Death Metal
Death Metal
Death Metal
Death metal
Death metal
Stylistic origins Cultural origins Thrash metal, [1] [] [2] first wave black metal, hardcore punk Mid 1980s, United States (particularly Florida)
Typical instruments Vocals, electric guitar, bass, drums Subgenres Melodic death metal, technical death metal Fusion genres Deathcore, blackened death metal, death/doom, deathgrind, death 'n' roll Regional scenes Florida, New York, Sweden, United Kingdom, Brazil, Netherlands, Japan, Poland Other topics Extreme metal, death growl, blast beat, list of death metal bands
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted guitars, tremolo picking, deep growling vocals, double kick and/or blast beat drumming, minor keys or atonality, and complex song structures with multiple tempo changes. Building from the musical structure of thrash metal and early black metal, death metal emerged during the mid-1980s.[] Metal bands such as Slayer,[3][4] Kreator,[5] Celtic Frost,[6] and Venom were very important influences to the crafting of the genre.[] Possessed[7] and Death,[8][9][10] along with bands such as Obituary, Carcass, Deicide, Cannibal Corpse and Morbid Angel are often considered pioneers of the genre.[11] In the late 1980s and early 1990s, death metal gained more media attention as popular genre niche record labels like Combat, Earache and Roadrunner began to sign death metal bands at a rapid rate.[12] Since then, death metal has diversified, spawning a variety of subgenres.[13]
History
Emergence and early history
English heavy metal band Venom, from Newcastle, crystallized the elements of what later became known as thrash metal, death metal and black metal, with their 1981 album Welcome to Hell.[14] Their dark, blistering sound, harsh vocals, and macabre, proudly Satanic imagery proved a major inspiration for extreme metal bands.[15] 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 Exodus.[16] Their breakneck speed and instrumental prowess combined with lyrics about death, violence, war and Satanism won Slayer a rabid cult following.[17] According to Allmusic, Slayer's third album Reign in Blood "inspired the entire death metal genre".[18] It had a big impact on the genre leaders such as Death, Obituary and Morbid Angel.[16]
Death metal
2 Possessed, a band that formed in the San Francisco Bay Area during 1983, was attributed by Allmusic as "connecting the dots" between thrash metal and death metal with their 1985 debut album, Seven Churches.[21] While attributed as having a Slayer influence,[22] current and former members of the band had actually cited Venom and Motorhead, as well as early work by Exodus, as the main influences of their sound.[23][24] Although the group had released only 2 studio albums and an EP in their formative years, they have been described by both music journalists and musicians as either being "monumental" in developing the death metal style,[25] or as being the first death metal band.[26][27][28] 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."[29]
Jeff Becerra of Possessed, who coined the term "Death Metal" in 1983 on the band's 1984 demo of the same [19][20] name.
During the same period as the dawn of Possessed, a second influential metal band was formed in Florida: Death. Death, originally called Mantas, was formed during 1983 by Chuck Schuldiner, Kam Lee, and Rick Rozz. 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 on the scene. The fast minor-key riffs and solos were complemented with fast drumming, creating a style that would catch on in tape trading circles.[30][31] Schuldiner has been attributed by Allmusic's Eduardo Rivadavia as being "widely recognized as the Father of Death Metal".[32] 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",[33] and "the first true death metal record" by the San Francisco Chronicle.[34] Along with Possessed and Death, other pioneers of death metal in the United States include Autopsy, Necrophagia, Master, Morbid Angel, Massacre, Atheist, Post Mortem,[35][36][37] Obituary and Deicide.
Chuck Schuldiner (19672001) of Death, during a 1992 tour in Scotland in support of the album Human.
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.[38] This collective of death metal bands hailing from Florida are often labeled as "Florida death metal". Death metal spread to Sweden in the late 1980s, flourishing with pioneers such as Carnage, God Macabre, Entombed, Dismember and Unleashed. In the early 1990s, the rise of typically melodic "Gothenburg metal" was recognized, with bands such as Dark Tranquillity, At the Gates, and In Flames.
Death metal
3
Death Metal Music sample of Possessed's "Death Metal" from the album Seven Churches (1985).
Blessed Are the Sick Music sample of Morbid Angel's "Blessed Are the Sick" from the live album Entangled in Chaos (1996).
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 1990s Harmony Corruption. This album displays aggressive and fairly technical guitar riffing, complex rhythmics, a sophisticated growling vocal delivery by Mark "Barney" Greenway, and socially aware lyrical subjects, leading to a merging with the "grindcore" subgenre. Other bands contributing significantly to this early movement include Britain's Bolt Thrower and Carcass, and New York's Suffocation. To close the circle, Death released their fourth 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.[39] Other examples are Carcass's Necroticism Descanting the Insalubrious, Suffocation's Effigy of the Forgotten and Entombed's Clandestine from 1991. At this point, all the above characteristics are present: abrupt tempo and count changes, on occasion extremely fast drumming, morbid lyrics and growling vocal delivery. Earache Records, Relativity Records and Roadrunner Records became the genre's most important labels,[40] 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, 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, 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.[41]
Later history
Death metal's popularity achieved its initial peak between the 199293 era, with some bands such as Morbid Angel, Cannibal Corpse and Obituary enjoying mild commercial successes. 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.[42] Death metal diversified in the 1990s, spawning a rich variety of subgenres which still have a large "underground" following at the present.
Death metal
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 double-bass blast beats".[43][44] Although this is the standard setup, bands have been known to occasionally incorporate other instruments such as electronic keyboards.[45] The genre is often identified by fast, highly distorted and down tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking. The percussion is usually aggressive, and powerful; exceedingly fast drum patterns frequently add to the complexity of the genre.[46] Death metal is known for its abrupt growled vocals, tempo, key, and time signature changes. Death metal may include chromatic chord progressions and a varied song structure, often shunning the standard verse-chorus arrangement. In some circumstances, the style will incorporate melodic riffs and harmonies for effect. This incorporation of melody and harmonious playing was even further used in the creation of melodic death metal. These compositions tend to emphasize an ongoing development of themes and motifs.
Death metal
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. Melodic death metal: Scandinavian death metal could be considered the forerunner of "melodic death metal". Melodic death metal, sometimes referred to as "melodeath", is traditional heavy metal mixed with some death metal elements. Unlike most other death metal, melodeath usually features screams instead of growls, slower tempos, much more melody and even clean vocals are heard at rare times. 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. Technical death metal: 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 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. The Polish band Decapitated gained recognition as one of Europe's primary modern technical death metal acts.[61][62] Death/doom: Death/doom is a style that combines the slow tempos and melancholic atmosphere of doom metal with the deep growling vocals and double-kick drumming of death metal.[63] The style emerged during the late 1980s and gained a certain amount of popularity during the 1990s.[63] It was pioneered by bands such as Autopsy, Winter,[] Asphyx,[] Disembowelment,[] Paradise Lost,[] and My Dying Bride.[] This style spawned the more extreme subgenre of funeral doom metal, which is even slower and more atmospheric.
Death metal Goregrind, deathgrind and pornogrind[][] are styles that mix the intensity, speed, and brevity of grindcore with the complexity of death metal. They differ from death metal in that guitar solos are often a rarity, 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 that keep with grindcore's tradition of short time lengths in songs. All three of these styles differs from grindcore in the more technical Aborted are "key contributors to the death-grind [] approach and less evident hardcore punk influence and aesthetics. genres," according to Allmusic. Some notable examples of deathgrind are Brujeria, Cattle Decapitation,[64] Cephalic Carnage, Pig Destroyer,[65] Circle of Dead Children, Rotten Sound, GUT[] and Cock and Ball Torture.[66][] Deathcore: With the rise in popularity of metalcore, some of its traits have been incorporated into death metal. Bands such as Suicide Silence, Carnifex and Salt the Wound combine death metal with a variance of metalcore influence.[][67] Characteristics of death metal, such as fast drumming (including blast beats), down-tuned guitars, tremolo picking and growled vocals, are combined with the screamed vocals, melodic riffs and breakdowns of metalcore.[68] Decibel magazine stated that "One of Suffocation's trademarks, breakdowns, has spawned an entire metal subgenre: deathcore."[] Death 'n' roll: is a style that combines death metal's growled vocals and highly distorted detuned guitar riffs along with elements of classic rock and roll and 1970s hard rock and heavy metal.[][] Notable examples include Entombed,[] Gorefest[] and Six Feet Under . Blackened death metal: is a style that combines death metal and black metal.[69][70] Examples of blackened death metal bands are Belphegor,[71] Behemoth,[72] Akercocke,[73] and Sacramentum.[74]
References
Notes
[3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] Joel McIver Extreme Metal, 2000, Omnibus Press pg.14 ISBN 88-7333-005-3 The greatest metal band for Mtv (http:/ / www. mtv. com/ bands/ m/ metal/ greatest_metal_bands/ 071406/ index7. jhtml) Joel McIver Extreme Metal, 2000, Omnibus Press pg.100 ISBN 88-7333-005-3 Joel McIver Extreme Metal, 2000, Omnibus Press pg.55 ISBN 88-7333-005-3 [ Rivadavia, E. Possessed: Biography, allmusic], (Retrieved August 13, 2008) [ allmusic ((( Death > Biography )))] Metal Rules Interview with Chuck Schuldiner (http:/ / www. metal-rules. com/ interviews/ chuck. htm)
[10] The Best Of NAMM 2008: Jimmy Page, Satriani Models Among The Highlights | News @ Ultimate-Guitar.Com (http:/ / www. ultimate-guitar. com/ news/ industry_news/ the_best_of_namm_2008_jimmy_page_satriani_models_among_the_highlights. html) [11] [ 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"
Death metal
[12] Is Metal Still Alive? (http:/ / www. emptywords. org/ Watt4-93ismetalstillalive. htm) WATT Magazine, Written by: Robert Heeg, Published: April 1993 [13] Silver Dragon Records (http:/ / www. silver-dragon-records. com/ death_metal. htm) "During the 1990s death metal diversified influencing many subgenres" [14] [ 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" [15] [ 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" [16] Into The Lungs of Hell (http:/ / www. emptywords. org/ MetalHammerItaly03-2000. htm) Metal Hammer magazine, Written by: Enrico de Paola, Translated by: Vincenzo Chioccarelli, Published: March 2000 "" [17] [ Slayer band page @ Allmusic] [21] [ Possessed Seven Churches review @ Allmusic] [22] [ Possessed band page @ Allmusic] [23] POSSESSED interview Jeff Becerra (http:/ / www. voicesfromthedarkside. de/ interviews/ possessed. htm) [24] POSSESSED interview Brian Montana (http:/ / www. voicesfromthedarkside. de/ interviews/ montana. htm) [29] Earache.com Jeff Becerra interview (http:/ / www. earache. com/ WickedWorld/ interview/ possessed/ possessed. html) [30] Death band page (http:/ / www. emptywords. org/ BAND. htm) [32] [ Death biography, allmusic] [33] About.com (http:/ / heavymetal. about. com/ od/ death/ p/ pro_death. htm) [34] Aldis, N. & Sherry, J. Heavy metal Thunder, 2006, San Francisco: Chronicle ISBN 0-8118-5353-5 [35] about.com (http:/ / heavymetal. about. com/ od/ interviews/ a/ postmortem. htm): "Post Mortem offered my first real exposure ever to death metal, arriving before standards like Deaths Scream Bloody Gore in 1987 and Autopsys Severed Survival in 1989" [36] Boston Herald (http:/ / www. bostonherald. com/ entertainment/ music/ general/ view. bg?articleid=1150494): "Boston isnt known as a death-metal hotbed, but if the city could claim one pioneer band in the genre, it was Post Mortem" [37] Boston Globe (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):"helped pioneer the underground subgenre of death metal" [39] Empty Words, where there are dozens of reviews along this line (http:/ / www. emptywords. org) [40] 'Death Metal Special: Dealers in Death' Terrorizer #151 [41] Biography, Official Atheist site (http:/ / www. officialatheist. com/ index. php?item=biography). Retrieved December 10, 2008 [42] Zebub, Bill (2007). Black Metal: A Documentary. [43] Purcell, N. Death Metal music: the passion and politics of a subculture (http:/ / books. google. ca/ books?id=AwJJR5vvlIsC& pg=PA9& dq=+ "double-bass"+ "blast beats"), at 9, McFarland, 2003 (Retrieved October 28, 2010) [44] Kahn-Harris, K. Extreme metal: music and culture on the edge (http:/ / books. google. ca/ books?id=9--qAVrfxukC& pg=PA32& dq="death+ metal"+ double+ bass+ blast+ beats& hl=en& ei=XuvJTNj3Lob4sAOW_IXkDQ& sa=X& oi=book_result& ct=result& resnum=3& ved=0CDsQ6AEwAg#v=onepage& q="death metal" double bass blast beats& f=false), at 32, Berg Publishers, 2007 (Retrieved October 28, 2010) [45] Marsicano, D. Melodic Death Metal (http:/ / heavymetal. about. com/ od/ heavymetal101/ p/ melodicdeathmetalprofile. htm), About.com (Retrieved October 27, 2010) [46] FretJam Guitar Lessons, "How to Play Death Metal Guitar" (http:/ / www. fretjam. com/ how-to-play-death-metal-guitar. html) [47] Interview with Samuel Deschaine, Death Metal Vocal Instructor 2011 [48] Melissa Cross, The Zen Of Screaming [49] . See further examples of this usage at [50] Sharpe-Young, Garry. Death Metal, ISBN 0-9582684-4-4 [51] Moynihan, Michael, and Dirik Sderlind (1998). Lords of Chaos (2nd ed.). Feral House. ISBN 0-922915-94-6, p. 27 [53] Wikihow: How to Appreciate Death Metal (http:/ / www. wikihow. com/ Appreciate-Death-Metal) [54] Khan-Harris, Keith. Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge. Oxford: Berg, 2006. ISBN 978-1-84520-399-3 [55] Baddeley, Gavin. Raising Hell!: The Book of Satan and Rock 'n' Roll [56] Alex Webster (Cannibal Corpse) interview (http:/ / www. waytooloud. com/ 2007/ 10/ 23/ cannibal-corpse-alex-webster-and-george-corpsegrinder-fisher/ ) [59] Hellhammer biography (http:/ / www. hellhammer. nl/ bio. html)"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" [60] THE DEATH OF DEATH (http:/ / www. emptywords. org/ Martelgang01-2002. htm) 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 1984." [63] 'Doom Metal Special:Doom/Death' Terrorizer #142 [64] "The Locust, Cattle Decapitation, Daughters" (http:/ / www. nytimes. com/ 2007/ 04/ 13/ arts/ music/ 13pop. html?pagewanted=3), Pop and Rock Listings, The New York Times, April 13, 2007. Access date: August 6, 2008.
Death metal
[65] 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. [66] Mincemoyer, John. "Gore International" (2002). Terrorizer No. 98, pp. 1920. [67] http:/ / www. absolutepunk. net/ showthread. php?t=407731 [68] lambgoat.com (http:/ / www. lambgoat. com/ albums/ view. aspx?id=2517)
Further reading Christe, Ian. Sound of the Beast: The Complete Headbanging History of Heavy Metal. (New York, NY. Harper Collins, 2003) ISBN 978-0-380-81127-4 Ekeroth, Daniel (2008). Swedish Death Metal. Bazillion Points Books. ISBN 978-0-9796163-1-0 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. Kahn-Harris, Keith 'Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge' Berg, http://soulremnants.com, ISBN 1-84520-399-2 Mudrian, Albert, Choosing Death: The Improbable History of Death Metal & Grindcore ( Feral House (http:// www.feralhouse.com/)) ISBN 978-1-932595-04-8 Purcell, Natalie J. 'Death Metal Music: The Passion and Politics of a Subculture' McFarland & Company, ISBN 0-7864-1585-1
External links
Media related to Death metal at Wikimedia Commons
License
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