There are many songs that could be considered the iconic death metal song. Bands such as At the Gates or early Sepultura may make this list; however, I selected one by American death metal group Cannibal Corpse.
This song from their Symbolic album showcases their growth as songwriters. An epic track with incredible riffs and vocals!
1. Breaking The Law by Jusad Preist
Judas Priest’s classic Breaking The Law has become an anthem for challenging societal norms. Its powerful lyrics evoke feelings of frustration and oppression while its upbeat composition encourages listeners to embrace their rebellious spirits. Breaking The Law remains one of the most influential rock songs ever written, still relevant today and enjoyed by music enthusiasts of all ages.
Before the release of Judas Priest’s 1980 album British Steel, guitarist Glenn Tipton began writing Breaking The Law. Once completed, it was passed along to his bandmates, where its final arrangement perfectly balances crunching guitars, metronome drums and an anthemic chorus – a true testament to Tipton’s talent as an author that it remains one of their signature tracks over time.
The song’s lyrics focus on Margaret Thatcher’s dismantlement of Britain’s industrial sector under her leadership. This call to action against government greed resonated strongly with people across all walks of life and provided them a message: fight for what you believe in no matter what anyone says!
Anthrax and Halestorm have both covered this track, attesting to its continued popularity. Furthermore, “Breaking the Law” has been featured in various commercials – most prominently as part of a State Farm advertisement featuring Aaron Rodgers – with one agent playing “Breaking the Law” and threatening to remove Rodgers if he doesn’t start driving safely – humorous yet effective highlights its strength as an anthem against social expectations.
2. Ace Of Spades by Motorhead
Motorhead are known for their relentless and uncompromising sound that epitomizes thrash metal music. Lemmy’s onstage antics have inspired an entire subculture known as Motorhead fans (or Motorheadheads). Motorhead released their 1980 album Ace Of Spades which spent 13 weeks at #1 in UK charts before taking a brief top spot for one week.
Ace of Spades was their one and only number one in thrash metal, but is widely regarded as among their greatest works. A sonic assault of chugging guitars, lightning-fast riffs and hard drumming recalling Black Sabbath or Deep Purple’s classic sounds; yet its anthemic hook makes this song as memorable as Master of Puppets or Ride the Lightning are memorable classics in their own right.
This song is an absolute technical marvel and further proves the progressive tendencies of Death Metal as played by two guitarists and a bass player. For example, its opening passage showcases how easily Death Metal bands can perform complex rhythmic structures, while it also includes an amazing solo from drummer Mikael Akerfeldt.
Earache Records and Roadrunner were two record labels dedicated to this genre, releasing albums by bands such as Carcass, Napalm Death, Entombed and Morbid Angel. Although some stereotypes exist against metal music’s more aggressive styles, underground metal has endured and produced some of its most acclaimed musicians.
3. Heaven And Hell by Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath did not anticipate Heaven and Hell becoming their greatest success of the 1980s, yet it would become so. Their ninth album featuring Ronnie James Dio after Ozzy Osbourne left was marked by significant improvements compared to previous efforts of Black Sabbath; three singles from it reached top 40 of US Billboard Hot 100; including legendary opener “Neon Knights.” Other classic metal tracks like “Children of the Sea” and epic title track demonstrated how Sabbath were gradually moving towards more classically informed compositional styles.
“Heaven and Hell,” with its iconic opening riff and massive singalongs when performed live, is perhaps the heaviest track on this album. Additionally, this traditional structure highlights Geezer Butler’s bass lines as well as Ronnie James Dio’s dynamic vocals; although not technically challenging song on album “Heaven and Hell” set new standards in heavy metal tempo that has inspired numerous bands over subsequent decades.
Black Sabbath were inspired to regroup following their monumentally successful album Mob Rules’ tremendous success, returning into the studio for its follow up Mob Rules in 1981. Veteran producer Martin Birch, known for his work with Deep Purple, Rainbow, Whitesnake and Wishbone Ash was chosen as producer; later producing virtually all of Iron Maiden’s early albums as well. While Bill Ward had yet to recover from alcoholism (he would later be replaced by Vinny Appice), his performance here provides much-needed contrast with Iommi guitar and Dio’s throat-again.
4. Chop Suey by Avenged Sevenfold
Avenged Sevenfold are set to release their first album since June 2018 on May 23 with Life Is But A Dream, yet last night (12 May) at AREA15 in Las Vegas they returned to perform for their first live show since then in over a year – playing Nobody from their forthcoming record and offering special renditions of Chop Suey as signature songs of Avenged Sevenfold’s signature track Chop Suey.
System Of A Down’s unique blend of nu metal, alternative metal and avant-garde styles brought them great success when their 2001 sophomore album Toxicity hit the charts. Although some found their cocky, belligerent style off-putting or controversial at times, Toxicity proved itself an enormous success; its single Chop Suey! has since been streamed over 600 million times on Spotify alone (with Linkin Park’s In The End coming close behind in terms of views on YouTube).
M. Shadows recently spoke with Metal Hammer about the songs that have had an influence on him as an artist – including one by System Of A Down (in particular “Torch Song”). You can read M. Shadow’s full article in issue #504, on sale now.
5. Eyes Of A Stranger by Whitechapel
Heavy metal music has long been associated with darker themes like devil worship, death and evil. This is especially evident in more extreme forms like black metal and thrash metal where lyrics may depict themes such as cannibalism, rape and self-mutilation – often leading to personal destruction and degradation in songs such as Black Metal’s “Nobody Cares About Black Metal”; lyrics which reflect society’s moral decay while exploring humanity’s soul battles. Although heavy metal lyrics may often be disturbing or offensive at times; they also serve an important purpose as mirroring society’s moral decline while exploring soul struggles on an individual level – mirroring society itself while offering insight into humanity’s inner soul battles through mirroring society itself and human soul struggles through music itself.
Florida was home to many death metal bands during this era; some of the most influential were led by Chuck Schuldiner (deceased). Death’s music explored deeper themes about identity and societal darkness than many other bands at that time.
Death stood out from other death metal bands by exploring more complex riffing and even melodic aspects of their style in some songs, creating an effective combination of brutality and complexity that would later influence other bands. One memorable song by Death that perfectly illustrates their pioneering approach to genre was “Eyes of A Stranger.”
This song is not only an iconic example of death metal, but it is also an impressive display of their musical prowess. Riffs are powerful yet intricate while vocals deliver intense intensity – this track perfectly displays progressive death metal’s journey from thrash metal to progressive death metal and should be enjoyed by every death metal fan! This track should not be missed.