of the latter vocal style), and songs are generally shorter in length, usually between one and three minutes. The style differs from grindcore in the more technical approach and less evident [[hardcore punk]] influence and aesthetics. Some notable examples of deathgrind are [[Brujeria (band)|Brujeria]] and [[Cattle Decapitation]],<ref>"The Locust, Cattle Decapitation, Daughters", Pop and Rock Listings, ''The New York Times'', April 13, 2007. [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/13/arts/music/13pop.html?pagewanted=3] Access date: August 6, 2008.</ref> [[Cephalic Carnage]], [[Soilent Green]], [[Pig Destroyer]],<ref>Bryan Reed, ''The Daily Tar Heel'', July 19, 2007. [http://media.www.dailytarheel.com/media/storage/paper885/news/2007/07/19/Arts/phantom.Limb.Exorcises.Its.Emotions-2925041.shtml] Access date: August 6, 2008.</ref> [[Circle of Dead Children]] and [[Rotten Sound]].


=== Deathcore ===
===Symphonic death metal===
Symphonic death metal is a genre of death metal that adds elements of [[classical music]]. Bands described as symphonic death metal include [[Fleshgod Apocalypse]],<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.metalinjection.net/reviews/album-review-fleshgod-apocalypse-king|title=Album Review: FLESHGOD APOCALYPSEKing - Metal Injection|date=February 5, 2016|newspaper=Metal Injection|access-date=January 22, 2017}}</ref> [[Septicflesh]],<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://teamrock.com/feature/2016-09-27/10-of-the-best-metal-bands-from-greece|title=10 of the best metal bands from Greece|date=September 27, 2016|newspaper=Metal Hammer|access-date=January 22, 2017}}</ref> [[Necronomicon (band)|Necronomicon]],<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.metalinjection.net/show-recap/marduk-couldnt-make-it-but-rotting-christ-carach-angren-and-necronomicon-put-on-quite-the-show|title=Marduk Couldn't Make It, But Rotting Christ, Carach Angren and Necronomicon Put On Quite The Show - Metal Injection|date=September 8, 2016|newspaper=Metal Injection|access-date=January 22, 2017}}</ref> and [[Children of Bodom]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.ocweekly.com/music/children-of-bodom-prepare-for-a-night-of-shredding-at-obser characterizedvatory-7723345|title=Children of Bodom Prepare For a Night of Shredding at Observatory|last=Distefano|first=Alex|date=December 5, 2016|newspaper=OC Weekly|access-date=January 22, 2017}}</ref> [[Haggard (band)|Haggard]]'s 2000 album, ''[[Awaking the Centuries]]'', has been described as death metal-styled symphonic metal.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://teamrock.com/feature/2016-11-02/the-10-essential-symphonic-metal-albums|title=The 10 Essential Symphonic Metal Albums|date=November 2, 2016|newspaper=Metal Hammer|access-date=January 22, 2017}}</ref>
{{main|Deathcore}}
With the rise in popularity of melodic metalcore, some of its traits have been incorporated into death metal. Bands like [[Job for a Cowboy]] (on their first EP ''[[Doom (Job for a Cowboy album)|Doom]]'') and [[Suicide Silence]] combine melodic metalcore with death metal influences. Death metal characteristics, such as fast drumming (including [[blast beats]]), down-tuned guitars, [[tremolo picking]] and partially [[death growl|growled vocals]], are combined with [[melodic]] riffs and [[Break (music)#Metal and Punk|breakdowns]]. In the case of some groups such as [[Despised Icon]] and [[Bring Me the Horizon]], lyrical themes are less focused on gore and violence, and more on personal issues.


===Technical death metal===
=== Other fusion subgenres ===
{{Main|Technical death metal}}
There are other heavy metal music subgenres that have come from fusions between death metal and other non-metal genres, such as the fusion of death metal and [[jazz]]. [[Atheist (band)|Atheist]] and [[Cynic (band)|Cynic]] are two examples. The former of went as far as to include [[jazz]]-style drum solos on albums, and the latter incorporated elements of [[jazz fusion]]. [[Nile (band)|Nile]] have also incorporated [[Egyptian music]] and Middle Eastern themes into their work, while [[Alchemist (band)|Alchemist]] have incorporated [[psychedelic rock|psychedelia]] along with [[Aboriginal music]]. Some groups, such as [[Nightfall (band)|Nightfall]] and [[Eternal Tears of Sorrow]], have incorporated [[Keyboard instrument|keyboards]] and [[symphonic metal|symphonic]] elements, creating a [[fusion genre|fusion]] of symphonic metal and death metal, sometimes referred to as symphonic death metal. [[Industrial metal]] has also been fused with death metal on [[Fear Factory]]'s early albums.
[[File:Nile in performance (São Paulo, 2010).jpg|thumb|right|200px|Technical death metal band [[Nile (band)|Nile]] performing in 2010.]]
Technical death metal (also known as tech-death, progressive death metal, or prog-death)<ref name="techprog1">{{cite web |author=Simms, Kelley |title=''Obscura Interview'' |url=http://heavymetal.about.com/od/interviews/a/Obscura-Interview.htm |publisher=[[About.com]] |access-date=June 20, 2012 |url-status=unfit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131105063047/http://heavymetal.about.com/od/interviews/a/Obscura-Interview.htm |archive-date=November 5, 2013 }}</ref> is a subgenre of death metal that employs dynamic song structures, uncommon time signatures, atypical rhythms and unusual harmonies and melodies. Bands described as technical death metal or progressive death metal usually fuse common death metal aesthetics with elements of [[progressive rock]], [[jazz]] or [[classical music]]. While the term technical death metal is sometimes used to describe bands that focus on speed and extremity as well as complexity, the line between progressive and technical death metal is thin. ''Tech death'' and ''prog death'', for short, are terms commonly applied to such bands as [[Nile (band)|Nile]], [[Edge of Sanity]], and [[Opeth]]. [[Necrophagist]] and [[Spawn of Possession]] are known for a classical music-influenced death metal style. Death metal pioneers [[Death (metal band)|Death]] also refined their style in a more progressive direction in their final years. Some albums for this subgenre are ''[[Hallucinations (Atrocity album)|Hallucinations]]'' (1990) by the German band [[Atrocity (band)|Atrocity]] and Death's ''[[Human (Death album)|Human]]'' (1991). This style has significantly influenced many bands, creating a stream that in Europe was carried out at first by bands such as [[Gory Blister]] and Electrocution.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Sub Terra|last=Vitolo|first=Eduardo|publisher=Tsunami Edizioni|year=2012|isbn=978-88-96131-41-1|location=Milano|pages=316–319}}</ref> The Polish band [[Decapitated (band)|Decapitated]] gained recognition as one of Europe's primary modern technical death metal acts.<ref>{{cite web|first=Eduardo|last=Rivadavia|title=Decapitated Biography|url={{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p420031|pure_url=yes}}|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=February 7, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Decapitated's New Lineup Performs Live For First Time|url=http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=134476|work=[[Blabbermouth.net]]|date=February 3, 2010|access-date=February 7, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110426050603/http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=134476|archive-date=April 26, 2011}}</ref>


==See also==
==See also==
*[[List of death metal bands]]
{{commons|Category:Death metal music groups|Death metal}}
* [[List of death metal bands]]
* [[Death growl]]
* [[Blast beat]]
* [[Extreme metal]]


==References==
==References==
{{Reflist|2}}
{{Reflist}}


==Literature==
==Bibliography==
* {{Cite book |last=Christe |first=Ian |author-link=Ian Christe |year=2003 |title=Sound of the Beast: The Complete Headbanging History of Heavy Metal |title-link=Sound of the Beast: The Complete Headbanging History of Heavy Metal |publisher=[[HarperCollins]] |isbn=978-0-380-81127-4}}
* [[Albert Mudrian]], ''[[Choosing Death|Choosing Death: The Improbable History of Death Metal & Grindcore]]'' ([http://www.feralhouse.com/ Feral House]) ISBN 978-1-932595-04-8
* {{Cite book |last=Ekeroth |first=Daniel |year=2008 |title=Swedish Death Metal |publisher=[[Bazillion Points]] |isbn=978-0-9796163-1-0}}
* Kahn-Harris, Keith 'Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge' Berg, http://soulremnants.com, ISBN 1-8452-0399-2
* {{Cite book |last=Kahn-Harris |first=Keith |author-link=Keith Kahn-Harris |year=2007 |title=Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge |publisher=[[Berg Publishers]] |isbn=978-1-84520-399-3}}
* Purcell, Natalie J. 'Death Metal Music: The Passion and Politics of a Subculture' McFarland & Company, ISBN 0786415851
* {{Cite book |last=McIver |first=Joel |author-link=Joel McIver |year=2000 |title=Extreme Metal |url=https://archive.org/details/extrememetal00mciv |url-access=registration |publisher=[[Omnibus Press]] |isbn=978-88-7333-005-9}}
* Christe, Ian. Sound of the Beast: the Complete Headbanging History of Heavy Metal. New York, NY: Harper Collins, 2004.
* {{Cite book |last=Mudrian |first=Albert |year=2004 |title=Choosing Death: The Improbable History of Death Metal & Grindcore |title-link=Choosing Death: The Improbable History of Death Metal & Grindcore |publisher=[[Feral House]] |isbn=978-1-932595-04-8}}
* Harrell, Jack. "The Poetics of Destruction: Death Metal Rock." ''Popular Music and Society''. Spring 1995. Republished, April, 1996 in the Social Issues Resources Series (SIRS) database.
* {{Cite book |last=Netherton |first=Jason |year=2014 |title=Extremity Retained: Notes From the Death Metal Underground |publisher=Handshake, Inc. |isbn=978-1-631734-74-8}}
* {{Cite book |last=Purcell |first=Natalie J. |year=2003 |title=Death Metal Music: The Passion and Politics of a Subculture |publisher=[[McFarland & Company]] |isbn=978-0-7864-1585-4}}
* {{Cite book |last=Swinford |first=Dean |year=2013 |title=Death Metal Epic (Book I: The Inverted Katabasis) |publisher=Atlatl Press |isbn=978-0-9883484-3-1}}


==External links==
{{heavymetal}}
{{death metal}}
*{{Commons category-inline|Death metal}}
{{extreme metal}}


{{Extreme metal}}{{Hardcore punk}}{{Heavy metal music}}
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{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Heavy metal subgenres]]


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Latest revision as of 19:17, 7 December 2024

Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep growling vocals; aggressive, powerful drumming, featuring double kick and blast beat techniques; minor keys or atonality; abrupt tempo, key, and time signature changes; and chromatic chord progressions.[3] The lyrical themes of death metal may include slasher film-style violence,[4] political conflict, religion, nature, philosophy, true crime and science fiction.[5][1][6]

Building from the musical structure of thrash metal and early black metal, death metal emerged during the mid-1980s.[7] Bands such as Venom, Celtic Frost, Slayer, and Kreator were important influences on the genre's creation.[8][9][10] Possessed,[11] Death,[12] Necrophagia,[13] Obituary,[14] Autopsy,[15] and Morbid Angel[16] are often considered pioneers of the genre.[3] In the late 1980s and early 1990s, death metal gained more media attention as a popular genre. Niche record labels like Combat, Earache, and Roadrunner began to sign death metal bands at a rapid rate.[17]

Since then, death metal has diversified, spawning several subgenres. Melodic death metal combines death metal elements with those of the new wave of British heavy metal. Technical death metal is a complex style, with uncommon time signatures, atypical rhythms, and unusual harmonies and melodies. Death-doom combines the deep growled vocals and double-kick drumming of death metal with the slow tempos and melancholic atmosphere of doom metal. Deathgrind, goregrind, and pornogrind mix the complexity of death metal with the intensity, speed, and brevity of grindcore. Deathcore combines death metal with metalcore traits. Death 'n' roll combines death metal's growled vocals and highly distorted, detuned guitar riffs with elements of 1970s hard rock and heavy metal.[18]

History

[edit]

Emergence and early history

[edit]
Pioneering death metal band Death in 1989

English extreme metal band Venom, from Newcastle, crystallized the elements of what later became known as thrash metal, death metal and black metal, with their first two albums Welcome to Hell[19] and Black Metal,[20] released in late 1981 and 1982, respectively. Their dark, blistering sound, harsh vocals, and macabre, proudly Satanic imagery proved a major inspiration for extreme metal bands.[21] Another highly influential band, Slayer, formed in 1981. Although the band was a thrash metal act, Slayer's music was more violent than their thrash contemporaries Metallica, Megadeth, and Anthrax.[22] Their breakneck speed and instrumental prowess combined with lyrics about death, violence, war, and Satanism won Slayer a cult following.[23] According to Mike McPadden, Hell Awaits, Slayer's second album, "largely invent[ed] much of the sound and fury that would evolve into death metal."[24] According to AllMusic, their third album Reign in Blood inspired the entire death metal genre.[25] It had a big impact on genre leaders such as Death, Obituary, and Morbid Angel.[22]

Jeff Becerra of Possessed[26]

Possessed, a band that formed in the San Francisco Bay Area during 1983, is described by AllMusic as "connecting the dots" between thrash metal and death metal with their 1985 debut album, Seven Churches.[27] While attributed as having a Slayer influence,[28] current and former members of the band had actually cited Venom and Motörhead, as well as early work by Exodus, as the main influences on their sound. Although the group had released only two studio albums and an EP in their formative years, they have been described by music journalists and musicians as either being "monumental" in developing the death metal style,[29] or as being the first death metal band.[30][31][32] Earache Records noted that "the likes of Trey Azagthoth and Morbid Angel based what they were doing in their formative years on the Possessed blueprint laid down on the legendary Seven Churches recording. Possessed arguably did more to further the cause of 'Death Metal' than any of the early acts on the scene back in the mid-late 80's."[33]

Chuck Schuldiner (1967–2001) of Death, during a 1992 tour in Scotland in support of the album Human.

During the same period as the dawn of Possessed, a second influential metal band was formed in Orlando, Florida. Originally called Mantas, Death was formed in 1983 by Chuck Schuldiner, Kam Lee, and Rick Rozz. Inspired by the Brandon, Florida act Nasty Savage, they took the sound of Nasty Savage and deepened it.[34] In 1984, they released their first demo entitled Death by Metal, followed by several more. The tapes circulated through the tape trader world, quickly establishing the band's name. With Death guitarist Schuldiner adopting vocal duties, the band made a major impact in the emerging Florida death metal scene. The fast minor-key riffs and solos were complemented with fast drumming, creating a style that would catch on in tape trading circles.[29] Schuldiner has been credited by AllMusic's Eduardo Rivadavia for being widely recognized as the "Father of Death Metal".[35] Death's 1987 debut release, Scream Bloody Gore, has been described by About.com's Chad Bowar as being the "evolution from thrash metal to death metal",[36] and "the first true death metal record" by the San Francisco Chronicle.[37] In an Interview Jeff Becerra talked about the discussions of being the creator of the genre, saying that Schuldiner cited Possessed as a massive influence, and Death were even called "Possessed clones" early on.[38] Along with Possessed and Death, other pioneers of death metal in the United States include Macabre, Master, Massacre, Immolation, Cannibal Corpse, Obituary, and Post Mortem.[39][40]

Growing popularity

[edit]

By 1989, many bands had been signed by eager record labels wanting to cash in on the subgenre, including Florida's Obituary, Morbid Angel and Deicide.[41] This collective of death metal bands hailing from Florida are often labeled as "Florida death metal". Morbid Angel pushed the genre's limits both musically and lyrically, with the release of their debut album Altars of Madness in 1989.[42][43] The album "redefined what it meant to be heavy while influencing an upcoming class of brutal death metal."[44]

Following the original death metal innovators, new subgenres began to develop the end of the decade, such as melodic death metal. Death released their fourth album Human in 1991, which has become a hallmark in technical death metal. Death's founder Schuldiner helped push the boundaries of the genre with uncompromising speed and technical virtuosity, combining intricate rhythm guitar work with complex arrangements and emotive guitar solos.[45]

Earache Records, Relativity Records and Roadrunner Records became the genre's most important labels,[46] with Earache releasing albums by Carcass, Napalm Death, Morbid Angel, and Entombed, and Roadrunner releasing albums by Obituary, and Pestilence. Although these labels had not been death metal labels, they initially became the genre's flagship labels at the beginning of the 1990s. In addition to these, other labels formed as well, such as Nuclear Blast, Century Media, and Peaceville. Many of these labels would go on to achieve successes in other genres of metal throughout the 1990s.

In September 1990, Death's manager Eric Greif held one of the first North American death metal festivals, Day of Death, in Milwaukee suburb Waukesha, Wisconsin, and featured 26 bands including Autopsy, Broken Hope, Hellwitch, Obliveon, Revenant, Viogression, Immolation, Atheist, and Cynic.[47]

Death metal band Jungle Rot

Later history

[edit]

Death metal's popularity achieved its initial peak during 1992–1993, with some bands such as Morbid Angel and Cannibal Corpse enjoying mild commercial success. However, the genre as a whole never broke into the mainstream. The genre's mounting popularity may have been partly responsible for a strong rivalry between Norwegian black metal and Swedish death metal scenes. Fenriz of Darkthrone has noted that Norwegian black metal musicians were "fed up with the whole death metal scene" at the time. Death metal diversified in the 1990s, spawning a rich variety of subgenres that still have a large "underground" following at the present.[48]

In the 2000s, a number of bands in the hardcore punk scene, including Black Breath and Trap Them began to incorporate elements of death metal into their sound.[49] This was followed by a wave of bands expanding upon the death-doom style of Incantation while incorporating elements of ambient music, including Dead Congregation and Necros Christos.[49]

In the 2010s, a movement of bands reviving the sound of original 1980s death metal emerged, termed the "New Wave of Old School Death Metal".[50] One of the earliest groups in this wave was Horrendous, who formed in 2009,[51] who along with Tomb Mold took a progressive take the genre.[49] Tomb Mold, Necrot, Undergang and Blood Incantation were some of the earliest bands to gain traction in the 2010s, with the COVID-19 pandemic amplifying the amount of attention drawn to the movement, through Cryptic Shift, Slimelord and Vaticinal Rites.[52] In a 2022 article by MetalSucks writer Christopher Krovatin stated "Right now, as a music journalist, all I hear about is death metal."[53] In the UK, this movement became the "New Wave of British Death Metal", fronted by Mortuary Spawn, Vacuous and Celestial Sanctuary, this name being coined by Tom Cronin, of Celestial Sanctuary, in order to separate these hardcore-indebted bands from the country's prior movements. The earliest bands in this wave were Cruciamentum and Grave Miasma.[54]

A large part of the New Wave of Old School Death Metal was death metal bands who originated from the hardcore scene, some of which merge elements of hardcore into their style. Xibalba and Fuming Mouth were two of the earliest groups, with the wave being solidified by Gatecreeper, 200 Stab Wounds, Creeping Death,[55] Sanguisugabogg and Kruelty.[56] Venom Prison came from this scene and gained particular attention for their confrontation of what Kerrang! called death metal's "misogyny problem", by instead writing "rape-revenge narrative[s]".[57] Their lead vocalist Larissa Stupar was described by the publication as "metal's most important - and uncompromising - voice".[58]

Characteristics

[edit]

Instrumentation

[edit]

The setup most frequently used within the death metal genre is two guitarists, a bass player, a vocalist, and a drummer often using "hyper double-bass blast beats".[59][60] Although this is the standard setup, bands have been known to occasionally incorporate other instruments such as electronic keyboards.[61]

Guitarist Jack Owen has performed with death metal bands Cannibal Corpse, Deicide and Six Feet Under.
Deicide drummer Steve Asheim

Vocals and lyrics

[edit]
Cannibal Corpse vocalist George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher

Death metal vocals are referred to as death growls; which are coarse roars/snarls. Death growling is mistakenly thought to be a form of screaming using the lowest vocal register known as vocal fry, however vocal fry is actually a form of overtone screaming, and while growling can be performed this way by experienced vocalists who use the fry screaming technique, "true" death growling is in fact created by an altogether different technique.[62] Growling has been called Cookie Monster vocals, tongue-in-cheek, due to the vocal similarity to the voice of the popular Sesame Street character of the same name.[63] Although often criticized, death growls serve the aesthetic purpose of matching death metal's aggressive lyrical content.[64]

Suffocation vocalist Frank Mullen

The lyrical themes of death metal may invoke slasher film-stylised violence,[4] but may also extend to topics like religion (sometimes including Satanism), occultism, Lovecraftian horror, nature, mysticism, mythology, theology, philosophy, science fiction, and politics.[5] Although violence may be explored in various other genres as well, death metal may elaborate on the details of extreme acts, including blood and gore, psychopathy, delirium, mutilation, mutation, dissection, exorcism, torture, rape, cannibalism, and necrophilia. Sociologist Keith Kahn-Harris commented this apparent glamorisation of violence may be attributed to a "fascination" with the human body that all people share to some degree, a fascination that mixes desire and disgust.[20] Heavy metal author Gavin Baddeley also stated there does seem to be a connection between "how acquainted one is with their own mortality" and "how much they crave images of death and violence" via the media.[65] Additionally, contributing artists to the genre often defend death metal as little more than an extreme form of art and entertainment, similar to horror films in the motion picture industry.[7] This explanation has brought such musicians under fire from activists internationally, who claim that this is often lost on a large number of adolescents, who are left with the glamorisation of such violence without social context or awareness of why such imagery is stimulating.[7]

According to Alex Webster, bassist of Cannibal Corpse, "The gory lyrics are probably not, as much as people say, [what's keeping us] from being mainstream. Like, 'death metal would never go into the mainstream because the lyrics are too gory?' I think it's really the music, because violent entertainment is totally mainstream."[66]

Etymology

[edit]

The most popular theory of the subgenre's christening is Possessed's 1984 demo, Death Metal; the song from the eponymous demo would also be featured on the band's 1985 debut album, Seven Churches.[67] Possessed vocalist/bassist Jeff Becerra said he coined the term in early 1983 for a high school English class assignment.[68] Another possible origin was a magazine called Death Metal, started by Thomas Fischer and Martin Ain of Hellhammer and Celtic Frost. The name was later given to the 1984 compilation Death Metal released by Noise Records.[67] The term might also have originated from other recordings, such as the demo released by Death in 1984, called Death by Metal.[69]

Subgenres and fusion genres

[edit]

Cited examples are not necessarily exclusive to one particular style. Many bands can easily be placed in two or more of the following categories, and a band's specific categorization is often a source of contention due to personal opinion and interpretation. The musical genres in this list are sorted alphabetically.

Blackened death-doom

[edit]

Blackened death-doom is a microgenre that combines the slow tempos and monolithic drumming of doom metal, the complex and loud riffage of death metal and the shrieking vocals of black metal.[70] Examples of blackened death-doom bands include Morast,[70] Faustcoven,[70] The Ruins of Beverast,[70] Bölzer,[70] Necros Christos,[70] Harvest Gulgaltha,[71] Dragged into Sunlight,[72] Hands of Thieves,[73] and Soulburn.[74][75]

Blackened death metal

[edit]
Blackened death metal band Goatwhore.

Blackened death metal is commonly death metal that incorporates musical, lyrical or ideological elements of black metal, such as an increased use of tremolo picking, anti-Christian or Satanic lyrical themes and chord progressions similar to those used in black metal.[76][77][78] Blackened death metal bands are also more likely to wear corpse paint and suits of armour, than bands from other styles of death metal.[79] Lower range guitar tunings, death growls and abrupt tempo changes are common in the genre.[80] Examples of blackened death metal bands are Belphegor,[81] Behemoth,[82] Akercocke,[83] and Sacramentum.[84]

Melodic black-death

[edit]

Melodic black-death[85] (also known as blackened melodic death metal or melodic blackened death metal)[86] is a genre of extreme metal that describes the style created when melodic death metal bands began being inspired by black metal and European romanticism. However, unlike most other black metal, this take on the genre would incorporate an increased sense of melody and narrative.[86] Some bands who have played this style include Dissection,[86][85][87] Sacramentum,[86][85] Naglfar,[86] God Dethroned,[88] Dawn,[86] Unanimated,[86] Thulcandra,[85][86] Skeletonwitch[89] and Cardinal Sin.[85]

War metal

[edit]

War metal[90][91][92] (also known as war black metal[91] or bestial black metal)[92] is an aggressive,[91] cacophonous[90] and chaotic[90][91] subgenre of blackened death metal,[93] described by Rock Hard journalist Wolf-Rüdiger Mühlmann as "rabid"[91] and "hammering".[91] Important influences include first wave black metal band Sodom,[90][91] first wave black metal/death metal band Possessed[91] as well as old grindcore, black and death metal bands like Repulsion,[90][91] Autopsy,[91] Sarcófago[90][91][92][94] and the first two Sepultura releases.[91][94] War metal bands include Blasphemy,[90][91][94] Archgoat,[91] Impiety,[91] In Battle,[95] Beherit, Crimson Thorn,[96] Bestial Warlust,[97] and Zyklon-B.[98]

Brutal death metal

[edit]

Brutal death metal is a subgenre of death metal that privileges heaviness, speed, and complex rhythms over other aspects, such as melody and timbres.[6][99] Brutal death metal bands employ high-speed, palm-muted power chording and single-note riffage.[99] Notable bands include Cannibal Corpse,[100][101] Dying Fetus,[99] Suffocation,[102] Cryptopsy,[103] and Skinless.[104][105]

Slam death metal

[edit]

Slam death metal is a brutal death metal microgenre that evolved from the 1990s New York death metal scene, incorporating elements of hardcore punk.[6][106] In contrast to other death metal styles, it is not generally focused on guitar solos and blast beats; instead, it employs mid-tempo rhythms, breakdowns, and palm-muted riffing, as well as hip hop-inspired vocal and drum beat rhythms.[106] The breakdown riff of Suffocation's "Liege of Inveracity" has been credited by Rolling Stone as the first slam riff in death metal.[107] The first wave of bands in the genre were New York bands like Internal Bleeding and Pyrexia,[108][109] with notable subsequent acts including Devourment[110] and Cephalotripsy.[111]

Death-doom

[edit]
My Dying Bride at Frozen Rock Fest. 2007.

Death-doom is a style that combines the slow tempos and pessimistic atmosphere of doom metal with the deep growling vocals and double-kick drumming of death metal.[112] Influenced mostly by the early work of Hellhammer and Celtic Frost, the style emerged during the late 1980s and gained a certain amount of popularity during the 1990s.[112] Death-doom was also pioneered by bands such as Winter,[113] Disembowelment,[113] Paradise Lost,[113] Autopsy, Anathema, and My Dying Bride.[113]

Funeral doom

[edit]

Funeral doom is a genre that crosses death-doom with funeral dirge music.[114] It is played at a very slow tempo, and places an emphasis on evoking a sense of emptiness and despair.[115] Typically, electric guitars are heavily distorted and dark ambient aspects such as keyboards or synthesizers are often used to create a dreamlike atmosphere.[116] Vocals consist of mournful chants or growls and are often in the background.[116] Funeral doom was pioneered by Mournful Congregation (Australia), Esoteric (United Kingdom), Evoken (United States), Funeral (Norway), Thergothon (Finland), and Skepticism (Finland).[117]

Death 'n' roll

[edit]

Death 'n' roll is a style that combines death metal's growled vocals and highly distorted detuned guitar riffs along with elements of 1970s hard rock and heavy metal.[18][118] Notable examples include Entombed,[18] Gorefest,[118] and Six Feet Under.

Deathcore

[edit]

With the rise in popularity of metalcore, some of its traits have been combined with death metal. Bands such as Suicide Silence, Carnifex and Salt the Wound combine death metal with a variance of metalcore elements.[119] Characteristics of death metal, such as fast drumming (including blast beats), down-tuned guitars, tremolo picking, growled vocals, and high-pitched shrieks are combined with the breakdowns of metalcore. Decibel magazine stated that "one of Suffocation's trademarks, breakdowns, has spawned an entire metal subgenre: deathcore."[120]

Deathgrind, goregrind and pornogrind

[edit]
Aborted are "key contributors to the death-grind genres," according to AllMusic.[121]

Goregrind, deathgrind and pornogrind[122][123] are styles that mix grindcore with death metal, with goregrind focused on themes like gore and forensic pathology,[124] and pornogrind dealing with sexual and pornographic themes.[125][126] Some notable examples of these genres are Brujeria, Cattle Decapitation,[127] Cephalic Carnage, Pig Destroyer,[128] Circle of Dead Children, Rotten Sound, Gut,[129] and Cock and Ball Torture.[130][131]

Deathrash

[edit]

Deathrash, also known as death-thrash, is a shorthand term to describe bands who play a fusion of death metal and thrash metal.[132][133] The genre gained notoriety in Bali, Indonesia, where it attracted criticism of being related to the accelerated tourism development on the island and the superseding of its local culture, particularly by Jakartan one.[134] Notable bands include Grave,[135] Mortification,[136] The Crown,[133] Incapacity,[133] Darkane,[133] Deathchain,[132] and Sepultura.[137]

Industrial death metal

[edit]

Industrial death metal is a genre of death metal that adds elements of industrial music.[138] Some notable bands include Fear Factory,[139] Anaal Nathrakh,[140][141] Autokrator,[142] and Meathook Seed.[138][143]

Melodic death metal

[edit]
Melodic death metal band At the Gates performing in 2008.

Swedish death metal could be considered the forerunner of "melodic death metal." Melodic death metal, occasionally shortened to "melodeath", is a fusion of heavy metal with elements of death metal. The subgenre is heavily influenced by the new wave of British heavy metal.[144] Unlike most other death metal, melodeath usually features screams instead of growls, slower tempos, and much stronger emphasis on melody. Clean vocals may be used on occasion. Carcass is sometimes credited with releasing the first melodic death metal album with 1993's Heartwork, although Swedish bands In Flames, Dark Tranquillity, and At the Gates are usually mentioned as the main pioneers of the genre and of the Gothenburg metal sound.

Old school death metal

[edit]

Old school death metal is a style of death metal characterized by its slower and simpler song structures, less focused on the technical aspects of its composition and employing less usage of blast beats.[113] It gained notoriety in the late 1990s, with bands like Repugnant,[145][133] Thanatos,[146] Necrophagia,[113] Abscess,[113] Bloodbath[113] and Mortem.[113]

Symphonic death metal

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Symphonic death metal is a genre of death metal that adds elements of classical music. Bands described as symphonic death metal include Fleshgod Apocalypse,[147] Septicflesh,[148] Necronomicon,[149] and Children of Bodom.[150] Haggard's 2000 album, Awaking the Centuries, has been described as death metal-styled symphonic metal.[151]

Technical death metal

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Technical death metal band Nile performing in 2010.

Technical death metal (also known as tech-death, progressive death metal, or prog-death)[152] is a subgenre of death metal that employs dynamic song structures, uncommon time signatures, atypical rhythms and unusual harmonies and melodies. Bands described as technical death metal or progressive death metal usually fuse common death metal aesthetics with elements of progressive rock, jazz or classical music. While the term technical death metal is sometimes used to describe bands that focus on speed and extremity as well as complexity, the line between progressive and technical death metal is thin. Tech death and prog death, for short, are terms commonly applied to such bands as Nile, Edge of Sanity, and Opeth. Necrophagist and Spawn of Possession are known for a classical music-influenced death metal style. Death metal pioneers Death also refined their style in a more progressive direction in their final years. Some albums for this subgenre are Hallucinations (1990) by the German band Atrocity and Death's Human (1991). This style has significantly influenced many bands, creating a stream that in Europe was carried out at first by bands such as Gory Blister and Electrocution.[153] The Polish band Decapitated gained recognition as one of Europe's primary modern technical death metal acts.[154][155]

See also

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References

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