Death metal music is a subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by growled, roared or shrieked vocals and heavily distorted guitar riffs characterized by palm mutes and tremolo picking techniques, fast drumming featuring double bass blast beats, as well as lyrics dealing with death, violence and horror themes.
Origins
Death metal music is an extreme style of heavy metal music characterized by heavily distorted and detuned guitars, harsh, low-pitched growling vocals, morbid lyrics, fast paced rhythms and melodies, unconventional song structures, corpse paint used by bands in this genre, fast-paced rhythms and melodies and an unconventional song structure. Death metal has often been associated with violence, horror and Satanism while many bands use gore-themed imagery reminiscent of corpse paint; mainstream culture often views death metal music as underground form of music.
Death metal’s roots can be traced back to both thrash metal and the first wave of black metal, both styles which inspired musicians to form new, more extreme form of metal that combined elements from both genres. Early death metal bands like Death and Possessed retained elements like harsh death growls and startling lyrics which eventually became hallmarks of the genre.
Autopsy, Bolt Thrower, Carcass, Napalm Death and Massacre were among the pioneering bands of this genre. These early bands utilized growled vocals, tremolo picking and blast beat drumming alongside abrupt tempo, key and time signature changes as well as Satanic imagery in their music.
In the 1990s, bands like At the Gates, Dark Tranquillity and Obituary helped popularize melodic death metal; an extreme metal style that incorporates more melodic arrangements and keyboards. This subgenre of metal music has since inspired other subgenres including melodic death/doom metal, symphonic death metal and technical death metal subgenres; death metal has even fused with other genres to produce hybrid forms like crossover thrash and blackened death metal.
Influences
Death metal music typically employs two guitarists, a bass player, and a drummer who employs techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking on their drum kit. Different guitar sounds such as melodic and intricate riffing, high-pitched growling vocals, distorted wailing harmonics are often utilized, as is hyper double bass blast beats played by drummer. Death metal is distinguished by abrupt tempo changes as well as chromatic chord progressions with an array of song structures encompassing them all.
Early 1990s death metal bands experimented with various musical styles, giving rise to many subgenres. Swedish melodic death metal (often called melodeath), which blends death metal with new wave British heavy metal such as Dark Tranquillity and At the Gates’ new wave British heavy metal sounds was popular at that time; other subgenres like grindcore combine elements of death metal with extreme punk rock for an aggressive yet chaotic musical genre.
While many musicians have taken to death metal’s raw, aggressive nature with open arms, others find its elements offensive or degrading – leading to controversial instances like GG Allin’s unsavory lyrics and forays into coprophilia and self-mutilation onstage causing him to make headlines and cause controversy despite remaining one of heavy metal’s most influential figureheads.
Deep Purple’s 1979 album Pyromania catapulted them to stardom as one of the leading rock acts worldwide, and inspired many heavy metal singers – particularly Joe Elliott with his distinctive guitar sound and raspy voice. Additionally, their progressive rock style influenced Queen and Alice in Chains artists.
Styles
Heavy metal music encompasses an expansive range of styles and subgenres with diverse influences. It can be played at various speeds with an emphasis on distorted guitars and loud drumming; its lyrics usually address violent themes such as death, war and pain; vocal styles can range from harsh roars, snarls or growls to melodic singing (though death metal tends to use melodic singing sparingly); this genre offers bands the flexibility of adding elements from other musical genres such as blues rock, psychedelic rock or punk rock into their repertoires – each band can then mix influences between metal genres!
Melodic death metal first emerged during the early 1990s with Swedish bands like Dark Tranquillity and At the Gates as pioneers. The genre combined the heavy sounds associated with traditional death metal with highly melodic or harmonized guitar riffs and solos featuring high-pitched vocal shrieks as opposed to low-pitched growls commonly featured in traditional death metal; attracting both metal fans as well as hardcore punk audiences alike, becoming one of the most technically complex forms of metal music today.
Brutal death metal is an extreme form of the genre, often featuring harsh vocals, harsh drumming and gore-related subject matter. Guitars may use techniques like tremolo picking or alternate tunings; song structures often feature abrupt changes in tempo, key and time signature as well as rhythmic repetition or more intricate chord progressions for effect; this style has been associated with Deeds of Flesh, Disgorge, Sarcolytic Aborted and Sect of Execration among others.
Techniques
Heavy metal music often features screaming as an expressive tool to emphasize its dark and aggressive feel. Screams often take the form of deep growls or harsh shrieks; growls may sound demonic, animalistic or breathy while shrieks have higher pitches with breathy voices – both techniques may be combined in different combinations to produce the appropriate sounds for this genre.
Metal music also commonly features power chords. These chords are formed by playing the root note of a chord and adding another fifth above or below (often an octave below), creating the same sound but more powerfully. By employing this technique, guitarists can effortlessly play chords as single notes – something popularized by death metal but also used frequently by black metal and grindcore musicians.
Other techniques commonly seen in metal include tremolo picking, the use of minor keys or atonality and multiple tempo changes – these elements contribute to what gives metal its signature sound and drumming style can range from fast and frantic like punk rock, or slow and doomy like doom metal.
Like any type of metal, death metal has many subgenres that branch off from its basic genre. A popular one is funeral doom metal, which marries slower tempos and melancholic atmosphere with deep growling vocals from death metal. Other fusions with other genres include jazz metal (Nile, Atheist and Cynic) that incorporate jazz-style soloing and improvisation; as well as symphonic death metal such as that found on Eternal Tears of Sorrow Fleshgod Apocalypse & Nile) combined with keyboards & symphonic orchestration for an engaging listener experience.
Bands
Early to mid 1990s death metal bands began experimenting with different sounds and techniques, such as intricate guitar riffing, tremolo picking and using minor keys or atonality for minor keys or atonality. Deep growling vocals accompanied with gore-themed lyrics are also often present, while drumming can range from slow chunky grooves to hyper fast blast beats; furthermore some bands may use variations on standard chords to add melodic elements into their music and texture to it.
Bolt Thrower, Carcass and Suffocation of Britain and Florida-based Death were early innovators of death metal music. This early movement included trademark characteristics like detuned guitars and Satanic imagery as well as dark or morbid themes; other early death metal bands include Possessed and Massacre.
Grindcore and technical death metal have both become subgenres within this larger genre since its inception, such as socially aware and politically incorrect grindcore and technical death metal (tech-death) subgenre that emerged during the early 1990s. Tech-death is distinguished by fast drumming patterns with complex rhythmic patterns as well as highly technical guitar riffs which often incorporate multiple scales or chords all at the same time.
There have also been various hybrid styles that combine death metal with other musical forms, like jazz. This genre is sometimes known as symphonic death metal and used by bands like Cynic, Atheist and Nile. Other bands have even incorporated psychedelia into their albums such as Malevolent Creation and Infinite Torture while other musical influences were drawn upon by bands like Behemoth and Abhorrence.