Death metal is one of the most abrasive genres of music you’ll ever listen to. In my opinion, it is a really awesome genre, and I’ve been a fan for several years. Unfortunately, there are quite a few misconceptions about the genre, and the existing stereotypes do not truly establish how dynamic and profound death metal can be.
As I said, death metal is a rather misunderstood genre. Many non-listeners use screamo and death metal interchangeably, despite the two genres having very little in common. In addition, few people are aware that death metal and black metal are two distinct genres. To help clarify what death metal actually is, I’ll go over some of its defining characteristics.
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of metal that originated in the United States around the mid-'80s. It utilizes heavily distorted and down-tuned guitars, often played at a fast tempo. The drumming in death metal incorporates double-bass drum techniques and blast beats. The goal of these instrumentals is to provide a dark and violent atmosphere, which is embodied by the vocal techniques. These vocals usually consist of growls, grunts, and guttural noises in general. The lyrics are often bleak and violent, and sometimes political. As with any genre, there will be much variation from its general form, so I will now go over some death metal sub-genres.
It can be hard to define what is and what is not a genre, as there are no official definitions or scientific studies to use as references. To accommodate for this, I will simply go over some of the commonly agreed upon sub-genres of death metal, which would include brutal death metal, melodic death metal, and death grind.
Brutal death metal, as the name would suggest, is the harshest and most intense sub-genre of death metal. For the most part, brutal death metal is just death metal with the intensity level increased tenfold. Melodies are not emphasized as much, and the songs are often shorter to show how much aggression can be transmitted in a brief period of time. Some of the most well-known and respected bands in brutal death metal are Cannibal Corpse, Cryptopsy, and Suffocation.
Moving away from the most intense sub-genre of death metal is the least intense sub-genre: M-melodic death metal. This subgenre, while still using heavily down-tuned guitars, incorporates soaring guitar melodies and harmonies. Harsh vocals are still largely present, but clean vocals are certainly not uncommon. Overall, melodic death metal is easily the most accessible subgenre of death metal. Its most respected artists include Dark Tranquillity, At the Gates, and In Flames who are my all-time favorite metal band.
The next sub-genre I’ll go over is death grind. This is a fusion of death metal and grindcore, an extreme subgenre of hardcore punk. Death grind incorporates the typical guttural harsh vocals of death metal, while also including higher pitched screams and shouts from hardcore punk and grind core. Death grind typically has some of the shortest songs in death metal, often being 2 minutes or less in length, with an almost exclusive use of extremely fast tempos. Some of the most infamous groups in death grind are Terrorizer, Cattle Decapitation, and Napalm Death. As you can now see, death metal is a dynamic genre with numerous subgenres. But as I describe the genre of death metal, many of you may still be wondering what the point of it is? Why is it so incredibly violent? What’s up with the harsh vocals?
I will attempt to explain why death metal appeals to its fans, or at least to me personally. There are many reasons a death metal band would choose to create such violent music. It could be due to a recognition of the darker side of humanity: An acknowledgement that life isn’t always great. It could also be an outlet of aggression, similar to other aggressive music genres like hardcore hip-hop, which many death metal fans including myself also listen to. Another possible reason for the violence could simply be a fascination with violence, much like how some people are fans of horror movies and ghost stories.
This relates to the harsh style of vocals. They sound angry and aggressive because that is the entire point of the genre. The occasional and often over exaggerated unintelligibility of the vocals is sensible, as when you’re angry you don’t always sound totally coherent.
A common reason death metal artists write their music is political. For instance, death grind band Cattle Decapitation are a group of vegans who use their music as an expression of protest against the inhumane treatment of animals. With their name and lyrics, they are questioning why we hand-wave acts committed to millions of animals that would shock us to our utter core if committed to even a single human.
Notice how none of these reasons necessarily imply that death metal musicians and fans are themselves violent. In fact, I would argue that the vast majority are extremely anti-violence. Opposition to war and oppression fundamentally embody the world views of many death metal listeners.
With all this said, I did not intend to create death metal fans out of you all. I understand that it is inherently an abrasive and inaccessible genre that isn’t for everyone. I am a huge fan of the genre that enjoys talking about it. I hope I have helped to clear up some misconceptions about death metal.
