Death metal bands are renowned for their incredible speed and technical proficiency. Ranging from fast blast beat tempos to intricately detailed riffs, these groups spend weeks writing and perfecting their music before performing it live for fans to hear.
Quality guitars will help metal guitarists keep a consistent sound. Metal guitarists employ multiple scales when crafting haunting melodies and stunning solos – from Phrygian dominant scale to Mixolydian mode, metal guitarists have access to an endless source of musical inspiration!
What is Death Metal?
Death metal music is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal that features harsh, guttural vocals, heavily distorted and low tuned guitars played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; fast drum beats; as well as various chord progressions, abrupt tempo changes, key changes, abrupt key changes and possible chromatic solos.
Rock music often features intense lyrics with dark themes and themes, including cannibalism, serial killers, torture and other violent or disturbing subjects. Many see this genre of music as a means of expressing feelings they don’t feel comfortable sharing with others. Given the shocking imagery used onstage and stage presence of many bands involved in rock music performances, mainstream culture often displays hostility toward this subgenre of music.
Death metal genre was created during the mid 1980s by bands that enjoyed the ultra-heavy thrash sound of bands such as Slayer and Hellhammer but wanted to amp up its intensity. Bands such as Morbid Angel, Cannibal Corpse and Carcass adopted similar initial sounds but gradually progressed with faster drum beats and more aggressive vocals than early thrash bands.
By the 1990s, Death Metal had evolved to encompass various subgenres. These included crossover thrash (such as Municipal Waste, D.R.I and Toxic Holocaust), blackened death metal (such as Behemoth, Necrophobic and Belphegor) and technical death metal (which combines elements from death metal with classical metal to produce more intricate melodies).
Groove metal, another variation on death metal, takes the speed and intensity of death metal but slows it down slightly to create more of an upbeat, catchy danceable experience. Progressive death metal offers another variation; mixing in elements from 70s progressive rock (Amorphis is an example) as well as Finnish progressive rock from Amorphis. Over the years death metal has further expanded, becoming popular subgenres such as melodic death metal (symphonic death metal, melodic death metal etc). Also more melodic death metal subgenres like melodic death metal as well as folk instruments to add even more melodic elements – Opeth incorporated acoustic guitars to make this album even more melodic.
Types of Guitars
Electric guitars that are most often utilized for death metal music are electric models with mahogany body and necks. Mahogany produces a deep tone ideal for metal music and its durability makes it suitable for handling the rigorous demands of playing metal without losing resonance and sustain.
Another type of guitars suitable for death metal are those with dual-neck configuration. These models feature two necks joined together with each containing 6 strings; switching easily between them and quickly switching sounds instantly. Furthermore, metal guitarists can use pedals such as an overdrive pedal to add further distortion to their music.
Another important consideration when searching for the ideal guitar to play death metal is whether or not it can handle palm-muting. This technique allows guitarists to dampen strings using their hand, resulting in its signature chunky and chugging sound – something popularly used by guitarists such as James Hetfield of Metallica and Tommy Iommi of Black Sabbath.
Beginners seeking to hone death metal guitar techniques should invest in some quality gear. A reliable amplifier and pedals, as well as an appropriate guitar pick in terms of gauge are necessary, although certain metal guitarists might prefer thinner picks over thicker ones.
Metal guitars should also support tuning to E minor. This tuning is generally the easiest to learn for beginners and provides them with a sound they are more familiar with and easily accessible.
No matter the guitar or amp you select, when learning death metal it is key to have fun! Practice regularly and don’t be afraid to experiment with different genres of music – eventually the guitar will begin to feel natural and you will create your own brand of death metal!
Choosing the Right Guitar
When selecting an instrument, it is essential that it fits with the style of music you are seeking to play. This is especially important for beginners; nothing stands between progress and enjoyment of guitar than an improperly constructed or adjusted instrument.
Beginners usually start out by choosing between an acoustic or electric guitar for their initial purchase. Acoustic models are best suited to folk, country and singer-songwriter styles without needing an amplifier to be heard correctly while electric ones have more powerful sound sources that can deliver greater sound output.
Your choice of guitar should also take your budget into consideration. In general, it is advisable to avoid low-priced packages as these tend to be less well made and won’t provide an optimal return on investment. When choosing an instrument that looks and feels right to you – not only will this keep you motivated while practicing and learning but will also add character and sound quality to your soundscape!
ESP LTD EC-1000 model guitars make an excellent option for beginning players, offering Mahogany bodies and necks, an ebony fingerboard, LTD locking tuners and EMG 81/60 Active pickups – providing excellent value at $900 price point.
Jackson USA JS-24 model guitar is another top pick. This instrument boasts a 24-fret jumbo neck, basswood body and nitrocellulose lacquer finish for optimal sound reproduction and versatile tonality – making it the ideal option for metal guitarists.
There are various other options available to new players looking for an affordable but high-quality guitar, such as Agile’s Intrepid and Interceptor series guitars that offer superior craftsmanship, playability, and boast high output pickups to deliver full and powerful tone.
Getting Started
Many metal fans begin their exploration of heavy music with thrash bands such as Slayer or Metallica, then move onto something faster like Killswitch Engage or Slipknot once they become comfortable with these basic riffs and rhythms. If this still doesn’t satisfy, death metal might just be what’s necessary!
Technical death metal can be daunting for a beginner guitarist due to its fast tempos and intricate finger techniques required. However, death metal uses “hammer-ons and pull-offs,” which involves playing multiple notes simultaneously with different fingers before quickly releasing one and allowing another note underneath to come in. This technique gives death metal its distinct sound; not just guitarists use this technique either!
One of the easiest ways to begin playing Death Metal is with classic songs from Carcass’ “Heartwork” or Slayer’s “Scream Bloody Gore.” Both songs contain many patterns and rhythms typical of this style of metal, making them excellent places for beginners to start learning the genre. When practicing these songs, make sure that each section is memorized before moving forward as even one missed beat can throw off an entire song!
Nile’s “Annihilation of the Wicked” can help take things up another notch; it features many of the same musical techniques and styles associated with tech death music – palm muting and alternate picking are especially common here – yet its speed makes it much harder than any of our previous suggestions. When practicing it for the first time, start slow and increase speed gradually – eventually, you should find yourself playing this incredible fast genre of metal easily!