Death Metal?

I have'nt seen a proper Death Metal thread on here among the Beatles,and LZII pressing discussions,so here goes. Just throw up a list of you favorites,a release that sounds great,or maybe one to avoid,and or recomendations/favorites. Some of my favorites are as follows....
Gorguts-Considered Dead
Vital Remains-Let Us Pray
Carnage-Dark Recollections
Obituary-Cause of Death
Morta Skuld-Dying Remains
Ripping Corpse-Dreaming with the Dead
Demigod-Slumber of Sullen Eyes
Autopsy-Mental Funeral
Sorrow-Hatred and Disgust
Death-Individual Thought Patterns
I really enjoy the Classics,but there are a few great new bands out there too....Crucimentum,Funebrarum,Morbus Chron,Horrorendous.
GO!

 

Death - Symbolic
Morbid Angel - Altars of Madness

 

Of all the major subgenres of metal, it took me the longest to warm up to death metal, but I came around to it eventually.

It started with a bootleg Sepultura compilation, on which I heard actual death metal for the first time (tracks off Bestial Devastation and Morbid Visions), and continued with select songs from Therion's first three albums. After that, I got into Morbid Angel and Death, and immediately after that, Obituary.

Then I became interested in Atheist and Cynic, who were doing something different back in the day. The next stop were later Carcass albums, as well as At the Gates, which was my introduction to melodic death metal. Along the way, I picked up Edge of Sanity. When I discovered Dismember's first album, it didn't take me long to realize that it was forever going to be at least in the top 5 DM albums for me. Another great band I discovered is Atrocity (first two album's only), a German band. Very, very underrated.

I also had a brush with brutal death metal, through Cryptopsy and Suffocation. I saw Suffocation play live in 2007 in Belgrade, and it was unreal. I was right next to the very small stage, and nearly got whipped with one of Terrence Hobbs' giant dreadlocks when he started headbanging (a Spinal Tap moment, or what?). It was truly something else to hear them play so precise, considering how complex their songs are.

These days I'm rediscovering the amazing, but nearly forgotten Edge of Sanity. Their fourth album Purgatory Afterglow is my current favorite death metal album, although to be fair, it contains a lot of rock, goth, and classic heavy metal elements, and it even has a hardcore song to finish it off.

My current top 10:

Edge of Sanity - Purgatory Afterglow
Dismember - Like an Ever Flowing Stream
Atheist - Piece of Time
At the Gates - Terminal Spirit Disease
Morbid Angel - Blessed are the Sick
Sentenced - North from Here
Asphyx - The Rack
Atrocity - Todessehnsucht
Pestilence - Consuming Impulse
Death - Human

 

I have pretty limited knowledge of this genre, but Death are probably the best known and most consistent progenitors of the death metal genre, although Opeth are more accessible and popular with the way they mix up the trademark death metal growls with Greg Lake-esque clean vocals and epic King Crimson-influenced structures. I did a Greatest American Band poll shortly after joining, before discovering Death; I probably would have otherwise included them because of their four highly acclaimed 1990s albums, but given the disdain some of the more modern bands in the poll got, it's pretty amusing to think how much I'd have been ridiculed if I'd done so!

Here are the death metal albums I've heard (according to their categorization on Rate Your Music, which can sometimes be a little loose):
Atheist: Unquestionable Presence (1991)
Death: Human (1991)
Death: Individual Thought Patterns (1993)
Death: Symbolic (1995)
Death: The Sound of Perseverance (1998)
Immolation: Close to a World Below (2000)
Opeth: Blackwater Park (2001)

Anyway, my thoughts on some of these albums (I only heard Individual Thought Patterns once and don't remember much about it) - regarding Death, The Sound of Perseverance sums up best what I like and don't like what I've heard of the genre of so far - this album has some of the most seriously impressive instrumental backing I've ever heard in metal; a kind of hyped-up Metallica meets Return to Forever II meets King Crimson (if that were at all possible) but Chuck Schuldiner's vocals, being mildly amusing in a kitschy B horror movie kind of way at best and downright annoying at worst (the exception being the Judas Priest cover), really detracted from my enjoyment. I then thought death metal might not be my thing, as TBH I wasn't too keen on Unquestionable Presence or Symbolic (both of which I had heard before TSoP) either, thought I've always loved Blackwater Park.

However my scepticism was won over when I heard and really enjoyed Human and think it may be the best they've even done; it's not as adventurous musically as The Sounds of Perseverance but I find it sonically more varied and interesting and as whole tighter and more focused. Also I don't find the growls so objectionable, although I'm not quite sure why; maybe because they remain in a low register for the most part and don't sound as goofy as on TSoP and/or they just seem more appropriate to the less complex music. And Cosmic Sea is one of the finest instrumentals I've heard, not just in metal but probably in all rock/pop music. I also enjoyed Close to a World Below a lot more than I thought I would considering my still lingering reservations towards death metal - it's ferociously uncompromising yes, but it's also highly compelling and at 42 minutes is just the right length.

Well, that's the limit of my contribution (so far!) to this thread...

 

My favorite is Cannibal Corpse, but I also enjoy Morbid Angel, Entombed, In Flames, and Dimension Zero.

 

This may be a silly question. Are the bands Sleep or Graveyard considered "death". I like both, but consider them melodic or traditional rock w/ Sabbath as a major influence. Sorry for the off-topic question. Thanks.

 

In Flames have their moments - A Sense of Purpose in particular. Wildhoney by Tiamat is also pretty stellar.

The rest I don't get, or would want to get. Sorry. In part, if Tom Araya can sing a song, so should everyone. Lyrics are generally laughable but maybe that's the point. It's disappointing the need to rebel and be noticed has reached such depravity.

 

Never really been a fan, by the time death metal started getting popular I was moving off into other forms of music. I had some of the earlier stuff that led to death metal; Possessed, Sepultura, etc. I also liked the first couple Obituary, Death and Morbid Angel albums, but I didn't follow the scene and stopped buying that style (and most metal actually) around 1992 or so.

About 4 years ago when I started obsessing over Porcupine Tree that naturally led me to Opeth. The first time I sampled their music (probably Ghost Reveries) the death metal vocals turned me off and for a time I didn't pursue them any further. Then one night while trying to find something to watch on Netflix I happened upon the "Lamentations" concert, I decided to give it a shot and was absolutely floored by their live performance of the Damnation album (all clean vocals, mostly prog). I became an instant fan and slowly but surely went from tolerating the death metal vocals to really enjoying them. I realized the way Mikael approached the vocals was almost like horn voicings, creating a texture and giving a wonderful push & pull dynamic when coupled with his clean vocals. But Opeth is a very special beast, I haven't really found any other extreme bands that have the kind of variety they have. I now count Opeth as one of my all-time favorite bands, but I don't think they were ever strictly "death metal" or "black metal", but a progressive band that used those styles as elements in the larger overall tapestry of their sound.

I'll probably never be a big death metal fan, but I can definitely appreciate some of the music and feel that it deserves respect.

 

Sleep usually gets classified as "stoner metal", Graveyard does sometimes as well but I just call them "retro".

If you like Graveyard I highly suggest checking out another Swedish band called "Witchcraft" who I think are even better.

 

Cool. Thanks. All the sub-metal names gets me confused. .

 

Some of my favorites are Lamb of God, As I Lay Dying, Carcass, and All That Remains. Also enjoyed Katatonia and Opeth as well as Akerfeldt and Blackheim's collaboration, BloodBath.

 

Type O Negative - Bloody Kisses

 

Count me in as a big fan of Opeth. That's actually the only death metal band I like. I just don't enjoy the "Cookie Monster " vocals. As I've said in other threads I really like Devin Townsend and Strapping Young Lad but that's probably more extreme metal or industrial metal.

 

Was into Death Metal for a few years, loved the late 80's early 90's scene. Occassionally still throw on a record if I am in the right mood.

Morbid Angel - Altars, Blessed, Covenant, Domination
Carcass - Necroticism, Symphonies
Cryptopsy - None So Vile
HellHammer - All of it
Malevolent Creation - Ten Commandments, Retribution plus all their older material.
Autopsy - Severed Survival, Mental funeral
Obituary - The End Complete, World Demise
Rippikoulu - Musta Seremonia
Immolation
Entombed

 

Im surprised that no one has mentioned Behemoth and their album Demigod.

 

Is death metal the one with the froggy voice or is that frog metal ?

 

Funnily enough, Opeth were the first death metal band I heard, and despite having mixed opinions of cookie monster vocals from other bands I've subsequently heard, I've enjoyed Mikael Åkerfeldt's from the outset. I just think of them as another instrument, as part of the rhythm section, and in contributing to their trademark mix of light and shade, and in their dynamic shifts between straightforward prog/folk rock and brutal heavy metal. Sometimes in other bands this vocal style can sound goofy and more comical in a cartoony sense than genuinely menacing, but in Opeth as a dramatic contrast to their deceptively innocent and airy clean vocals at best it can be devastatingly effective.

 

Bathory - The Return of Darkness and Evil.
I have the original vinyl issue

 

i loved Deathmetal in the early days 85 -89 after that the slicker production and virtuosity put me off.

 

My favourite Death Metal albums ever:

Morbid Angel - Abominations Of Desolation
Possessed - Seven Churches
Bathory - Under The Sign Of the Black Mark
Bathory - The Return...
Vulcano - Bloody Vengeance
Sepultura - Schizophrenia
Celtic Frost - To Mega Therion
Hellhammer - Satanic Rites (Demo)
Autopsy - Severed Survival
Autopsy - Mental Funeral
Entombed - Left Hand Path
Sorcery - Bloodchilling Tales
Sarcofago - I.N.R.I.

...and much more...!!!

 

I've dipped a toe in the water, but frog vocals put me off fast, and I went in the opposite ethereal dark music direction. I may give Opeth a try, sounds like safe kiddie pool.

 

I just discovered both Graveyard and Witchcraft. Both fantastic retro bands. Another one I really like is Blood Ceremony.

 

I can't get into death metal much. But I haven't heard a whole lot of it either. To me Opeth is almost more of a progressive rock band so I don't really count them. One band someone tried to turn me on to was Nile. The album is called "Annihilation of the Wicked". It's just too intense for me. I think it's the only album where I've never been able to follow along with the lyrics even when they are right in front me.

 

Agreed that I've never considered Opeth as death metal, either. Progressive Rock/Metal to me though the vocals, obviously, pay homage to the genre, the music isn't typical of DM.

Secondly, Bathory isn't a death metal act. If anything, they were an early Black Metal outfit, but I never seen them described as "death metal".

I'm right there with Rael in that I can't get into the genre much, either. Six Feet Under isn't bad, musically, but Chris Barnes's vocals are so hilariously bad these days, but it's more of a comedy routine than an actual band. Weakest delivery I can think of, but maybe the dude has ruined his voice (very possible).