Death metal music is a genre of heavy metal known for its violent imagery and themes, usually considered to be underground forms of music.
Bands performing this genre are distinguished by erratic tempo and count changes, fast drumming patterns and morbid lyrics delivered with growling vocal delivery.
Music
Death metal music typically utilizes heavy, driving bass lines with low-tuned guitars distorted with distortion and growled vocals accompanied by rapid drumming to create an atmospheric, dark and eerie experience. Tempos and rhythms may differ between songs; nonetheless all elements combine to produce a creepy ambience, often exploring themes like Satanism, Occultism and mysticism while death metal lyrics often glorify extreme human behaviors like murder, dissection, mutilation and necrophilia.
As the genre gained popularity, bands began experimenting with various musical styles. One such experimentation was melodic death metal: an amalgam of melodic riffs combined with fast thrash beats and growled vocals crafted by bands looking to amp up its intensity.
Another popular style of death metal music is Brutal Death Metal, an extreme variant characterized by crushing riffs, guttural vocals and nonstop blast beats. Cannibal Corpse and Suffocation are widely known for their aggressive lyricism as well as musicality.
Black Metal is a subgenre of death metal music that blends melodic guitar work, fast drumming and dark and atmospheric elements into one coherent whole. Its heavy sound is offset by melodic elements which often include Celtic instruments like flutes, bagpipes and fiddles for additional dimension.
Other popular forms of death metal music are melodic death metal, grindcore, brutal death metal and Celtic metal; the latter combines Celtic folk music with metal sounds to create an unique musical genre which explores historical and mythological topics. Incantation, a Colorado band, stands out as an outstanding example. Combining modern death metal with elements from 1970s hard rock and heavy metal music makes them unique among their genre. Realms of Eternal Decay, their 2018 album, showcases their ability to push the limits of death metal music with fast and technical death metal, drawing heavily upon early Morbid Angel as inspiration for their sound and play. Morbid Angel has had a great deal of impactful influence over many other death metal bands and musicians over time.
Lyrics
Death metal lyrics typically revolve around themes of death, horror and darkness. Vocalists usually employ harsh growls when performing songs which results in some harsh listening experiences.
This genre also explores darker aspects of humanity, such as infertility and royal lineage, while some bands use their music as an outlet to release negative emotions like anger, hatred and fear. A 2019 study revealed that most fans of violent metal enjoy it not because it makes them angry but rather due to a range of positive feelings experienced while listening to its music.
Death metal bands frequently incorporate elements from other genres into their sound, often mixing metalcore and thrash metal into what has come to be known as deathcore music. Bands such as Job for a Cowboy, Bring Me the Horizon and Despised Icon have combined death metal with more fast paced drumming, downtuned guitars and tremolo picking for an eclectic approach that makes them stand out.
Some bands incorporate Satan into their music style, with songs about devil worship or satanic rituals; this does not need to be the case, though. Behemoth and Chthe’ilist, while extremely Satanic bands, focus more on cinematic gore and violence than devil worship in their music.
No matter their chosen ideology, death metal bands tend to push the limits of extreme metal. Each death metal band seems determined to outshout each other with speed and violence.
Death metal bands also often include more melodic songs than their peers, creating an alternate sound and appeal. Although death metal music tends to lean more violent than other genres, bands like Napalm Death have created songs with more melodic, catchy tunes that appeal to more audiences while still remaining true to its death metal style.
Visuals
Metal music videos tend to feature morbid and disturbing visuals due to both their themes as well as being heavily influenced by horror and science fiction. Furthermore, such content challenges and pushes boundaries within viewers’ expectations and minds.
Death metal bands frequently use morbid and disturbing imagery in their promotional material and music videos, reflecting its genre’s purpose to be terrifying and as an outlet against mainstream culture.
Though death metal has long been associated with Satanism, it is important to note that not all bands within this genre practice devil worship. Instead, many of its satanic themes are more associated with cinematic gore than with devilish worship – this holds true even among bands such as Behemoth which is well known for their dark imagery and lyrics.
Death metal music is distinguished by its aggressive sound and use of harsh vocals referred to as death growling, with anything from coarse roars to deep growls as part of this style of singing. The harshness of death growling serves to match the intensity of its music while conveying lyrics in songs through harshness of vocals.
Death metal has many subgenres that each have their own distinct sound and feel, such as melodic death metal, which features slower tempos and more melody than traditional death metal bands such as Carcass, At the Gates, and In Flames.
Black metal is another subgenre of death metal which utilizes similar sounds and themes but takes an extreme approach. Black metal bands often incorporate violent or disturbing images in their music video promos; as well as dark and mysterious imagery. Furthermore, some death metal bands combine elements from multiple subgenres to produce their own distinctive sound; for instance combining fast tempos of thrash metal with doom metal’s slower pace and melancholic atmosphere (Funeral doom metal), as pioneered by bands such as Autopsy and Paradise Lost.
Social Impact
As well as their brutal music, death metal lyrics often explore themes such as Satanism, Occultism, Mysticism and Social Commentary. These antisocial themes have caused moral panic among community groups and parents who fear death metal might glorify violence while encouraging adolescents and young adults into illegal or immoral behaviors; it has even been accused of encouraging misogyny and racism.
Although stereotypes surrounding this genre can often be accurate, many fans also view it as a positive force. Many fans find solace in its musical style when life becomes stressful or they need an outlet for anger; many band members have even spoken about how their music has helped with depression or anxiety; others have discussed its ability to assist with feelings of guilt or self-loathing.
Genre has developed a significant cult following among its fans, many of whom become deeply immersed in its music and culture. Fans devote an inordinate amount of time researching their favorite bands and purchasing merchandise related to them. Online fan communities exist and live concerts are regularly attended. Their own culture exists too with specific dress codes and social etiquette being established among members. Their devotion is truly amazing and many bands consider their followers to be family.
Researchers recently conducted a study that examined how death metal music affects people’s subconscious reactions to violent imagery. For this test, 32 death metal fans and 48 non-fans listened to either death metal or pop while viewing graphic images, respectively. Death metal fans’ brains processed violent images more slowly due to an unconscious sensitivity towards violence compared to non-fans’.
Death metal music may seem unpleasant to many non-fans, as it combines violent lyrics with harsh sounds. Yet studies by music psychologist William Forde Thompson and his team show it has many psychological advantages for its followers – their findings indicate increased feelings of power, happiness and transcendence from listening to this style of music.