The Death Metal FAQ

Following the success of the (soon to be updated) Black Metal FAQ, I have received many requests for a similar outline of death metal. Here it is. Enjoy (or burn)!

Contents:

1. What is Death Metal?
1.1 Overview
1.2 Ideology
1.3 Aesthetics

2. History and Development
2.1 Early Development
2.2 Second Wave and Regional Development
2.3 Subsequent Development
2.4 Gaythenburg, or Iron Maiden With a Cold is NOT Death Metal

3. Death Metal Recommendations
3.1 Developmentally Important Death Metal Recordings
3.2 Elite Death Metal Recordings

1. What Is Death Metal?

1.1- Overview

As with black metal, death metal is a post-rock musical genre characterized in part by adherence to certain ideological principles. However, unlike black metal, death metal developed an aesthetic as well as ideological framework from its outset.

1.2- Ideology

1. Death metal represents the final word in nihilism, exceeding even black metal in its rejection of any overarching "meaning" or "purpose" to life.

2. As a result, death metal embraces chaos as a value in and of itself (in fact, as the supreme value).

3. One further result of this extreme nihilism is death metal's embrace of reactionary Romanticism. Taking a cue from Mary Shelley, Edgar Allen Poe and other authors of the first half of the 19th century, death metal lays bare the fundamental chaos underlying the Judeo-Capitalist world "order."

1.3- Aesthetics

Death metal is characterized aesthetically by classically derived, narrative song structures, a deliberately chaotic approach to riff (manifesting itself both in sudden changeups and a tendency towards atonality, dissonance and chromatic progressions), and, of course, the (in)famous vox mortiis.

2. History and Development

2.1- Early Development

Death metal emerged from the same primordial 80's metal cauldron that led to black metal. Where black metal bands looked to Venom and Hellhammer and found purpose in the conscious rejection of and opposition to Judeo-Christianity, early death metal bands like Possessed, Death Strike/Master, Sepultura and Death/Mantas absorbed a different lesson. They took the inherent nihilism of the pioneering extreme metal acts to new heights (or rather, depths); freed from the constraint of traditional recursive song structures by the neoclassical arrangements pioneered by Slayer, the foundational death metal acts plundered the already bloating carcasses of speed and thrash metal to produce seemingly extemporaneous hymns of violence and decay.

2.2- Second Wave and Regional Development

In the late 80's, Autopsy and Morbid Angel altered the course of the genre, and set patterns that would lead to distinct regional developments in death metal. Morbid Angel introduced increasingly discordant riffing and the blast beat drum patterns. The result was a post-modern, deconstructive brand of death metal emphasizing the reductive, crushing possibilities of rhythm alone. Built in part on the legacy of jazz, the style pioneered by Morbid Angel would become dominant in North and South American scenes. The style was articulated more fully through brilliant releases by bands like Deicide, Atheist, Immolation and Gorguts, all of whom expanded upon the rhythmic base of American death metal through explorations of shading and texture. However, the rhythmic emphasis of the American style made, like hardcore before it, an ideal vehicle populist experiments in violent jock rock (Cannibal Corpse et al.). Autopsy, rather than pushing the limits of tempo and rhythm, emphasized the tonal elements hitherto lacking in death metal by reincorporating melodic and atmospheric elements. While themselves an American act, their chief influence was upon the nascent death metal scene in Europe, particularly that of Scandinavia. There, bands like God Macabre, Afflicted, At the Gates, Therion, Demigod, Cadaver, Demilich and Necrophobic arrived at an epic style steeped in the European classical tradition.

2.3- Subsequent Developments

After reaching its creative peak circa 1990-93, death metal entered a period of stagnation and decay, from which it has yet to emerge. Most bands have remained content to merely rehash simplified versions of what has been before. Again, allusions to the collapse of the hardcore scene are visible in the increasing emphasis on mere "brutality" and other water treading oneupsmanship. As with post '93 black metal, there has been an increasing tendency towards the incorporation of death metal aesthetic elements (typically vocals) within the context of tired 80's metal (later At the Gates, In Flames, Soilwork etc.). Truthfully, 20 years of development may have simply exhausted most of the creative possibilities inherent within the genre, though the success of The Chasm in developing a truly neo-Romantic artform from the narrative and tonal elements developed in the Scandinavian scene suggests that there are still opportunities present for the diligent artist.

2.4- Gaythenburg, or Iron Maiden With a Cold is NOT Death Metal

Sorry kiddies, adding growled vocals to music of basic pop sensibilities is just not enough to make it death metal. Neither is adding growled vocals to would be if it could be "prog."

3. Death Metal Recommendations

3.1- Developmentally Important Death Metal Recordings

Possessed- Seven Churches
Sepultura- Morbid Visions/Bestial Devastation
Death Strike- Fuckin' Death
Death- Scream Bloody Gore
Morbid Angel- Altars of Madness
Autopsy- Severed Survival

3.2- Elite Death Metal Recordings

Afflicted- Prodigal Sun
Amorphis- The Karelian Isthmus
Arghoslent- Arsenal of Glory
Arghoslent- Incorrigible Bigotry
Atheist- Unquestionable Presence
At the Gates- The Red in the Sky is Ours
Bolt Thrower- ...For Victory
Brutality- When the Sky Turns Black
Cadaver- ...In Pains
Cerebral Fix- Tower of Spite
The Chasm- Deathcult for Eternity: The Triumph
The Chasm- Conjuration of the Spectral Empire
Creepmime- Shadows
Deicide- Legion
Demigod- Slumber of Sullen Eyes
Demilich- Nespithe
Fester- Winter of Sin
Funebre- Children of the Scorn
Gorguts- Obscura
Grave- Into the Grave
Immolation- Dawn of Possession
Miasma- Changes
Morpheus Descends- Ritual of Infinity
Necrophobic- The Nocturnal Silence
Nocturnus- The Key
Seance- Fornever Laid to Rest
Seance- Saltrubbed Eyes
Suffocation- Pierced From Within
Therion- Beyond Sanctorum
Therion- Symphony Masses: Ho Drakon Ho Megas
Unleashed- Shadows in the Deep