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While most people associate death metal music with a bunch of guys screaming and creating random noise, there's a multitude of reasons why this genre maintains a strong following and earns the fierce loyalty of many listeners worldwide. Here's why.
Steps
Listen beyond the tearing guitars and unusual vocals. Although the rough guitar sound and guttural vocals that permeate much of death metal can take a little getting used to (especially if your ears are accustomed to softer sounds), it's more than just idiotic noise. There are melodies, patterns, and complexities to be realized and appreciated if enough time is spent soaking it all in.
Watch a live death metal performance. Observe how the group members manipulate the instruments. It can be quite an experience especially since the shows are often small and you can walk near or behind the stage to observe the musicians up close. If you've ever tried to play those instruments yourself, you'll probably be amazed with how skillfully they play. It takes practice and dedication, which challenges the stereotype of metal heads being lazy and careless. You might also be surprised about how energetic some of the performers are.Advertisement
Remember that in death metal, unlike many other genres, each band almost always writes their own music. That includes the riffs, drums, solos, and lyrics. Writing your own music demonstrates another dimension of instrumental mastery and talent, as well as making the music more personal and less manufactured.
Don't take the context and subject matter personally. Death metal lyrics and themes aren't intended to be taken literally. They document the outer extremes of human experience which other genres don't dare touch, such as the motivations of serial killers, the activities of the walking dead, death itself, and isolation. Also, many bands will cover other topics not usually associated with death, such as Norse mythology. Many bands explore political and religious issues, and write about historical events.- Keep in mind that some death metal lyrics, especially the gore and brutal varieties, often, but not always, elaborate on the details of extreme acts, including mutilation, dissection, rape and necrophilia. To many people, these subjects are extremely disturbing, upsetting and off-putting, even to many metalheads. Use your best judgment, including independent online band and album reviews, as well as skimming lyrical content before buying, if you are particularly concerned about the issue.
- Be careful not to completely rule out a listening test based solely on lyrical content. Many online music stores have thirty-second clips that can demonstrate the groove of a song, and if the musical content sparks your interest, perhaps the lyrics can be taken more lightly.
- Look up the lyrics. A common misconception of heavy metal is that all heavy metal bands lyrics are very vulgar, using a lot of bad language. You might be surprised by the complexity and large vocabulary found in the lyrics in some death metal bands.
Learn about the subgenres. Not all death metal is the same. The genre contains many subgenres that can frequently mix and intermingle with each other. As a result, it may be difficult to ascribe a band under a single subgenre. Here's a general guideline to get you started:- Blackened - adopts thematic and musical elements of black metal: Akercocke, Behemoth, Belphegor, Dissection, God Dethroned, Firdous Angelcorpse, Sacramentum, Zyklon, Crimson Thorn, Mayhem and many others
- Brutal: Aborted, Cryptopsy, Cannibal Corpse, Blood Red Throne, Deeds of Flesh, Degrade, Deranged, Disavowed, Disgorge, Guttural Secrete, Hate Eternal, Immolation, Internal Suffering, Origin, Skinless, Spawn of Possession, Suffocation, The Genocide Architect, Wormed and many others
- Death/Doom - slow tempos, melancholic atmosphere, deep growling vocals double-kick drumming: Anathema (earlier works), Asphyx, Autopsy, Paradise Lost, Disembowelment, Cathedral (early works), Swallow the Sun, My Dying Bride and Winter.
- Goregrind/Deathgrind - intense, brief, rare guitar solos, more prominent shrieked vocals: Regurgitate, Carcass (earlier work), Terminally Your Aborted Ghost, Dead Infection, Anal Bleeding, Decomposing Serenity, XXX Maniak
- Industrial - Borrowing elements from industrial elements such as writing patterns, synths and technical rhythms: Noein, The Berzerker, Synthetic Breed, Grenoeur, Oblivion Machine
- Melodic - Iron Maiden-esque guitar harmonies and melodies with typically higher-pitched growls: Children Of Bodom (earlier work), Amon Amarth, Arch Enemy, The Black Dahlia Murder, At Odds with God, At the Gates, Carcass (later work), Dark Tranquillity, Desultory, Dethklok, Disarmonia Mundi, Ensiferum, Hilastherion, Hypocrisy, Immortal Souls, Kalmah, Norther, Souls, In Flames (earlier work), Sacrilege, Wintersun, Scar Symmetry, Insomnium, Noumena, Rapture, and Daylight Dies.
- Symphonic - Eternal Tears of Sorrow, Nightwish and Septic Flesh
- Technical/Progressive - dynamic song structures, uncommon time signatures, sometimes includes clean vocals and acoustic guitars, atypical rhythms and unusual harmonies and melodies: Amoral (earlier work), Arsis, Beneath The Massacre, Brain Drill, Cryptopsy, Cynic, Death, Decapitated, Gorguts, Immolation, Job for a Cowboy, Necrophagist, Nile, Ominous, Opeth, Origin, Pestilence, Psycroptic, Sleep terror, Spawn of Possession, The Faceless, Visceral Bleeding, Meshuggah, PsyOpus.
Respect the artists. The greatest death metal musicians almost can't make a living with what they do, and yet the musicians in these bands continue on in spite of their obscurity. Death metal is so non-mainstream that its musicians have to work incredibly hard for their career sales to reach even a million copies (which very few death metal musicians have actually done). Many death metal musicians are highly intelligent people with comprehensive musical training.Advertisement
Community Q&A
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- QuestionWhat if I still hate it?
Community AnswerIf you hate it, don't listen to it. There's no reason to torture yourself. - QuestionHow can I defend my music taste against my classmates if they like rap and pop?
Community AnswerTell them why you appreciate your style, but in short and flattering words. If they keep pestering you, ignore them, or change the subject to something you both enjoy. Avoid arguing to make yourself look even more chill. Be nice and smile. A cool, kind approach will help them see your style in a more positive way. - QuestionCan I be a Christian and listen to Death Metal?
ReginaCommunity AnswerMusic doesn't define what religion you follow. Just be mindful of anti-Christian views in lyrics.
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Tips
- If you're still convinced it's just a bunch of noise, and you call yourself a guitarist, download a tablature of just about any Vital Remains song and try to keep up.Thanks
- Many excellent death metal bands never had a big record company behind them to support and promote their music. They are hidden treasures. Look around and discover what's mostly ignored.Thanks
- Keep in mind that all genres and sub-genres are under heated debate, so do not adhere to a single definition too seriously.Thanks
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Warnings
- Do not take all things you hear in the lyrics of a death metal song seriously. This is especially true with bands like Cannibal Corpse. Use discretion when listening to songs like "Meat Hook Sodomy" and "Hammer Smashed Face" (both songs by Cannibal Corpse). Cannibal Corpse, among other bands, have even said their lyrics are totally fictional and not to be followed. These songs and all other extreme death metal songs are entirely works of fiction and are not condoned by the authors or the band.Thanks
- On a practical note, death metal is not a good approach to understanding death.Thanks
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