Death metal song names often make for stunning reads. While some may feature sinister or deviant themes, others such as Arch Enemy’s forthcoming release named for vaginal conditions are too good to ignore.
Paranoid
Heavy metal song with an awesome riff and outstanding drumming; also featuring an intriguing theme: paranoia.
Paranoia is a staple in metal music. Paranoia refers to feelings of extreme fear or suspicion associated with being trapped by danger and not knowing how to escape it.
Metal music has long been associated with paranoia due to its aggressive sound and sometimes sinister themes, and such bands as Black Sabbath and Behemoth have long been revered for exploring occultism and Satanic practices in their songs.
Cannibal Corpse is another band with a focus on paranoia. Their song Embalmed in Mephitic Placental Substance showcases this style perfectly; its lyrics are highly disturbing while they are famous for using death growls to convey emotions effectively in metal songs.
The Devil
Many listeners find death metal to be unappealing due to its challenging lyrical themes and loud, distorted music with varied time signatures that does not follow a straightforward song structure. Still, death metal music can be enjoyable for those willing to accept its unique qualities as something worth experiencing.
Death metal songs typically address death as the main topic, often with disturbing details. Other subjects covered may include violence crimes, Satanic phenomena and mental illness – some bands may also explore less transgressive subjects like philosophy and science fiction. Furthermore, songs feature death growling vocals – coarse roars or screams used instead of fry screaming or false chord screaming – creating their sound; Cannibal Corpse and Suffocation both employ it.
Heaven And Hell
Mayhem’s classic death metal track, “Guilty Pleasures,” boasts a distorted guitar sound with rapid drumming and guttural vocals for maximum impact. Lyrically it explores some gruesome themes.
“Heaven And Hell” addresses the common heavy metal theme of good vs. evil while also paying tribute to their former lead singer Chuck Schuldiner who passed away in 2001.
Epicardiectomy, the album from Czech metal band Epicardiectomy, references medical procedures with its song “Embalmed in Mephitic Placental Substance.” Mephitic means toxic while “placental substance” refers to membrane connecting fetuses to their mothers – making its lyrics troubling enough, yet still sounding filthy enough for listeners. Death also tackles “eating shit,” or coprophagia in another song called “Postmortal Coprophagia”, though its message may be more positive.
Run To The Hills
Run to the Hills, from The Number of the Beast album by British rock band Muse, explores European colonization of North and South America as it pertains to Native American tribes and their plight during this period, emphasizing how colonizers stripped them of their freedom.
This song’s lyrics are deeply disturbing and morbid; nevertheless, its epic metal classic status remains intact.
Death metal music is usually performed by vocalists, bass players, and drummers who collaborate to produce fast guitar riffs and blast beats at an tempo of 172 BPM – something you can practice by using our online metronome! Use it to develop your playing skills!
Dead Embryonic Cells
Metal music can be an intensely graphic genre. Songs often depict violent, sexual or satanic themes and can be quite aggressive in tone.
Death metal, an evolving genre of heavy metal created in the late 1980s, features fast tempos, complex chord progressions and shifting time signatures, with frequent use of growling or deep vocals.
Belarus-based death metal group Extermination Dismemberment take death metal’s explicitness to an extreme with their song, “Merciless Infanticide,” where lyrics include lines like, “Eating still-born babies as stock/Drinking bile from a cup, gagging phlegm from a spoon.” With lyrics like these and so much more included on “Merciless Infanticide,” Extermination Dismemberment deserve their place on our list of Absolutely Filthy Death Metal Songs!
Market Demands
As well as its aggressive style and dark lyrics, death metal often incorporates harsh growled vocals known as death growls – these range from low, guttural grunts to higher pitched screams as seen in Cannibal Corpse and Dying Fetus songs.
Early death metal was distinguished from mainstream heavy metal by its distinctively aggressive, aggressive sound; bands like Britain’s Venom and Slayer, Florida acts like Possessed and Death helped establish this new sound.
Death metal’s sound can be described by fast guitar riffs, blast beats (a sixteenth note figure played at machine gun speed), and rapidly shifting time signatures. Melodic death metal offers a more moderate variation that features harmonic and melodic guitar work while technical death metal blends progressive rock elements with classical music for an unexpected blend.
Angel Of Death
The Angel Of Death is a cloaked winged figure who transports souls of the dead to heaven. This character can often be found depicted with a scythe in their hands.
Type-O Negative is a Gothic metal band founded in 1987 that boasts overt gothic lyrics and transforms thrash metal into slow guitar dirges. One of their more peculiar songs, Postmortal Coprophagia, refers to violently eating human waste after death.
Death metal music is fast and heavy, characterized by distorted guitar riffs and blast beats (sixteenth-note figures played at machine gun speed on double bass drums). Death growl vocals range from guttural grunts to ear-piercing screams; many death metal bands also incorporate occult or fantasy themes into their lyrics while some even embrace Satanism into their sound; two prominent examples of this genre’s pioneers are Britain’s Venom and America’s Slayer.
Belly Of The Beast
“Belly of the Beast” refers to being part of an organization which nurtures and protects you while you work for it, or being at the center of something where everything takes place.
Death metal music is known for its fast and heavy sound. Guitars typically feature low tunings that are heavily distorted; drums utilize blast beats (a repeated sixteenth note pattern played at machine gun speed); songs often include abrupt key changes as well as chord progressions; death metal bands employ “death growls,” with tones and power that range from guttural grunts to ear-piercing shrieks; death growls are another distinctive trait used within death metal music bands.
Cannibal Corpse’s iconic death metal song is unquestionably the best death metal song ever, featuring Chuck Schuldiner’s immaculate solo.
Chop Suey
Chop Suey by System of a Down is one of the most iconic death metal songs ever created, known for its powerful guitar riffs and drumming but also for its profound lyrics that express its message of heartbreak and redemption.
Contrary to its title, this song doesn’t discuss food but rather death and how people view those they leave behind after passing on. According to guitarist and co-writer Daron Malakian, its lyrics cover this subject matter and explore this concept further.
Chop Suey may contain unpleasant lyrics, and its release before 9/11 caused American radio station Clear Channel to label it as ‘lyrically questionable.’ Yet this did not prevent Chop Suey from becoming one of the most beloved death metal songs of this century – in fact it currently holds the record for most Spotify plays of any single death metal song!
Beyond The Realms Of Death
Death metal lyrics often focus on depicting violent deaths or Satanic phenomena, while also exploring themes like mental illness. Violent crimes and violent crime scenes may also be explored within this subgenre.
Death metal music is characterized by rapidly strung guitars that use techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking to produce intense distortion. A typical setup typically comprises two guitarists, a bassist, and a drummer using blast beats (a sixteenth note figure played at machine gun speed on double bass drums) in combination with complex time signatures to produce an authentic death metal experience.
Death metal bands like Death, Possessed and Chuck Schuldiner’s Currents have made death growling a key component of their musical sound; bands like Sepultura and Dying Fetus are masters at this art form.