What is Death Metal?
1.
A form of music that developed in the mid 1980's from thrash. Possessed recorded a song entitled "Death Metal" in 1984, which would appear on their debut album Seven Churches in 1985. Other bands such as Aggression, Death, Necrophagia, Nun Slaughter, Slaughter Lord and even Slayer contributed to the movement. What defined death metal was the fact that it was basically an exaggerated form of thrash--everything from the vocals (which transformed into a mix of growling, grunting and rasping) to the drumming was made harsher and heavier than before. The music itself became somewhat anti-rhythmic, and in some cases experimental (as seen with Darkthrone's Goatlord album, or the modern technicality of Necrophagist). The first bands to really modernize the movement included Autopsy, Cannibal Corpse, the virtually unkown Necrovore, Morbid Angel, Obituary, and Ripping Corpse, among others. Death metal could range from the blood and gore horror imagery of Cannibal Corpse, to the satanic overtones of Deicide, to the political statements carried by Dying Fetus. Some criticize death metal as they feel the musicians do nothing but randomly band their instruments. Nothing could be further from the truth--listen to Morbid Angel's album Covenant, for instance, or Cannibal Corpse's Gore Obsessed, to get a better perspective on the scene.
Older Sepultura is a mix of death metal and thrash metal, commonly referred to as death thrash.
2.
Grinding dark, brutal sounding music that shatters windows and makes ears bleed. This music has very fast solos, insane drumming, demonic vocals, and heartpounding bass.
Death Metal is my favorite type of music.
3.
Death metal is a genre of music ambiguous in origin. But its classification can only be defined by two common characteristics; low growling often gutteral vocals and distorted guitars. The degrees of these may vary.
Many DM bands have adopted themes of depravity. Such as murder, rape, torture, necrophilia, and pathology. Ala Cannibal Corpse, Disgorge (USA), and Pustulated. Others experimented with alternate subjects such as existentialism, nihlism, war, fear, and alternate realities and universes. Ala Disavowed, Debodified, Cryptopsy, Wormed. And some have devoted thier themes to anti-christian, satanic,necronomicon, egyptian, sumarian or demonology. Ala Deicide, Morbid Angel, Nile, and Internal Suffering.
Besides variance in themes bands vary in style. There are many styles to DM but I will seperate them into the two easiest catagories; brutal and technical. Many technical DM bands tend to stray from the typical themes of depravity and often have views similar to (black metal) bands. But thier musicianship is rival to few. Some technical DM bands would be Deeds of Flesh, Lust of Decay, and Hate Eternal. While brutal DM bands concentrate less on technicality and more on sound. And thier sound is massive! thick, tight, and low. The vocalists push thier throats into new boundries with gutteral emmisions. The drummers play with triggered kick drums, ice bells, and piccolo snare drums tuned so high that every blast beat is magnified in clarity. The guitars are detuned often as far as B or A#. The riffs played are a mix between noisy blast beat grinds and palm muted chunky slamming breakdowns with loads of pinch harmonic squeals. Some brutal DM bands that adapt these qualities are Internal Bleeding, Goretrade, and Fleshgrind.
Phrasing is not the only distinction between the legions of death. Region also plays a key role. Florida is home to many of the forefathers ala Deicide, Morbid Angel, and Death. While New York has been home to many old and new Cannibal Corpse, Suffocation, and Internal Bleeding lit the tourch while bands such as Internal Suffering, Copremisis, and Malignancy now carry it. Mexico seems to love pathology (study of dieseases) ala Disgorge, Rottenness, Tu Carne,and Lymphatic Phlegm. While Brazil likes a more thrash oriented sound ala; Mental horror, Abhorrance, and Krisiun. But the Columbians are just plain brutal ala; Internal Suffering, Goretrade, and Carnal. The rocky mountains are no stranger to high altitudes or getting high ala Wicked Innocence, Cephalic Carnage, and Undertaker. But Illinois seems to be overrun with sickos ala; Lividity, Macabre, and Gorgasm. Canada has equal parts brutality and technicality ala; Cryptopsy, Martyr and Anal Bleeding. Europe loves DM also the Dutch have an interesting take on technicallity ala; Prostitute Disfigurement, Pyaemia, Severe Torture. While the Italians and French like it sick and brutal ala; Morgue, Corpsefuckingart, and Voracious Gangrene. Spain is becoming a crushing entity of its own with bands like Impure, Wormed, and Machetazo. The Czechs may not be playing exactly DM but thier version of death grind is swift and relentless ala; Malignant Tumor, Alienation Mental, and Pigsty. Many nations have embraced DM Japan has Vomit Remnants. Indonisia has Jasad. Australia has Psycroptic and Intense Hammer Rage. New Zealand has Corpse Carving.
But let us come back to the US for a second cause there is a small pocket of terrain that inhabits the most disturbed individuals...Texas! The Texas underground scene includes bands such as Putrilage, Prophecy, Grotesque Formation, Sect of Execration, Sintury, Viral Load, Insidious Decrapency, Exulcerate and last but not least (yep you guessed it)The mighty "Devourment." The band to end all DM bands. The band which defines DM. The band whos first and only full length album "Molesting the Decapitated" set the bar of brutality so high that it has been the inspiration to millions and also the demise of many. The album was perfect it was the complete package. The sound, the lyrics, the imagery everything was over the top and beyond. It was so monstrous that it even envoked a new genre "ultra brutal." It even spawned a new way of thinking pre-devourment and post-devourment.
Clarifications;
Possessed may have stumbled apon the title "death metal" with thier 1985 album Seven Churches and Death may have had similar thinking with songs like "regurgitated guts" "torn to peices" and "mutilation" with thier 1987 release Scream Bloody Gore. So for that we owe them for comming up with the title DM, for if not for them we might be calling to blood metal or hate metal or some other epithet. But as far as sound wise they had very little to do with it. Bands like Cannibal Corpse and Suffocation had far more contribution to the title than thier predecessors. Just as Devourment thiers.
So with these many variances and many sub-genres ala; DM, death grind, technical DM, brutal DM, ultra brutal DM, gore metal, and gore grind one thing is proven DM is a medium in which many textures may be used. And with the virtuosos that take interest in DM everyday it is truly an advant-gard free form of music. DM is freedom DM is art.
Devourment is death metal
4.
"The lowest common denominator in popular music."
death metal was never meant to be popular. It's unmarketability is actually a good thing, since the industry can't make it into a trend and kill it all together like they did glam rock, rap, and grunge.
If death metal's the lowest common denominator in popular music, then pop and rap are the lowest common denominators in REAL music.
5.
A form of underground heavy metal that involves deep-growling lyrics, distorted guitars, drums fast as shit, heavy, distorded guitars, lyrics involving death, destcrution, war, satan, egypt (Nile), poltics, and more death. people look down upon this great music only because there too fucking stupid to listen to it, stupid pop/rap/cocksucksers...you probbaly think slipknot is death metal....i pitty you
Napalm Death, Nile, Morbidn Angel, Cannibal Corpse, Six Feet Under, Vader, Vomitory, Malevoelent Creation, Skinless, and DEFTINANLY FUCKING NOT SLIPKNOT
6.
Insanely complicated form of metal music, containing psychotically fast blast beats, shredding,ripping, disemboweling, lacerating guitars, bass lines as thick as concrete, and lyrics dealing with everything on the dark side of life, nothing about love or fireworks or puppy dogs here. A form of music that takes incredible skill to play competently at a rapid pace, only the ignorant and those below the age of 14 cannot hear the talent intertwined between the beats, chords, and notes in said form of music. The vocals range from mildly to extremely distorted, giving the genre more atmosphere than in any other type of music. Big Name Examples: Carcass, Death, Deicide, Morbid Angel, Obituary, Cannibal Corpse, Nile.
"Nile and Obituary are probably my favorite Death Metal bands."
7.
In contrary to monotone hip-hop, cliche R&B, or computer generated bubblegum pop or trance music, death metal is played by people with instruments, who have the ability to generate melody from said instrument. In contrary to the similar style Black Metal, the lyrics are rarely a mere worshipping of Satan, but are usually about life and death, religion, and deeper things that people who agree with most of the above comments usually don't think about. There's a big difference between the better and worse death metal bands, and many crossover genres are used for originality in the music. For example, there's viking death metal (Amon Amarth), melodic death metal (Scar Symmetry), thrash death metal (Konkhra), black death metal (Naglfar), orchestral death metal (Hollenthon), and many others. The diversity of death metal is but one example of the many subgenres of metal, which is of course the most advanced kind of music nowadays available. The reason death metal remains underground is due to the facts that people are brainwashed with music that is so easy to swallow that they are unable to comprehend the complexity of more advanced kinds of music such as metal.
Several examples of death metal are mentioned above.
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