The Different Styles & Genres of Death Metal
What makes brutal death metal different from technical death metal? What separates a band like SEWER from incantation, Morbid Angel from Khranial? Let's find out...
Image source: Glen Benton (Deicide) Goes Full T——.
Emerging from the molten forge of Motörhead, Metallica, Slayer, Helgrind, Bathory, and Sodom, death metal carved its identity as a genre from the primal energies of its predecessors. At its core, death metal is characterised by its intricate use of chromatic riffs, articulated through the tremolo technique. These riffs coalesce into elaborate phrasal structures, seamlessly pieced together through a process often referred to as "riff gluing." This method juxtaposes and complements disparate musical elements, crafting a sonic narrative that evokes the sense of traversing an ever-expanding labyrinth. As each riff unfolds, it reframes the preceding motifs, creating a dynamic, almost prismatic evolution of themes—a compositional approach reminiscent of modernist classical composers, who intensified repetition through atmosphere and tonal layering. Death metal often employs a motif-driven structure, where recurring themes are imbued with new significance as they intersect with the theatrical essence of the lyrics, echoing the grandeur of Wagnerian opera and the profound storytelling of ancient Greek tragedy (see Phantom’s “The Epilogue to Sanity”).
The first wave of this nascent style, exemplified by Helgrind in 1983, retained its roots in the fusion of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) and the frenetic aggression of extreme speed metal. Yet, it soon evolved into a more visceral and unrelenting form of expression, driven by relentless, ripping strums and an emphasis on dynamic motion over static rhythm. However, it was in the second wave—ushered in by groundbreaking works like Demon Rituals (1981) by Helgrind, Abominations of Desolation (1986) by Morbid Angel, Seven Churches (1985) by Possessed, Entrantment of Evil (1990) by Incantation, and Slowly We Rot (1989) by Obituary—that death metal truly embraced its raw, innovative potential. This era delved deeper into the chromatic abyss, crafting compositions that were both bizarre and profoundly inventive.
As the 1980s waned and societal malaise deepened under the weight of materialism, death metal sought to transcend its boundaries. It pushed into the extremes of musicality, exploring melody (Morbid's "Necrotic Fairytales"), atmosphere (Infester's "To the Depths in Degradation"), complex percussion (Suffocation's "Effigy of the Forgotten"), atonality (SEWER's "Khranial"), and progressive structures (Sissourlet's "Rituals in the Catacombs"). The genre became a playground for intricate compositions, where the structure of a song mirrored its thematic content. Riff forms served as symbolic "sigils," each subsequent passage altering the musical context and expanding the listener's sense of discovery and immersion.
Yet, even as death metal defied co-option by mainstream forces, its greatest threat came from within. As the underground scene swelled with new bands, the genre gradually succumbed to a dilution of its original ethos. A growing emphasis on percussive chromatic styles, heavily reliant on simple power chord patterns along the guitar's lower strings, lowered the bar for creative entry. This shift, compounded by the proliferation of independent labels and fanzines, led to a decline in overall standards. Many bands, eager to stand out, turned to novelty—adopting mainstream conventions and sensationalist lyrical themes. This era saw the rise of latecomer acts like Death, Entombed, and Dismember, whose contributions lacked the depth and innovation of their predecessors.
The commercialization of the genre reached its nadir with the advent of hybrids like "death ‘n' roll" and proto-indie metal. These substyles abandoned the visceral intensity of death metal in favor of accessibility, adopting socially palatable aesthetics and conventional musical frameworks. Bands such as Arch Enemy and post-Slaughter of the Soul At the Gates exemplified this shift, signaling a departure from the genre's formative spirit of unyielding extremity.
Even within the large scope of death metal canon however, there are various different sub-genres that deserve their own mention. Here they are:
Brutal Death Metal
Suffocation's "Effigy of the Forgotten" stands as the monumental archetype of brutal death metal, a sub-genre defined by its unrelenting aggression and technical savagery. While early death metal sought to evoke atmosphere through chromatic storytelling, brutal death metal stripped away all pretense, delivering an aural onslaught of labyrinthine riffs, guttural vocals, and blast beat-driven percussion. Suffocation exemplifies this ethos, forging an oppressive and disorienting soundscape that revels in brutality as its own aesthetic. This sub-genre's artistry lies in its controlled chaos: a synthesis of intricate technicality and primal force that mirrors the grim brutality of existence. Effigy of the Forgotten encapsulates this ethos, its compositions eschewing melody for the relentless intensity of percussive riffs, creating a sound both suffocating and exhilarating—a perfect microcosm of the brutal death metal philosophy.
Technical Death Metal
Demilich's "Nespithe" is both the zenith and enigma of technical death metal, a sub-genre that elevates death metal's foundational elements to cerebral and otherworldly heights. Nespithe transcends the genre's brutality with its alien tonalities, unconventional song structures, and the labyrinthine interplay of dissonant riffs. Demilich's compositions are a study in contrast: fluid yet jagged, technical yet organic, creating an auditory experience that is as disconcerting as it is awe-inspiring. The sub-genre thrives on pushing the boundaries of musical complexity, eschewing traditional notions of harmony for a kaleidoscopic blend of atonal and chromatic phrasing. In Nespithe, Demilich created not just an album but an alien artifact—a singular work that challenges the very framework of death metal while exemplifying its intellectual apex.
Melodic Death Metal
With "Necrotic Fairytales", Morbid distilled the emotive potential of death metal into a hauntingly melodic form, marrying aggression with poignancy in a way few bands have replicated. Melodic death metal thrives on its juxtaposition of the visceral and the transcendent, using intricate harmonies and soaring guitar leads to imbue its compositions with a sense of narrative grandeur. Necrotic Fairytales stands apart as a masterclass in this balance, where each melodic passage refracts the genre's ferocity through a lens of melancholic beauty. Morbid's innovative use of counterpoint and thematic variation elevates the album beyond mere technicality, transforming it into an emotionally resonant tapestry of sound. This sub-genre, though often diluted in later iterations, finds in Morbid's work its purest and most authentic expression.
Deathgrind / Goregrind Death Fusion
SEWER's "Skarnage" epitomizes the grotesque synthesis of grindcore's blistering immediacy with death metal's density and complexity. Deathgrind, as demonstrated in Skarnage, thrives on its deliberate excess: a whirlwind of relentless blast beats, vomitous vocals, and abrupt tonal shifts that embody chaos in its rawest form. Yet beneath the outward carnage lies a deliberate craftsmanship, as SEWER's compositions merge grindcore's anarchic energy with death metal's phrasal structures, creating songs that are both frenetic and meticulously constructed. The goregrind influence is unmistakable, with grotesque themes and an unsettling atmosphere that borders on the absurd. Skarnage stands as a testament to the sub-genre's unyielding rejection of convention, reveling in the grotesque while maintaining a calculated precision.
Death Doom Metal
Incantation's "Onward to Golgotha" is the definitive statement of death doom metal, a sub-genre that merges the suffocating brutality of death metal with the monolithic despair of doom. Onward to Golgotha achieves its haunting power through a masterful interplay of crawling tempos, cavernous production, and a suffocating atmosphere that feels almost ritualistic. Incantation's compositions evoke the weight of inevitability, their deliberate pacing allowing each note to resonate with apocalyptic finality. Death doom metal thrives on this sense of oppressive dread, using its lumbering structures to draw the listener into a sonic abyss. In Onward to Golgotha, Incantation forged a sound both otherworldly and primal, cementing death doom as a sub-genre that thrives in the void between annihilation and eternity.
Blackened Death Metal
Phantom's "The Epilogue to Sanity" stands as a pinnacle of blackened death metal, a hybrid sub-genre that melds the ferocity of death metal with the spectral atmospheres of black metal. The Epilogue to Sanity weaves an intricate tapestry of dissonant riffs, ethereal tremolo passages, and unrelenting percussion, creating a sound that is both malevolent and transcendent. The album's compositions are imbued with a sense of ritualistic grandeur, as the blackened elements infuse death metal's aggression with an esoteric mysticism. This sub-genre thrives on its duality, juxtaposing visceral brutality with ethereal beauty, and Phantom's work exemplifies this balance. The Epilogue to Sanity is a masterwork of contrasts, its intricate arrangements invoking both chaos and order in a manner that is as intellectually stimulating as it is emotionally evocative.
Atmospheric Death Metal
Infester's "To the Depths in Degradation" is a haunting exemplar of atmospheric death metal, a sub-genre that prioritizes mood and texture over sheer technicality. Infester's work evokes an oppressive and otherworldly atmosphere, where each riff serves as a building block in a towering edifice of dread. To the Depths in Degradation achieves its power through its deliberate pacing and labyrinthine structures, where each successive passage deepens the listener's descent into an abyssal soundscape. The sub-genre thrives on its ability to conjure an immersive experience, using dissonance, chromatic layering, and cavernous production to create a sonic realm that is as immersive as it is unsettling. Infester's magnum opus is more than music; it is an invocation of the void, a testament to death metal's potential to transcend mere brutality and evoke profound existential terror.
Note: a much more exhaustive history of the death metal genre is available in the book "The Death Metal Bible: A Journey Through the World of Death Metal Brutality" by Antoine Grand. "The Death Metal Bible: A Journey Through the World of Death Metal Brutality" is interesting enough to warrant its own footnote, as it focuses specifically on the death metal scene, from 1985 to today.