Death metal#Subgenres

Image:Death Mexico 06-89.jpg in 1989]]

English extreme metal band Venom, from Newcastle, crystallized the elements of what later became known as thrash metal, death metal and black metal, with their first two albums Welcome to Hell{{cite web |last=Rivadavia |first=Eduardo |title=Venom: Welcome to Hell |website=AllMusic |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/mw0000268406 |access-date=February 14, 2014 |archive-date=July 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230709174857/https://www.allmusic.com/album/mw0000268406 |url-status=live }} and Black Metal,{{sfn|Kahn-Harris|2007}} released in late 1981 and 1982, respectively. Their dark, blistering sound, harsh vocals, and macabre, proudly Satanic imagery proved a major inspiration for extreme metal bands.{{cite web|last=Ankeny|first=Jason|title=Venom Biography|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/p5755|website=AllMusic|access-date=February 14, 2014|archive-date=April 25, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110425110720/http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p5755|url-status=live}} Another highly influential band, Slayer, formed in 1981. Although the band was a thrash metal act, Slayer's music was more violent than their thrash contemporaries Metallica, Megadeth, and Anthrax.{{cite web|last=de Paola|first=Enrico|title=Into The Lungs of Hell|url=http://www.emptywords.org/MetalHammerItaly03-2000.htm|work=Metal Hammer|publisher=Empty Words|date=March 2000|access-date=July 19, 2014|archive-date=July 13, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140713105117/http://www.emptywords.org/MetalHammerItaly03-2000.htm|url-status=live}} Their breakneck speed and instrumental prowess combined with lyrics about death, violence, war, and Satanism won Slayer a cult following.{{cite web|last=Huey|first=Steve|title=Slayer Biography|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/p5453|website=AllMusic|access-date=February 14, 2014|archive-date=April 25, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110425111436/http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p5453|url-status=live}} According to Mike McPadden, Hell Awaits, Slayer's second album, "largely invent[ed] much of the sound and fury that would evolve into death metal."{{cite web |url=https://www.vh1.com/news/gfg7pz/slayer-hell-awaits-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404081929/https://www.vh1.com/news/gfg7pz/slayer-hell-awaits-30 |url-status=live |archive-date=April 4, 2023 |title='Hell Awaits' by Slayer Turns 30, Still Head Of The Thrash Class of '85 |last=McPadden |first=Mike |date=March 22, 2015 |website=VH1 |access-date=July 5, 2019}} According to AllMusic, their third album Reign in Blood inspired the entire death metal genre.{{cite web|first=Steve|last=Huey|title=Slayer: Reign in Blood|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/r18220|website=AllMusic|access-date=January 5, 2007|archive-date=August 4, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110804163853/http://www.allmusic.com/album/r18220|url-status=live}} It had a big impact on genre leaders such as Death, Obituary, and Morbid Angel.

File:Possessed - Jalometalli 2008 - 02.JPG of Possessed{{sfn|Mudrian|2004|p=}}]]

Possessed, a band that formed in the San Francisco Bay Area during 1983, is described by AllMusic as "connecting the dots" between thrash metal and death metal with their 1985 debut album, Seven Churches.{{cite web|first=Eduardo|last=Rivadavia|title=Possessed: Seven Churches|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/r15558|website=AllMusic|access-date=February 14, 2014|archive-date=December 27, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111227123208/http://www.allmusic.com/album/r15558|url-status=live}} While attributed as having a Slayer influence,{{cite web|last=Rivadavia|first=Eduardo|title=Possessed Biography|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/p5171|website=AllMusic|access-date=February 14, 2014|archive-date=April 25, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110425111502/http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p5171|url-status=live}} current and former members of the band had actually cited Venom and Motörhead, as well as early work by Exodus, as the main influences on their sound. Although the group had released only two studio albums and an EP in their formative years, they have been described by music journalists and musicians as either being "monumental" in developing the death metal style,{{sfn|Purcell|2003|p=54}} or as being the first death metal band.{{cite book|last=McIver|first=Joel|title=The Bloody Reign of Slayer|publisher=Omnibus Press|year=2008|isbn=978-1-84772-109-9}}{{sfn|Ekeroth|2008|p=12}}{{sfn|Mudrian|2004|p=70}} Earache Records noted that "the likes of Trey Azagthoth and Morbid Angel based what they were doing in their formative years on the Possessed blueprint laid down on the legendary Seven Churches recording. Possessed arguably did more to further the cause of 'Death Metal' than any of the early acts on the scene back in the mid-late 80's."{{cite web|title=Interview With Jeff Becerra |url=http://www.earache.com/WickedWorld/interview/possessed/possessed.html |publisher=Earache Records |access-date=July 19, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121113120317/http://www.earache.com/WickedWorld/interview/possessed/possessed.html |archive-date=November 13, 2012 }}

File:Chuck Schuldiner.jpg (1967–2001) of Death, during a 1992 tour in Scotland in support of the album Human.]]

During the same period as the dawn of Possessed, a second influential metal band was formed in Orlando, Florida. Originally called Mantas, Death was formed in 1983 by Chuck Schuldiner, Kam Lee, and Rick Rozz. Inspired by the Brandon, Florida act Nasty Savage, they took the sound of Nasty Savage and deepened it.{{cite web|last1=Stevenson|first1=Arielle|date=October 22, 2009|title=The way the music died: The earliest days of Tampa Death Metal|url=http://www.tampabay.com/features/music/the-way-the-music-died-the-earliest-days-of-tampa-death-metal/1046088|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091027025354/https://www.tampabay.com/features/music/the-way-the-music-died-the-earliest-days-of-tampa-death-metal/1046088/|archive-date=October 27, 2009|website=Tampa Bay Times|publisher=Times Publishing Company|accessdate=April 26, 2016}} In 1984, they released their first demo entitled Death by Metal, followed by several more. The tapes circulated through the tape trader world, quickly establishing the band's name. With Death guitarist Schuldiner adopting vocal duties, the band made a major impact in the emerging Florida death metal scene. The fast minor-key riffs and solos were complemented with fast drumming, creating a style that would catch on in tape trading circles.{{sfn|Purcell|2003|p=54}} Schuldiner has been credited by AllMusic's Eduardo Rivadavia for being widely recognized as the "Father of Death Metal".{{cite web|last=Rivadavia|first=Eduardo|title=Death Biography|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/p4050|website=AllMusic|access-date=August 13, 2008|archive-date=April 24, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120424070300/http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p4050|url-status=live}} Death's 1987 debut release, Scream Bloody Gore, has been described by About.com's Chad Bowar as being the "evolution from thrash metal to death metal",{{cite web|last=Bowar|first=Chad|title=Death Profile|url=http://heavymetal.about.com/od/death/p/pro_death.htm|publisher=About.com|access-date=January 14, 2014|archive-date=May 2, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140502050614/http://heavymetal.about.com/od/death/p/pro_death.htm|url-status=unfit}} and "the first true death metal record" by the San Francisco Chronicle.{{cite news|author1=Aldis, N.|author2=Sherry, J.|title=Heavy metal Thunder|newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle|year=2006}} In an Interview Jeff Becerra talked about the discussions of being the creator of the genre, saying that Schuldiner cited Possessed as a massive influence, and Death were even called "Possessed clones" early on.{{Cite web|url = https://www.blabbermouth.net/news/jeff-beccera-puts-an-end-to-debate-over-who-was-the-first-death-metal-band-death-or-possessed/|title = JEFF BECERRA Puts an End to Debate over Who Was the First Death Metal Band: DEATH or POSSESSED|date = August 20, 2017|access-date = January 6, 2020|archive-date = August 20, 2017|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170820200245/https://www.blabbermouth.net/news/jeff-beccera-puts-an-end-to-debate-over-who-was-the-first-death-metal-band-death-or-possessed/|url-status = live}} Along with Possessed and Death, other pioneers of death metal in the United States include Macabre, Master, Massacre, Immolation, Cannibal Corpse, Obituary, and Post Mortem.{{cite web|last=Norton|first=Justin M.|title=Post Mortem - 'Coroner's Office' Retrospective|url=http://heavymetal.about.com/od/interviews/a/postmortem.htm|publisher=About.com|date=February 19, 2009|access-date=February 14, 2014|url-status=unfit|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140221221406/http://heavymetal.about.com/od/interviews/a/postmortem.htm|archive-date=February 21, 2014}}{{cite news|last=Marquard|first=Bryan|title=John McCarthy, at 40; was lead singer for local thrash rocker Post Mortem|url=http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/obituaries/articles/2009/02/08/john_mccarthy_at_40_was_lead_singer_for_local_thrash_rockers_post_mortem/?page=full|access-date=February 14, 2014|newspaper=The Boston Globe|date=February 8, 2009|archive-date=February 23, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140223090810/http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/obituaries/articles/2009/02/08/john_mccarthy_at_40_was_lead_singer_for_local_thrash_rockers_post_mortem/?page=full|url-status=live}}

By 1989, many bands had been signed by eager record labels wanting to cash in on the subgenre, including Florida's Obituary, Morbid Angel and Deicide.{{cite web|last=Sullivan|first=Andy|title=Death metal, the sound of Tampa, won't be heard at Republican convention|url=https://news.yahoo.com/death-metal-sound-tampa-wont-heard-republican-convention-113030167.html|agency=Reuters|publisher=Yahoo News|access-date=August 25, 2012|date=August 25, 2012|quote=When they convene in Tampa to nominate Mitt Romney for president next week, Republicans will not hear a note from the city's most notable musical exports: death-metal bands such as Deicide and Obituary.|archive-date=August 29, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120829044633/http://news.yahoo.com/death-metal-sound-tampa-wont-heard-republican-convention-113030167.html|url-status=live}} This collective of death metal bands hailing from Florida are often labeled as "Florida death metal". Morbid Angel pushed the genre's limits both musically and lyrically, with the release of their debut album Altars of Madness in 1989.{{sfn|Purcell|2003|p=18}}{{Cite news|url=http://decibelmagazine.com/hall-of-fame/2015/3/19/morbid-angel-altars-of-madness|title=Morbid Angel - "Altars of Madness"|work=Decibel Magazine|access-date=May 1, 2017|archive-date=November 25, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151125195403/http://decibelmagazine.com/hall-of-fame/2015/3/19/morbid-angel-altars-of-madness|url-status=live}} The album "redefined what it meant to be heavy while influencing an upcoming class of brutal death metal."{{Cite web|url=http://loudwire.com/morbid-angel-altars-of-madness-best-debut-metal-albums/|title=No. 4: Morbid Angel, 'Altars of Madness' – Best Debut Metal Albums|website=Loudwire|date=June 6, 2013|access-date=May 1, 2017|archive-date=July 9, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230709185325/https://loudwire.com/morbid-angel-altars-of-madness-best-debut-metal-albums/|url-status=live}} According to Jason Birchmeier of AllMusic, "Venom and Slayer redefined the extent to which a metal band could align itself with all things evil during the beginning of the decade, but Morbid Angel made these two groups sound like children's music."{{Citation |title=Altars of Madness - Morbid Angel {{!}} Album {{!}} AllMusic |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/altars-of-madness-mw0000311214 |access-date=2025-01-09 |language=en}}

Following the original death metal innovators, new subgenres began to develop the end of the decade, such as melodic death metal. Death released their fourth album Human in 1991, which has become a hallmark in technical death metal. Death's founder Schuldiner helped push the boundaries of the genre with uncompromising speed and technical virtuosity, combining intricate rhythm guitar work with complex arrangements and emotive guitar solos.{{cite web|url=http://www.emptywords.org/|title=Welcome to Empty Words|website=www.emptywords.org|access-date=September 5, 2007|archive-date=April 6, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100406010555/http://www.emptywords.org/|url-status=live}}

Earache Records, Relativity Records and Roadrunner Records became the genre's most important labels,'Death Metal Special: Dealers in Death' Terrorizer #151 with Earache releasing albums by Carcass, Napalm Death, Morbid Angel, and Entombed, and Roadrunner releasing albums by Obituary, and Pestilence. Although these labels had not been death metal labels, they initially became the genre's flagship labels at the beginning of the 1990s. In addition to these, other labels formed as well, such as Nuclear Blast, Century Media, and Peaceville. Many of these labels would go on to achieve successes in other genres of metal throughout the 1990s.

In September 1990, Death's manager Eric Greif held one of the first North American death metal festivals, Day of Death, in Milwaukee suburb Waukesha, Wisconsin, and featured 26 bands including Autopsy, Broken Hope, Hellwitch, Obliveon, Revenant, Viogression, Immolation, Atheist, and Cynic.{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20100325022446/http://www.officialatheist.com/index.php?item=biography Biography, Official Atheist site]}}. Retrieved December 10, 2008

File:Jungle_Rot_performing_in_Chula_Vista,_CA_on_Mayhem_Fest_2015.jpg]]

Death metal's popularity achieved its initial peak during 1992–1993, with some bands such as Morbid Angel and Cannibal Corpse enjoying mild commercial success. However, the genre as a whole never broke into the mainstream. The genre's mounting popularity may have been partly responsible for a strong rivalry between Norwegian black metal and Swedish death metal scenes. Fenriz of Darkthrone has noted that Norwegian black metal musicians were "fed up with the whole death metal scene" at the time. Death metal diversified in the 1990s, spawning a rich variety of subgenres that still have a large "underground" following at the present.{{cite video|first=Bill|last=Zebyb|year=2007|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZd13-dSrAc| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120414005145/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZd13-dSrAc&gl=US&hl=en| archive-date=2012-04-14|title=Black Metal: A Documentary|medium=motion picture}}

In the 2000s, a number of bands in the hardcore punk scene, including Black Breath and Trap Them began to incorporate elements of death metal into their sound.{{cite web |last1=Schafer |first1=Joseph |title=In 2018, Death Metal Reigned Supreme |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/in-2018-death-metal-reigned-supreme/ |website=Vice Media |date=December 31, 2018 |access-date=24 October 2024}} This was followed by a wave of bands expanding upon the death-doom style of Incantation while incorporating elements of ambient music, including Dead Congregation and Necros Christos.

In the 2010s, a movement of bands reviving the sound of original 1980s death metal emerged, termed the "New Wave of Old School Death Metal".{{cite web |title=BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO OLD SCHOOL DEATH METAL |date=February 19, 2015 |url=https://toiletovhell.com/beginners-guide-to-old-school-death-metal/ |access-date=24 October 2024}} One of the earliest groups in this wave was Horrendous, who formed in 2009,{{cite web |title=A History of North American Death Metal in 30 Albums |date=August 17, 2020 |url=https://www.treblezine.com/a-history-of-north-american-death-metal-in-30-albums/ |access-date=24 October 2024}} who along with Tomb Mold took a progressive take the genre. Tomb Mold, Necrot, Undergang and Blood Incantation were some of the earliest bands to gain traction in the 2010s, with the COVID-19 pandemic amplifying the amount of attention drawn to the movement, through Cryptic Shift, Slimelord and Vaticinal Rites.{{cite web |last1=Deller |first1=Alex |title=The Young Upstarts of UK Death Metal |url=https://daily.bandcamp.com/scene-report/uk-death-metal-scene-report |website=Bandcamp Daily |date=January 11, 2022 |access-date=24 October 2024}} In a 2022 article by MetalSucks writer Christopher Krovatin stated "Right now, as a music journalist, all I hear about is death metal."{{cite web |last1=Rhombus |first1=Emperor |title=Poll: Which Band in the New Wave of Death Metal Is Your Favorite? |url=https://www.metalsucks.net/2022/06/30/poll-which-of-the-new-wave-of-death-metal-bands-is-your-favorite/ |website=MetalSucks |date=June 30, 2022 |access-date=24 October 2024}} In the UK, this movement became the "New Wave of British Death Metal", fronted by Mortuary Spawn, Vacuous and Celestial Sanctuary, this name being coined by Tom Cronin, of Celestial Sanctuary, in order to separate these hardcore-indebted bands from the country's prior movements. The earliest bands in this wave were Cruciamentum and Grave Miasma.{{cite web |last1=Frankel |first1=Eddy |title=What the hell is the New Wave of British Death Metal? |url=https://www.timeout.com/uk/arts-and-culture/what-is-the-new-wave-of-british-death-metal |website=Time Out Group |access-date=24 October 2024}}

A large part of the New Wave of Old School Death Metal was death metal bands who originated from the hardcore scene, some of which merge elements of hardcore into their style. Xibalba and Fuming Mouth were two of the earliest groups, with the wave being solidified by Gatecreeper, 200 Stab Wounds, Creeping Death,{{cite web |last1=Breiham |first1=Tom |title=Hardcore And Death Metal: Two Great Tastes That Taste Great Together |url=https://www.stereogum.com/2199510/hardcore-and-death-metal-two-great-tastes-that-taste-great-together/columns/let-the-roundup-begin/ |website=Stereogum |date=September 15, 2022 |access-date=24 October 2024 |archive-date=November 30, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241130095715/https://www.stereogum.com/2199510/hardcore-and-death-metal-two-great-tastes-that-taste-great-together/columns/let-the-roundup-begin/ |url-status=live }} Sanguisugabogg and Kruelty.{{cite web |title=Kruelty – "Untopia" |date=March 15, 2023 |url=https://everythingisnoise.net/reviews/kruelty-untopia/ |access-date=24 October 2024}} Venom Prison came from this scene and gained particular attention for their confrontation of what Kerrang! called death metal's "misogyny problem", by instead writing "rape-revenge narrative[s]".{{cite web |last1=Zorgdrager |first1=Bradley |title=How Brutal Death Metal Is Confronting Its Misogyny Problem |url=https://www.kerrang.com/how-brutal-death-metal-is-confronting-its-misogyny-problem |website=Kerrang! |date=August 29, 2019 |access-date=24 October 2024 |archive-date=October 14, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241014012202/https://www.kerrang.com/how-brutal-death-metal-is-confronting-its-misogyny-problem |url-status=live }} Their lead vocalist Larissa Stupar was described by the publication as "metal's most important - and uncompromising - voice".{{cite journal |last1=Morton |first1=Luke |title=Venom Prison the Remarkable Story of the Rise and Rise of Metal's Most Important - and Uncompromising - Voice |journal=Kerrang! |date=27 May 2019}}

The setup most frequently used within the death metal genre is two guitarists, a bass player, a vocalist, and a drummer often using "hyper double-bass blast beats".{{sfn|Purcell|2003|p=9}}{{sfn|Kahn-Harris|2007|p=32}} Although this is the standard setup, bands have been known to occasionally incorporate other instruments such as electronic keyboards.[http://heavymetal.about.com/od/heavymetal101/p/melodicdeathmetalprofile.htm Marsicano, D. Melodic Death Metal] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202223443/http://heavymetal.about.com/od/heavymetal101/p/melodicdeathmetalprofile.htm |date=February 2, 2017|url-status=unfit }}, About.com (Retrieved October 27, 2010)

File:Deicide_band_010.jpg has performed with death metal bands Cannibal Corpse, Deicide and Six Feet Under.]]

File:Deicide band 016.jpg drummer Steve Asheim]]

File:Cannibal Corpse @ 70000 tons of metal 02.jpg vocalist George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher]]

Death metal vocals are referred to as death growls; which are coarse roars/snarls. Death growling is mistakenly thought to be a form of screaming using the lowest vocal register known as vocal fry, however vocal fry is actually a form of overtone screaming, and while growling can be performed this way by experienced vocalists who use the fry screaming technique, "true" death growling is in fact created by an altogether different technique.Interview with Samuel Deschaine, Death Metal Vocal Instructor 2011 Growling has been called Cookie Monster vocals, tongue-in-cheek, due to the vocal similarity to the voice of the popular Sesame Street character of the same name.{{cite web|title=Cookie Monster Vocals|url=http://heavymetal.about.com/od/glossary/g/gl_cookiemonste.htm|publisher=About.com|access-date=January 21, 2006|archive-date=February 5, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060205192652/http://heavymetal.about.com/od/glossary/g/gl_cookiemonste.htm|url-status=unfit}} Although often criticized, death growls serve the aesthetic purpose of matching death metal's aggressive lyrical content.Sharpe-Young, Garry. Death Metal, {{ISBN|0-9582684-4-4}}

The lyrical themes of death metal may invoke slasher film-stylised violence, but may also extend to topics like religion (sometimes including Satanism), occultism, Lovecraftian horror, nature, mysticism, mythology, theology, philosophy, science fiction, and politics.{{sfn|Purcell|2003|p=39-42}} Although violence may be explored in various other genres as well, death metal may elaborate on the details of extreme acts, including blood and gore, psychopathy, delirium, mutilation, mutation, dissection, exorcism, torture, rape, cannibalism, and necrophilia. Sociologist Keith Kahn-Harris commented this apparent glamorisation of violence may be attributed to a "fascination" with the human body that all people share to some degree, a fascination that mixes desire and disgust.{{sfn|Kahn-Harris|2007|p=}} Heavy metal author Gavin Baddeley also stated there does seem to be a connection between one's degree of mortality salience and "how much they crave images of death and violence" via the media.Baddeley, Gavin. Raising Hell!: The Book of Satan and Rock 'n' Roll Additionally, contributing artists to the genre often defend death metal as little more than an extreme form of art and entertainment, similar to horror films in the motion picture industry. This explanation has brought such musicians under fire from activists internationally, who claim that this is often lost on a large number of adolescents, who are left with the glamorisation of such violence without social context or awareness of why such imagery is stimulating.

According to Alex Webster, bassist of Cannibal Corpse, "The gory lyrics are probably not, as much as people say, [what's keeping us] from being mainstream. Like, 'death metal would never go into the mainstream because the lyrics are too gory?' I think it's really the music, because violent entertainment is totally mainstream."{{Cite web|url=http://www.waytooloud.com/2007/10/23/cannibal-corpse-alex-webster-and-george-%E2%80%9Ccorpsegrinder%E2%80%9D-fisher/|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080604092255/http://www.waytooloud.com/2007/10/23/cannibal-corpse-alex-webster-and-george-%E2%80%9Ccorpsegrinder%E2%80%9D-fisher/|url-status=dead|title=Alex Webster (Cannibal Corpse) interview|archivedate=June 4, 2008}}

Christian death metal bands often utilize the gory themes of death metal to invoke violent imagery against Satan, demons, sin and sinners,{{Cite book |last=Partridge |first=Christopher |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qdD0AAAAQBAJ&pg=PA215 |title=The Lyre of Orpheus: Popular Music, the Sacred, and the Profane |date=2014 |publisher=OUP USA |isbn=978-0-19-975140-2 |location=New York |pages=215–216 |language=en}} much of the violent imagery being drawn from the Bible.{{Cite web |last=Kiryushkin |first=Alexander |date=October 26, 2019 |title=10 Bands You Won't Believe Are Actually Christian |url=https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/articles/features/10_bands_you_wont_believe_are_actually_christian-98774 |access-date=2024-10-23 |website=Ultimate Guitar |language=en |archive-date=June 13, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240613003207/https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/articles/features/10_bands_you_wont_believe_are_actually_christian-98774 |url-status=live }} Satanic and anti-Christian imagery is also frequently inverted.{{Cite web |date=2024-08-15 |title=Catholic death metal band 'Voluntary Mortification' proudly reclaims aspects of faith that confound non-Christians |url=https://thedialog.org/national-news/catholic-death-metal-band-voluntary-mortification-proudly-reclaims-aspects-of-faith-that-confound-non-christians/ |access-date=2024-10-28 |website=The Dialog |language=en |archive-date=August 21, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240821034431/https://thedialog.org/national-news/catholic-death-metal-band-voluntary-mortification-proudly-reclaims-aspects-of-faith-that-confound-non-christians/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite book |last=Félix-Jäger |first=Steven |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MtwoDgAAQBAJ&pg=PT76 |title=With God on Our Side: Towards a Transformational Theology of Rock and Roll |date=2017-01-11 |publisher=Wipf and Stock Publishers |isbn=978-1-4982-3180-0 |location=Eugene |pages=76 |language=en |archive-date=November 13, 2024 |access-date=January 6, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241113115853/https://books.google.com/books?id=MtwoDgAAQBAJ&pg=PT76 |url-status=live }}{{Sfn|Strother|2013|pp=152-153}}

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| author = Lee du-Caine and Joel McIver of MusicRadar

| source = {{cite web | url=https://www.musicradar.com/news/guitars/a-history-of-death-metal-249395 | title=A history of death metal | date=April 30, 2010 }}

| quote = By 1984, Venom-influenced acts crept through the underground, peddling aggressive thrash with gruff vocals: San Francisco's Possessed released the Death Metal demo, Switzerland's Hellhammer appeared on a compilation called Death Metal, and Florida's Death put out Death By Metal. Notice a theme yet?

}}

Verifiable uses of the term "death metal" began around 1983, however it was largely interchangeable with what is now understood as thrash metal.{{cite web |last1=Zoris |first1=Alexandros |title=HEAVY METAL SUBGENRES ΚΑΤΑ ΤΗΝ ΔΕΚΑΕΤΙΑ ΤΟΥ '80 – ΟΡΟΛΟΓΙΑ, ΑΠΑΡΧΕΣ, ΝΟΗΜΑΤΟΔΟΤΗΣΗ ΚΑΙ ΜΕΤΕΠΕΙΤΑ ΕΞΕΛΙΞΗ - ΜΕΡΟΣ 1ο |url=https://metalzone.gr/articles/heavy-metal-subgenres-%CE%BA%CE%B1%CF%84%CE%B1-%CF%84%CE%B7%CE%BD-%CE%B4%CE%B5%CE%BA%CE%B1%CE%B5%CF%84%CE%B9%CE%B1-%CF%84%CE%BF%CF%85-%E2%80%9880-%E2%80%93-%CE%BF%CF%81%CE%BF%CE%BB%CE%BF%CE%B3%CE%B9%CE%B1-%CE%B1%CF%80%CE%B1%CF%81%CF%87%CE%B5%CF%83-%CE%BD%CE%BF%CE%B7%CE%BC%CE%B1%CF%84%CE%BF%CE%B4%CE%BF%CF%84%CE%B7%CF%83%CE%B7-%CE%BA%CE%B1%CE%B9 |access-date=7 March 2025 |archive-date=March 7, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250307222244/https://metalzone.gr/articles/heavy-metal-subgenres-%CE%BA%CE%B1%CF%84%CE%B1-%CF%84%CE%B7%CE%BD-%CE%B4%CE%B5%CE%BA%CE%B1%CE%B5%CF%84%CE%B9%CE%B1-%CF%84%CE%BF%CF%85-%E2%80%9880-%E2%80%93-%CE%BF%CF%81%CE%BF%CE%BB%CE%BF%CE%B3%CE%B9%CE%B1-%CE%B1%CF%80%CE%B1%CF%81%CF%87%CE%B5%CF%83-%CE%BD%CE%BF%CE%B7%CE%BC%CE%B1%CF%84%CE%BF%CE%B4%CE%BF%CF%84%CE%B7%CF%83%CE%B7-%CE%BA%CE%B1%CE%B9 |url-status=live }} The 1983 premier issue of the zine Metal Chaos used the term to describe the music that disc-jockey Gene Khoury played on WMSC (FM){{cite journal |last1=Shapiro |first1=Lantz |journal=Metal Chaos |date=1983 |volume=1 |page=15 |title=Northwest Metal |url=https://thecorroseum.org/fanzines/metal_chaos-01.php#pid=14 |access-date=7 March 2025 |archive-date=March 13, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250313140846/https://thecorroseum.org/fanzines/metal_chaos-01.php#pid=14 |url-status=live }} and the Winter 1983–1984 issue of Metal Forces used the term to describe Metal Church{{cite journal |last1=Shannon |first1=Mike |title=Metal Church Let Us Pray |journal=Metal Forces |date=1984 |issue=2 |page=8 |url=https://archive.org/details/brjkkjjjjj |access-date=7 March 2025 |quote= Kurdt Vanderhof, the band's founder and guitarist, constructed the CHURCH even before the likes of Mike Varney, METALLICA or stateside Death Metal were ever established.}} and Hellhammer.{{cite journal |last1=Doe|first1=Bernard|title=Demo-Lition |journal=Metal Forces |date=1984 |issue=2 |page=45 |url=https://archive.org/details/brjkkjjjjj |access-date=7 March 2025 |quote=HELLHAMMER take the meaning of "Death Metal" to its extreme (you've surely got to be dead to appreciate this although brain damage may help!) However, the band like to describe their music as "Blood Attack" and proclaim themselves as being "The Axe Attack From The Darker Side Of Metal"}}

During 1984, use of the term began to gravitate towards more extreme bands, such as Bathory, Destruction, Onslaught, Slayer and Sodom. Hellhammer, in particular, put a significant emphasis on the term, being used in the liner notes for Apocalyptic Raids (1984), and being used as the name for both Thomas Fischer and Martin Ain's zine, and their split album Death Metal (1984).{{sfn|Purcell|2003|p=53}} The same year Possessed released their demo, Death Metal; featuring an eponymous song which would also be featured on the band's 1985 debut album, Seven Churches.{{sfn|Purcell|2003|p=53}} In an interview for Choosing Death: The Improbable History of Death Metal & Grindcore, Possessed vocalist and bassist Jeff Becerra said he coined the term for a high school English class assignment, stating "I figured speed metal and black metal were already taken, so what the fuck? So I said death metal, because that word wasn't associated with Venom or anybody else. It wasn't even about redefining it. We were playing this music and we were trying to be the heaviest thing on the face of the planet. We wanted just to piss people off and send everybody home. And that can't be, like, flower metal."{{sfn|Ekeroth|2008|p=11}}

Cited examples are not necessarily exclusive to one particular style. Many bands can easily be placed in two or more of the following categories, and a band's specific categorization is often a source of contention due to personal opinion and interpretation. The musical genres in this list are sorted alphabetically.

{{dynamic list}}

Blackened death-doom is a microgenre that combines the slow tempos and monolithic drumming of doom metal, the complex and loud riffage of death metal and the shrieking vocals of black metal.{{cite web |last1=Kelly |first1=Kim |author-link=Kim Kelly (journalist) |title=Morast Expertly Synthesize Black, Death, and Doom Metal on 'Ancestral Void' |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/morast-expertly-synthesize-black-death-and-doom-metal-on-ancestral-void/ |website=Noisey Vice |date=March 29, 2017 |access-date=August 18, 2018 |archive-date=August 19, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180819114417/https://noisey.vice.com/en_us/article/aepy85/morast-expertly-synthesize-black-death-and-doom-metal-on-ancestral-void |url-status=live }} Examples of blackened death-doom bands include Morast, Faustcoven, The Ruins of Beverast, Bölzer, Necros Christos, Harvest Gulgaltha,{{cite web |last1=Mattia |first1=A. |title=DON'T LOOK BELOW: HARVEST GULGALTHA – 'ALTARS OF DEVOTION' REVIEW + STREAM |url=https://www.cvltnation.com/dont-look-below-harvest-gulgaltha-altars-of-devotion-review-stream/ |website=Cvlt Nation |date=February 7, 2017 |access-date=August 18, 2018 |archive-date=July 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230709203610/http://cvltnation.com/dont-look-below-harvest-gulgaltha-altars-of-devotion-review-stream/ |url-status=live }} Dragged into Sunlight,{{cite web |last1=Falzon |first1=Denise |title=Dragged Into Sunlight 'Widowmaker' (album stream) |url=https://exclaim.ca/music/article/dragged_into_sunlight-widowmaker_album_stream |website=Exclaim! |date=October 31, 2012 |access-date=August 18, 2018 |archive-date=March 7, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230307144835/https://exclaim.ca/music/article/dragged_into_sunlight-widowmaker_album_stream |url-status=live }} Hands of Thieves,{{cite web |last1=Moore |first1=Doug |title=The Black Market: The Month In Metal – August 2016 |url=https://www.stereogum.com/1896781/the-black-market-the-month-in-metal-august-2016/franchises/the-black-market/ |website=Stereogum |date=August 31, 2016 |access-date=August 18, 2018 |archive-date=December 25, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191225165031/https://www.stereogum.com/1896781/the-black-market-the-month-in-metal-august-2016/franchises/the-black-market/ |url-status=live }} and Soulburn.{{cite web |last1=Daniels |first1=Eric |title=ERIC DANIELS / SOULBURN |url=https://www.jacksonguitars.com/artists/eric-daniels-bio |website=Jackson Guitars |access-date=August 18, 2018 |archive-date=June 18, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210618114517/https://www.jacksonguitars.com/artists/eric-daniels-bio |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |last1=Whelan |first1=Kez |title=Soulburn: Band Of The Day |url=http://www.terrorizer.com/news/botd/soulburn-band-day/ |website=Terrorizer |date=June 11, 2014 |access-date=August 18, 2018 |archive-date=June 3, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230603164154/http://www.terrorizer.com/news/botd/soulburn-band-day/ |url-status=live }} Kim Kelly, journalist from Vice, has called Faustcoven as "one of the finest bands to ever successfully meld black, death, and doom metal into a cohesive, legible whole."

{{Main|Blackened death metal}}

File:Goatwhore Party.San Metal Open Air 2016 11.jpg.]]

Blackened death metal is commonly death metal that incorporates musical, lyrical or ideological elements of black metal, such as an increased use of tremolo picking, anti-Christian or Satanic lyrical themes and chord progressions similar to those used in black metal.{{cite book |last1=Unger |first1=Matthew |title=Sound, Symbol, Sociality: The Aesthetic Experience of Extreme Metal Music |page=27}}{{cite web |url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/ninewinged-serpent-mw0000780983 |title=Ninewinged Serpent - Devian |last=Henderson |first=Alex |work=AllMusic |access-date=September 3, 2012 |archive-date=November 7, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151107031600/http://www.allmusic.com/album/ninewinged-serpent-mw0000780983 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=http://heavymetal.about.com/od/reviews/gr/hacavitz.htm |title=Hacavitz - Venganza Review |last=Bowar |first=Chad |work=About.com |access-date=September 3, 2012 |archive-date=June 17, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090617104950/http://heavymetal.about.com/od/reviews/gr/hacavitz.htm |url-status=unfit }} Blackened death metal bands are also more likely to wear corpse paint and suits of armour, than bands from other styles of death metal.{{cite book |last1=Gardner |first1=Robert Owen |title=Studies in Symbolic Interaction |page=119}} Lower range guitar tunings, death growls and abrupt tempo changes are common in the genre.{{Cite youtube |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_rpgS73sPI |title=Blackened Death Metal band debate with Jason Deaville of Bravewords {{!}} LOCK HORNS (archive) |date=2016-10-05 |last=Dunn |first=Sam |author-link=Sam Dunn |last2=Deaville |first2=Jason |type=Podcast}} Examples of blackened death metal bands are Belphegor,{{cite web |url=http://www.terrorizer.com/blog1.php/2011/10/21/belphegor-suspend-all-activities |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120714222121/http://www.terrorizer.com/blog1.php/2011/10/21/belphegor-suspend-all-activities |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 14, 2012 |title=Belphegor Suspends All Activities |date=October 21, 2011 |work=terrorizer.com |access-date=September 3, 2012 }} Behemoth,{{cite web |url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/behemoth-mn0000789429 |title=Behemoth |last=Prato |first=Greg |work=AllMusic |access-date=September 3, 2012 |archive-date=October 20, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231020142519/https://www.allmusic.com/artist/behemoth-mn0000789429 |url-status=live }} Akercocke,{{cite web|url=http://www.stylusmagazine.com/reviews/akercocke/words-that-go-unspoken-deeds-that-go-undone.htm |title=Akercocke – Words That Go Unspoken, Deeds That Go Undone – Review – Stylus Magazine |last=Lee |first=Cosmo |date=February 21, 2006 |work=Stylus Magazine |access-date=October 22, 2012 |quote=Death metal and black metal are notoriously insular, but Akercocke has distinguished itself by freely drawing from both. Death metal tends to emphasize the low end, while black metal mainly resides in the midrange and treble, so Akercocke's 'blackened death' hybrid is rich and full-bodied. |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120509181014/http://stylusmagazine.com/reviews/akercocke/words-that-go-unspoken-deeds-that-go-undone.htm |archive-date=May 9, 2012 }} and Sacramentum.Pretorious, Neil (July 30, 2009). "Review - Sacramentum - Far Away from the Sun"]. The Metal Observer. "If you think that Blackened Death Metal begins and ends with DISSECTION, then think again. SACRAMENTUM seriously dropped the (snow) ball with 'The Coming of Chaos' and 'Thy Black Destiny', but on 'Far Away from the Sun' they really delivered the goods on all fronts."

Melodic black-death (also known as blackened melodic death metal or melodic blackened death metal) is a genre of extreme metal that describes the style created when melodic death metal bands began being inspired by black metal and European romanticism. However, unlike most other black metal, this take on the genre would incorporate an increased sense of melody and narrative.{{cite web |last1=ANDREW |first1=J |title=Blackened Melodic Death Metal: A History Lesson |url=http://www.metalinjection.net/lists/blackened-melodic-death-metal-a-history-lesson |website=Metal Injection |access-date=July 25, 2018 |date=February 19, 2015 |archive-date=March 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220322025733/https://metalinjection.net/lists/blackened-melodic-death-metal-a-history-lesson |url-status=live }} Some bands who have played this style include Dissection,{{cite book |last1=Ekeroth |first1=Daniel |title=Swedish Death Metal |page=267}} Sacramentum, Naglfar, God Dethroned,{{cite web |last1=Divita |first1=Joe |title=GOD DETHRONED RETURN WITH 'THE WORLD ABLAZE,' UNLEASH DEATHLY MELODIC NEW SINGLE 'ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE WIRE' |url=http://loudwire.com/god-dethroned-the-world-ablaze-new-single-on-the-wrong-side-of-the-wire/ |website=Loudwire |date=5 April 2017 |access-date=25 July 2018 |archive-date=July 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230709184743/https://loudwire.com/god-dethroned-the-world-ablaze-new-single-on-the-wrong-side-of-the-wire/ |url-status=live }} Dawn, Unanimated, Thulcandra, Skeletonwitch{{cite web |last1=WIEDERHORN |first1=JON |title=SKELETONWITCH: HOW AN ANTON LAVEY–LOVING EX–CHOIR MEMBER PUSHED THRASHERS TO NEW LEVEL |url=https://www.revolvermag.com/music/skeletonwitch-how-anton-lavey%E2%80%93loving-ex%E2%80%93choir-member-pushed-thrashers-new-level |website=Revolver |access-date=25 July 2018 |date=18 June 2018 |archive-date=April 4, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404062843/https://www.revolvermag.com/music/skeletonwitch-how-anton-lavey%E2%80%93loving-ex%E2%80%93choir-member-pushed-thrashers-new-level |url-status=live }} and Cardinal Sin.{{cite magazine |last1=D |first1=Chris |title=Top 5 Dissection Clones |url=http://decibelmagazine.com/featured/36966/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160325001026/http://decibelmagazine.com/featured/36966/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=25 March 2016 |magazine=Decibel |access-date=25 July 2018}}

War metalRobert Müller: Wollt Ihr den ewigen Krieg?. Der tote Winkel. In: Metal Hammer, November 2011.Wolf-Rüdiger Mühlmann: SARCOFAGO. I.N.R.I. In: Rock Hard, Nr. 304, September 2012, p. 73. (also known as war black metalWolf-Rüdiger Mühlmann: War Black Metal: Die Extremsten der Extremen. Was bleibt, ist Schutt und Asche. In: Rock Hard, no. 279, pp. 71-73. or bestial black metal) is an aggressive, cacophonous and chaotic subgenre of blackened death metal,{{cite news |last1=KATEL |first1=JACOB |title=Florida's Top Ten Black Metal Bands |newspaper=Miami New Times |date=2013}} described by Rock Hard journalist Wolf-Rüdiger Mühlmann as "rabid" and "hammering". Important influences include first-wave black metal band Sodom, first-wave black metal/death metal band Possessed as well as old grindcore, black and death metal bands like Repulsion, Autopsy, Sarcófago and the first two Sepultura releases. War metal bands include Blasphemy,Wolf-Rüdiger Mühlmann: Impaled Nazarene. Tol Cormpt Norz Norz Norz. In: Rock Hard, no. 307, December 2012, p. 77. Archgoat, Impiety, In Battle,{{sfn|Ekeroth|2008|p=359}} Beherit, Crimson Thorn,{{cite web |title=A HILL TO DIE UPON - OMENS CD |url=https://boonesoverstock.com/products/a-hill-to-die-upon-omens |access-date=August 8, 2018 |archive-date=July 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230709172508/https://boonesoverstock.com/products/a-hill-to-die-upon-omens |url-status=live }} Bestial Warlust,{{cite web |last1=DISTEFANOl |first1=ALEX |title=The 13 Most Satanic Metal Bands |url=http://www.laweekly.com/music/13-most-satanic-metal-bands-8798306 |website=LA Weekly |access-date=August 8, 2018 |date=October 30, 2017 |archive-date=August 1, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180801232853/http://www.laweekly.com/music/13-most-satanic-metal-bands-8798306 |url-status=dead }} and Zyklon-B.{{cite book|last=Christe|first=Ian|title=Sound of the beast: the complete headbanging history of heavy metal|publisher=HarperCollins|isbn=978-0-380-81127-4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eWRv3E59V0YC|author-link=Ian Christe|access-date=March 13, 2012|page=281|date=February 17, 2004}}

File:Suffocation_(11_von_30).jpg vocalist Frank Mullen]]

{{Main|Brutal death metal}}

Brutal death metal is a subgenre of death metal that privileges heaviness, speed, and complex rhythms over other aspects, such as melody and timbres.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rSZOph-zlEgC|title=Death Metal and Music Criticism: Analysis at the Limits|first=Michelle|last=Phillipov|date=August 31, 2018|publisher=Lexington Books|via=Google Books|isbn=9780739164594}} Brutal death metal bands employ high-speed, palm-muted power chording and single-note riffage. Notable bands include Cannibal Corpse,{{cite book |last1=Purcell |first1=Natalie J. |title=Death Metal Music: The Passion and Politics of a Subculture |date=September 17, 2015 |publisher=McFarland & Company |isbn=9780786484065 |page=59 |quote=Cannibal Corpse's first album, Eaten Back to Life, was deemed pure, brutal Death Metal}}{{cite book |last1=McIver |first1=Joel |title=Extreme Metal II |date=March 10, 2010 |publisher=Music Sales |isbn=9780857122247 |quote=Buffalo band Cannibal Corpse are perhaps the most devoted brutal death metal act in this book, rarely diverging from the path of the blastbeat and the throaty roar.}} Dying Fetus, Suffocation,{{cite web|url=http://loudwire.com/best-metal-bands-different-subgenres/#photogallery-1=5|title=Best Metal Bands From 40 Different Subgenres|website=Loudwire|date=June 21, 2017|access-date=August 31, 2018|archive-date=July 9, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230709191044/https://loudwire.com/best-metal-bands-different-subgenres/#photogallery-1=5|url-status=live}} Cryptopsy,{{Cite web|url=https://www.decibelmagazine.com/2011/12/02/cryptopsy-none-so-vile/|title=Cryptopsy - "None so Vile"|first=Kevin|last=Stewart-Panko|date=December 2, 2011|website=Decibel Magazine|access-date=March 1, 2023|archive-date=March 1, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230301095521/https://www.decibelmagazine.com/2011/12/02/cryptopsy-none-so-vile/|url-status=live}} and Skinless.{{cite news|url=http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/reunited-skinless-were-back-to-destroy/|title=Reunited Skinless: 'We're Back To Destroy'|work=Blabbermouth.net|date=August 13, 2013|access-date=October 16, 2013|archive-date=July 9, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230709190831/https://blabbermouth.net/news/reunited-skinless-were-back-to-destroy|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=http://www.blabbermouth.net/cdreviews/trample-the-weak-hurdle-the-dead/|title=Trample The Weak, Hurdle the Dead Skinless|work=Blabbermouth.net|access-date=October 16, 2013|date=June 26, 2006|archive-date=December 7, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211207215435/https://www.blabbermouth.net/cdreviews/trample-the-weak-hurdle-the-dead/|url-status=live}}

{{further|Brutal death metal#Slam death metal}}

Slam death metal is a brutal death metal microgenre that evolved from the 1990s New York death metal scene, incorporating elements of hardcore punk.{{cite web | url=http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/music/discover-your-next-favorite-phoenix-metal-band-at-az-brutal-fest-7287179 | title=Discover Your Next Favorite Phoenix Metal Band at AZ Brutal Fest | work=Phoenix New Times | date=April 14, 2015 | access-date=July 6, 2017 | last=Wise | first=Lauren | archive-date=April 4, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404062534/http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/music/discover-your-next-favorite-phoenix-metal-band-at-az-brutal-fest-7287179 | url-status=live }} In contrast to other death metal styles, it is not generally focused on guitar solos and blast beats; instead, it employs mid-tempo rhythms, breakdowns, and palm-muted riffing, as well as hip hop-inspired vocal and drum beat rhythms. The breakdown riff of Suffocation's "Liege of Inveracity" has been credited by Rolling Stone as the first slam riff in death metal.{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/suffocation-gramercy-theatre-frank-mullen-final-show-review-758169/ |title=Farewell, Frank Mullen: Suffocation's Death-Metal Maestro Goes Out on Top |last=Shteamer |first=Hank |date=November 19, 2018 |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=September 9, 2019 |archive-date=May 15, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210515030753/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/suffocation-gramercy-theatre-frank-mullen-final-show-review-758169/ |url-status=live }} The first wave of bands in the genre were New York bands like Internal Bleeding and Pyrexia,{{cite book |last1=Purcell |first1=Natalie J. |title=Death Metal Music: The Passion and Politics of a Subculture |date=September 17, 2015 |publisher=McFarland & Company |isbn=9780786484065 |page=9 |quote=Many New York style bands like Suffocation, Dying Fetus and Internal Bleeding are slam-orientated and bass-based; this sort of music promotes dancing with rapid shifts from low and slow to fast and blast.}}{{cite book |last1=Purcell |first1=Natalie J. |title=Death Metal Music: The Passion and Politics of a Subculture |date=September 17, 2015 |publisher=McFarland & Company |isbn=9780786484065 |page=19 |quote=Slow 'slam' riffs helped bands like Internal Bleeding and Pyrexia, inspired by Suffocation, to become successful in the mid 1990s. Today, New York style bands like Skinless and Dying Fetus dominate the scene with 'crowd-pleasing mosh riffs'}} with notable subsequent acts including Devourment{{cite web | url=https://www.kerrang.com/features/how-brutal-death-metal-is-confronting-its-misogyny-problem/ | title=How Brutal Death Metal Is Confronting Its Misogyny Problem | work=Kerrang! | date=August 29, 2019 | access-date=January 19, 2021 | last=Zorgdrager | first=Bradley | archive-date=October 18, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211018001946/https://www.kerrang.com/features/how-brutal-death-metal-is-confronting-its-misogyny-problem/ | url-status=live }} and Cephalotripsy.{{cite journal |last1=Butler |first1=Will |title=Cannabis Corpse - Beneath Grow Lights Thou Shalt Rise LP |journal=Don't be Swindle |issue=1 |quote= Most standard death metal, and particularly its more brutal offshoots, is just too damn serious. Not too many people can enthusiastically back slam metal shit like Devourment or Cephalotripsy.}}

{{Main|Death-doom}}

File:My Dying Bride 44.jpg at Frozen Rock Fest. 2007.]]

Death-doom is a style that combines the slow tempos and pessimistic atmosphere of doom metal with the deep growling vocals and double-kick drumming of death metal."Doom Metal Special: Doom/Death", Terrorizer #142. Influenced mostly by the early work of Hellhammer and Celtic Frost, the style emerged during the late 1980s and gained a certain amount of popularity during the 1990s. Death-doom was also pioneered by bands such as Winter,{{sfn|Purcell|2003|p=23}} Disembowelment,{{sfn|Purcell|2003|p=23}} Paradise Lost,{{sfn|Purcell|2003|p=23}} Autopsy, Anathema, and My Dying Bride.{{sfn|Purcell|2003|p=23}}

{{Main|Funeral doom}}

Funeral doom is a genre that crosses death-doom with funeral dirge music.{{cite news |author=Davis, Cody |title=Funeral Doom Friday: FUNERAL MOURNING's Blackened, Deadly Inertia of Dissonance (A Sermon in Finality) |url=http://www.metalinjection.net/av/funeral-doom-friday/funeral-mournings-blackened-deadly-inertia-of-dissonance-a-sermon-in-finality |work=Metal Injection |access-date=July 29, 2018 |date=September 9, 2016 |archive-date=July 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230709182616/https://metalinjection.net/av/funeral-doom-friday/funeral-mournings-blackened-deadly-inertia-of-dissonance-a-sermon-in-finality |url-status=live }} It is played at a very slow tempo, and places an emphasis on evoking a sense of emptiness and despair.{{cite web |url=https://daily.bandcamp.com/2017/02/02/doom-metal-a-brief-timeline/ |title=Doom Metal: A Brief Timeline |work=Bandcamp daily |access-date=June 30, 2018 |date=February 2, 2017 |archive-date=October 7, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191007204041/https://daily.bandcamp.com/2017/02/02/doom-metal-a-brief-timeline/ |url-status=live }} Typically, electric guitars are heavily distorted and dark ambient aspects such as keyboards or synthesizers are often used to create a dreamlike atmosphere.{{cite thesis |last=Ebner |first=Arne |date=July 25, 2010 |title=Ästhetik des Doom |type=Bachelor |institution=Macromedia University of Applied Sciences for Media and Communication - Cologne |url=http://doom.resettheworld.com/aesthetik_des_doom_arne_ebner_40mb.pdf |access-date=August 18, 2018 |language=de |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304075156/http://doom.resettheworld.com/aesthetik_des_doom_arne_ebner_40mb.pdf |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |url-status=dead }} Vocals consist of mournful chants or growls and are often in the background. Funeral doom was pioneered by Mournful Congregation (Australia), Esoteric (United Kingdom), Evoken (United States), Funeral (Norway), Thergothon (Finland), and Skepticism (Finland).James Minton, Kim Kelly, and Jenn Selby, "Filth Parade", Terrorizer #188, September 2009, p. 56.

{{Main|Death 'n' roll}}

Death 'n' roll is a style that combines death metal's growled vocals and highly distorted detuned guitar riffs along with elements of 1970s hard rock and heavy metal.{{cite web|first=Huey|last=Steve|title=Gorefest Biography|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/p39113/biography|website=AllMusic|access-date=February 15, 2008|quote=Erase, was released in 1994 and found the band moving subtly toward more traditional forms of metal, partly through its sure sense of groove. That approach crystallized on 1996's Soul Survivor, which combined death metal with the elegant power and accessibility of '70s British metal.|archive-date=July 31, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230731093107/https://www.allmusic.com/artist/gorefest-mn0000664807|url-status=live}} Notable examples include Entombed, Gorefest, and Six Feet Under.

===Deathcore===

{{Main|Deathcore}}

Deathcore is a subgenre that merges the intensity of death metal with the aggressive elements of metalcore. It is characterized by fast drumming, including blast beats, down-tuned guitars, tremolo picking, growled vocals, high-pitched shrieks, and the breakdowns typical of metalcore. Decibel magazine noted that "one of Suffocation's trademarks, breakdowns, has spawned an entire metal subgenre: deathcore."{{cite journal|last=Lee|first=Cosmo|title=Suffocation reclaim their rightful place as kings of death metal|issue=59|quote=One of Suffocation's trademarks, breakdowns, has spawned an entire metal subgenre: deathcore|journal=Decibel|date=September 2009}} Dying Fetus was also influencing deathcore through their extensive use of slam riffs, breakdowns, and hardcore-inspired grooves. Their 1996 album Purification Through Violence and 1998's Killing on Adrenaline introduced a mix of brutal death metal and hardcore elements that would later be adopted by deathcore bands.{{cite web|title=How Dying Fetus Influenced Deathcore|url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/the-influence-of-dying-fetus-on-modern-extreme-metal|website=Louder Sound|access-date=February 24, 2025}} Early pioneers of deathcore include the Red Chord, Suicide Silence, Despised Icon, Ion Dissonance, Salt the Wound, Whitechapel, Job For A Cowboy, Carnifex, and the Acacia Strain. These bands combined the technicality of death metal with the breakdown-driven structures of metalcore, creating a distinct and influential sound.{{cite web|title=The History of Deathcore: How The Red Chord, Despised Icon, and Whitechapel Defined a Genre|url=https://metalinjection.net/lists/the-history-of-deathcore|website=Metal Injection|access-date=February 24, 2025}}

{{Main|Deathgrind|Goregrind|Pornogrind}}

File:Aborted Coolness'tival 31107 06.jpg are "key contributors to the death-grind genres," according to AllMusic.{{cite web|last=Rivadavia|first=Eduardo|title=Aborted Biography|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/p568178|website=AllMusic|access-date=June 10, 2009|archive-date=April 25, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110425110958/http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p568178|url-status=live}}]]

Goregrind, deathgrind and pornogrind{{cite news|last=Brown|first=Jonathon|title=Everything you ever wanted to know about pop (but were too old to ask)|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/everything-you-ever-wanted-to-know-about-pop-but-were-too-old-to-ask-463915.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080614094343/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/everything-you-ever-wanted-to-know-about-pop-but-were-too-old-to-ask-463915.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 14, 2008|work=The Independent|access-date=June 16, 2009|location=London|date=September 6, 2007}}{{sfn|Purcell|2003|p=24}} are styles that mix grindcore with death metal, with goregrind focused on themes like gore and forensic pathology,Badin, Olivier (2009). "Goregrind". Terrorizer, 181, p.41. and pornogrind dealing with sexual and pornographic themes.{{cite news |author=Anderson, Vicki |title=Running the musical gauntlet |url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/lifestyle/166537 |newspaper=The Press |access-date=June 16, 2009 |archive-date=September 23, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090923205705/http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/lifestyle/166537 |url-status=live }}{{cite news |author=Hess, Amanda |title=Brick and Mordor: A record store heavy on the metal spins its last gloom and doom |url=http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/arts/article/13034822/brick-and-mordor |newspaper=Washington City Paper |access-date=June 16, 2009 |archive-date=February 3, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170203080531/http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/arts/article/13034822/brick-and-mordor |url-status=live }} Some notable examples of these genres are Brujeria, Cattle Decapitation,{{cite news|title=Pop and Rock Listings:The Locust, Cattle Decapitation, Daughters|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/13/arts/music/13pop.html|work=The New York Times|access-date=August 6, 2008|date=April 13, 2007|archive-date=January 8, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230108100428/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/13/arts/music/13pop.html|url-status=live}} Cephalic Carnage, Pig Destroyer,{{cite news|first=Bryan|last=Reed|title=The Daily Tar Heel Column|url=http://media.www.dailytarheel.com/media/storage/paper885/news/2007/07/19/Arts/phantom.Limb.Exorcises.Its.Emotions-2925041.shtml|work=The Daily Tar Heel|access-date=August 6, 2008|date=July 19, 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20081202153909/http://media.www.dailytarheel.com/media/storage/paper885/news/2007/07/19/Arts/phantom.Limb.Exorcises.Its.Emotions-2925041.shtml|archive-date=December 2, 2008}} Circle of Dead Children, Rotten Sound, Gut,{{cite web|last=Hess|first=Amanda|title=Brick and Mordor: A record store heavy on the metal spins its last gloom and doom|url=http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/display.php?id=34450|work=Washington City Paper|date=January 18, 2008|access-date=June 16, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080519084649/http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/display.php?id=34450|archive-date=May 19, 2008}} and Cock and Ball Torture.{{cite journal|last=Mincemoyer|first=John|title=Gore International|journal=Terrorizer|year=2002|issue=98|pages=19–20}}{{cite web|last=Sharpe-Young|first=Garry|title=Deaden Biography|url=http://www.musicmight.com/artist/usa/deaden|publisher=MusicMight|access-date=July 17, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090925031003/http://www.musicmight.com/artist/usa/deaden|archive-date=September 25, 2009}}

Deathrash, also known as death-thrash, is a shorthand term to describe bands who play a fusion of death metal and thrash metal.{{cite web|url=http://www.metalsucks.net/2012/01/03/album-of-the-day-deathchains-deathrash-assault/|title=ALBUM OF THE DAY: DEATHCHAIN'S DEATHRASH ASSAULT|date=January 3, 2012|publisher=Metal Sucks|last=FORD|first=LEYLA|access-date=August 30, 2018|archive-date=April 3, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170403175912/http://www.metalsucks.net/2012/01/03/album-of-the-day-deathchains-deathrash-assault/|url-status=live}}{{sfn|Ekeroth|2008|p={{page needed|date=June 2021}}}} The genre gained notoriety in Bali, Indonesia, where it attracted criticism of being related to the accelerated tourism development on the island and the superseding of its local culture, particularly by Jakartan one.{{cite journal |last1=Baulch |first1=Emma |date=June 26, 2003 |title=Gesturing elsewhere: the identity politics of the Balinese death/thrash metal scene |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/popular-music/article/gesturing-elsewhere-the-identity-politics-of-the-balinese-deaththrash-metal-scene/445967636598FFB140ACA6DCE39892F8 |journal=Popular Music |volume=22 |issue=2 |pages=195–215 |doi=10.1017/S026114300300312X |s2cid=154198377 |access-date=August 30, 2018 |archive-date=August 30, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180830074036/https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/popular-music/article/gesturing-elsewhere-the-identity-politics-of-the-balinese-deaththrash-metal-scene/445967636598FFB140ACA6DCE39892F8 |url-status=live }} Notable bands include Grave,{{cite magazine|url=https://www.decibelmagazine.com/2012/10/09/a-very-heavy-halloween-ii-into-the-darkness-into-the-grave/|title=A Very Heavy Halloween II: Into the Darkness, Into the Grave|date=October 9, 2012|magazine=Decibel Magazine|access-date=August 29, 2018|archive-date=July 9, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230709182811/https://www.decibelmagazine.com/2012/10/09/a-very-heavy-halloween-ii-into-the-darkness-into-the-grave/|url-status=live}} Mortification,{{cite web | url = http://www.amo.org.au/artist.asp?id=332 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080810182831/http://www.amo.org.au/artist.asp?id=332 | title = Mortification | work = Australian Music Online (AMO) | publisher = Australia Council for the Arts (Government of Australia) | archive-date = August 10, 2008 | access-date =August 18, 2011 }} The Crown,{{sfn|Ekeroth|2008|p={{page needed|date=June 2021}}}} Incapacity,{{sfn|Ekeroth|2008|p={{page needed|date=June 2021}}}} Darkane,{{sfn|Ekeroth|2008|p={{page needed|date=June 2021}}}} Deathchain, and Sepultura.{{cite AV media notes |title=Arise |title-link=Arise (Sepultura album) |others=Sepultura |year=1997 |first=Don |last=Kaye |page=10 |type=CD booklet |publisher=Roadrunner Records |location=New York, NY}}

Industrial death metal is a genre of death metal that adds elements of industrial music.{{cite magazine|last=Arnopp|first=Jason|year=1993|title=Industrial Metal: A User's Guide|magazine=Kerrang!|pages=44|number=462}} Some notable bands include Fear Factory,{{Cite web |url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/fear-factory-mn0000167320/biography |title=Fear Factory — Biography |last=Huey |first=Steve |website=AllMusic |publisher=All Media Network |access-date=September 15, 2017 |archive-date=January 7, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160107051807/http://www.allmusic.com/artist/fear-factory-mn0000167320/biography |url-status=live }} Anaal Nathrakh,{{cite web|url=http://www.metalinjection.net/upcoming-releases/anaal-nathrakh-announces-new-album-a-new-kind-of-horror|title=ANAAL NATHRAKH Announces New Album A New Kind Of Horror|date=May 21, 2018|access-date=August 22, 2018|archive-date=June 30, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180630025040/http://www.metalinjection.net/upcoming-releases/anaal-nathrakh-announces-new-album-a-new-kind-of-horror|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/hell-is-empty-and-all-the-devils-are-here-mw0000582701|title=Hell Is Empty, and All the Devils Are Here - Anaal Nathrakh - Songs, Reviews, Credits - AllMusic|website=AllMusic|access-date=August 22, 2018|archive-date=August 19, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180819011214/https://www.allmusic.com/album/hell-is-empty-and-all-the-devils-are-here-mw0000582701|url-status=live}} Autokrator,{{cite web| url=http://www.nocleansinging.com/2015/04/16/autokrator-a-get-to-the-point-interview-and-a-review| title=Autokrator, a get to the point interview and a review| publisher=No Clean Singing| year=2015| access-date=April 16, 2015| archive-date=December 21, 2015| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151221194437/http://www.nocleansinging.com/2015/04/16/autokrator-a-get-to-the-point-interview-and-a-review/| url-status=live}} and Meathook Seed.{{cite web|url=http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=16769|title=It's Official: CANNIBAL CORPSE Are The Top-Selling Death Metal Band Of The SoundScan Era|date=November 17, 2003|publisher=BLABBERMOUTH.NET|access-date=September 13, 2017|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080602230201/http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=16769|archive-date=June 2, 2008}}

{{Main|Melodic death metal}}

File:At the Gates Sweden Rock 2008.jpg performing in 2008.]]

Swedish death metal could be considered the forerunner of "melodic death metal". Melodic death metal, occasionally shortened to "melodeath", is a fusion of heavy metal with elements of death metal. The subgenre is heavily influenced by the new wave of British heavy metal.{{Cite web|url=https://www.liveabout.com/what-is-melodic-death-metal-1756186|title=What is Melodic Death Metal?|url-status=dead|access-date=June 25, 2019|archive-date=June 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200612211132/https://www.liveabout.com/what-is-melodic-death-metal-1756186}} Unlike most other death metal, melodeath usually features screams instead of growls, slower tempos, and much stronger emphasis on melody. Clean vocals may be used on occasion. Carcass is sometimes credited with releasing the first melodic death metal album with 1993's Heartwork, although Swedish bands In Flames, Dark Tranquillity, and At the Gates are usually mentioned as the main pioneers of the genre and of the Gothenburg metal sound.

Old school death metal is a style of death metal that is characterized by slower tempos and simpler song structures.The style typically employs fewer blast beats and is less concerned with the technical aspects of songwriting.{{sfn|Purcell|2003|p=23}} It gained prominence in the late 1990s, with bands like Repugnant,{{cite magazine |url=https://www.stim.se/sv/nyheter/tobias-forge-far-stims-platinagitarr-2019 |title=Tobias Forge får Stims Platinagitarr 2019 |magazine=STIM |language=Swedish |date=14 November 2019 |access-date=27 April 2020 |archive-date=July 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230709185204/https://www.stim.se/sv/nyheter/tobias-forge-far-stims-platinagitarr-2019 |url-status=live }}{{sfn|Ekeroth|2008|p={{page needed|date=June 2021}}}} Thanatos,{{cite web | url=https://www.decibelmagazine.com/2019/04/04/interview-thanatos/ | title=Interview: Old-School Dutch Death Metallers Thanatos at 35 Years, with New Compilation, New Label, and New Album in 2020 | work=Decibel Magazine | date=April 4, 2019 | access-date=May 1, 2021 | last=Lewis | first=James | archive-date=July 9, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230709172338/https://www.decibelmagazine.com/2019/04/04/interview-thanatos/ | url-status=live }} Necrophagia,{{sfn|Purcell|2003|p=23}} Abscess,{{sfn|Purcell|2003|p=23}} Bloodbath{{sfn|Purcell|2003|p=23}} and Mortem.{{sfn|Purcell|2003|p=23}}

Symphonic death metal is a genre of death metal that adds elements of classical music. Bands described as symphonic death metal include Fleshgod Apocalypse,{{Cite news|url=http://www.metalinjection.net/reviews/album-review-fleshgod-apocalypse-king|title=Album Review: FLESHGOD APOCALYPSEKing - Metal Injection|date=February 5, 2016|newspaper=Metal Injection|access-date=January 22, 2017|archive-date=February 2, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202005256/http://www.metalinjection.net/reviews/album-review-fleshgod-apocalypse-king|url-status=live}} Septicflesh,{{Cite news|url=http://teamrock.com/feature/2016-09-27/10-of-the-best-metal-bands-from-greece|title=10 of the best metal bands from Greece|date=September 27, 2016|newspaper=Metal Hammer|access-date=January 22, 2017|archive-date=February 2, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202022748/http://teamrock.com/feature/2016-09-27/10-of-the-best-metal-bands-from-greece|url-status=live}} Necronomicon,{{Cite news|url=http://www.metalinjection.net/show-recap/marduk-couldnt-make-it-but-rotting-christ-carach-angren-and-necronomicon-put-on-quite-the-show|title=Marduk Couldn't Make It, But Rotting Christ, Carach Angren and Necronomicon Put On Quite The Show - Metal Injection|date=September 8, 2016|newspaper=Metal Injection|access-date=January 22, 2017|archive-date=February 2, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202005134/http://www.metalinjection.net/show-recap/marduk-couldnt-make-it-but-rotting-christ-carach-angren-and-necronomicon-put-on-quite-the-show|url-status=live}} and Children of Bodom.{{Cite news |last=Distefano |first=Alex |date=December 5, 2016 |title=Children of Bodom Prepare For a Night of Shredding at Observatory |url=https://www.ocweekly.com/children-of-bodom-prepare-for-a-night-of-shredding-at-observatory-7723345/ |access-date=January 22, 2017 |newspaper=OC Weekly |archive-date=July 19, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180719142955/https://www.ocweekly.com/children-of-bodom-prepare-for-a-night-of-shredding-at-observatory-7723345/ |url-status=live }} Haggard's 2000 album, Awaking the Centuries, has been described as death metal-styled symphonic metal.{{Cite news|url=http://teamrock.com/feature/2016-11-02/the-10-essential-symphonic-metal-albums|title=The 10 Essential Symphonic Metal Albums|date=November 2, 2016|newspaper=Metal Hammer|access-date=January 22, 2017|archive-date=December 29, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161229033404/http://teamrock.com/feature/2016-11-02/the-10-essential-symphonic-metal-albums|url-status=live}}

{{Main|Technical death metal}}

File:Nile in performance (São Paulo, 2010).jpg performing in 2010.]]

Technical death metal (also known as tech-death, progressive death metal, or prog-death){{cite web |author=Simms, Kelley |title=Obscura Interview |url=http://heavymetal.about.com/od/interviews/a/Obscura-Interview.htm |publisher=About.com |access-date=June 20, 2012 |url-status=unfit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131105063047/http://heavymetal.about.com/od/interviews/a/Obscura-Interview.htm |archive-date=November 5, 2013 }} is a subgenre of death metal that employs dynamic song structures, uncommon time signatures, atypical rhythms and unusual harmonies and melodies. Bands described as technical death metal or progressive death metal usually fuse common death metal aesthetics with elements of progressive rock, jazz or classical music. While the term technical death metal is sometimes used to describe bands that focus on speed and extremity as well as complexity, the line between progressive and technical death metal is thin. Tech death and prog death, for short, are terms commonly applied to such bands as Nile, Edge of Sanity, and Opeth. Necrophagist and Spawn of Possession are known for a classical music-influenced death metal style. Death metal pioneers Death also refined their style in a more progressive direction in their final years. Some albums for this subgenre are Hallucinations (1990) by the German band Atrocity and Death's Human (1991). This style has significantly influenced many bands, creating a stream that in Europe was carried out at first by bands such as Gory Blister and Electrocution.{{Cite book|title=Sub Terra|last=Vitolo|first=Eduardo|publisher=Tsunami Edizioni|year=2012|isbn=978-88-96131-41-1|location=Milano|pages=316–319}} The Polish band Decapitated gained recognition as one of Europe's primary modern technical death metal acts.{{cite web|first=Eduardo|last=Rivadavia|title=Decapitated Biography|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/p420031|website=AllMusic|access-date=February 7, 2010|archive-date=April 25, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110425111406/http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p420031|url-status=live}}{{cite news|title=Decapitated's New Lineup Performs Live For First Time|url=http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=134476|work=Blabbermouth.net|date=February 3, 2010|access-date=February 7, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110426050603/http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=134476|archive-date=April 26, 2011}}

• List of death metal bands

{{Reflist}}

• {{Cite book |last=Christe |first=Ian |author-link=Ian Christe |year=2003 |title=Sound of the Beast: The Complete Headbanging History of Heavy Metal |title-link=Sound of the Beast: The Complete Headbanging History of Heavy Metal |publisher=HarperCollins |isbn=978-0-380-81127-4}}
• {{Cite book |last=Ekeroth |first=Daniel |year=2008 |title=Swedish Death Metal |publisher=Bazillion Points |isbn=978-0-9796163-1-0}}
• {{Cite book |last=Kahn-Harris |first=Keith |author-link=Keith Kahn-Harris |year=2007 |title=Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge |publisher=Berg Publishers |isbn=978-1-84520-399-3}}
• {{Cite book |last=McIver |first=Joel |author-link=Joel McIver |year=2000 |title=Extreme Metal |url=https://archive.org/details/extrememetal00mciv |url-access=registration |publisher=Omnibus Press |isbn=978-88-7333-005-9}}
• {{Cite book |last=Mudrian |first=Albert |year=2004 |title=Choosing Death: The Improbable History of Death Metal & Grindcore |title-link=Choosing Death: The Improbable History of Death Metal & Grindcore |publisher=Feral House |isbn=978-1-932595-04-8}}
• {{Cite book |last=Netherton |first=Jason |year=2014 |title=Extremity Retained: Notes From the Death Metal Underground |publisher=Handshake, Inc. |isbn=978-1-631734-74-8}}
• {{Cite book |last=Purcell |first=Natalie J. |year=2003 |title=Death Metal Music: The Passion and Politics of a Subculture |publisher=McFarland & Company |isbn=978-0-7864-1585-4}}

• {{Cite thesis |last=Strother |first=Eric |title=Unlocking the Paradox of Christian Metal Music |date=2013 |access-date=October 17, 2024 |degree=PhD |publisher=University of Kentucky |url=https://www.academia.edu/34244830 |page=70, note 110}}

• {{Cite book |last=Swinford |first=Dean |year=2013 |title=Death Metal Epic (Book I: The Inverted Katabasis) |publisher=Atlatl Press |isbn=978-0-9883484-3-1}}

{{wikiquote}}

• {{Commons category-inline|Death metal}}

{{Extreme metal}}{{Hardcore punk}}{{Heavy metal music}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Death Metal}}

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