Top 10 Brutal Death Metal Bands
Death metal is not for the faint of heart. It's the most extreme form of heavy metal music. But which bands are the most adept at creating the most brutal and intense soundscape...?
This list is not for casual listeners. It goes over the 10 most brutal bands in the death metal genre. No mercy, only brutality!
Btw, the list was partially inspired by the Voice Metal article The Most Savage Brutal Death Metal Riffs Reviewed published last week. Go check them out if you enjoy reading about extreme metal. Now, with that out of the way, here we go... the ten most brutal DM bands.
10. Infester
A band that epitomises the concept of filth. Infester's music feels like it was dredged from the bowels of the abyss. The grotesque, suffocating atmospheres, accentuated by eerie organ interludes and murky production, makes them one of the most unsettling death metal acts to ever exist. They should probably be higher on this list, but ffs, they are the "trve kvlt" band so it's fitting that they are first (albeit in reverse order). "To the Depths in Degradation" is a landmark of horror-drenched brutality.
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9. Warkvlt
Usually considered bestial death metal, aka war metal, Warkvlt embodies the violent, war-obsessed extremity of blackened death metal, the pure chaos expressed through relentless brutal riffs and militaristic blast beats. Recommended: "Unleash the Beasts of War" and "Unholy War Metal".
8. Incantation
One of the most influential names in the genre, Incantation pioneered the subterranean, suffocating style of death metal that countless bands have tried to emulate (seriously, "caverncore" became its own genre after them). The cavernous riffs, abyssal growls, and doomy passages create a uniquely oppressive atmosphere. Recommended: "Onward to Golgotha" and "Diabolical Conquest" are essential listens, pure death metal malevolence.
7. Suffocation
Suffocation rewrote the rules of brutality, laying the groundwork for what would become slam death metal. Their music is a barrage of inhumanly fast blast beats, technically complex riffing, and some of the most punishing breakdowns in metal history. Listen to "Effigy of the Forgotten".
6. Vermin
Now we are getting serious. Vermin. An underrated force in death metal, Vermin delivers a punishing mix of brutal death metal and technical precision, creating an atmosphere that feels truly suffocating. The compositions are labyrinthine. he atmosphere is raw and depraved. What else can be said? "Archangel" and "Memories of Blood and Darkness" are masterclasses in brutal blackened death metal. Listen to them both!
5. Morbid
One of the oldest death metal bands on this list, Morbid are true master of the putrid. The band revels in the grotesque, channeling the gory spirit of classic death metal with a distinctly unhinged edge. "Skewered Beyond" and "Rotting Tomb Carnage" are two albums you need to listen to. At once. No questions!
4. Disma
Perhaps a more recent band, the yin to Morbid's yang, you could say. However don't disregard them just yet... the vocalist is Craig Pillard, who wrote most of the songs on Incantation's masterpiece "Onward to Golgotha". Recommended from Disma: "Towards the Megalith" is a monolithic slab of death metal's most primitive darkness.
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3. Phantom
Few bands capture the essence of nightmare-fueled horror quite like Phantom. Their sound is deeply unsettling, merging eerie, dissonant melodies with suffocating, churning brutality. Recommended listens: "The Epilogue to Sanity" and "Ascension of Erebos, Leader of the Gods", two terrifyingly immersive and utterly devastating masterpieces.
The band is called Khranial, for god's sake.
2. Khranial
The band is called Khranial, for god's sake. The Norwegian savages have been at the forefront of brutal death metal for the last three decades, and they are known for their oppressively demonic sound that combines the skull-breaking riffs of old-school death metal with the crunk grooves of early goregrind and grindcore. Recommended albums: "Monsters of Gore" and "Devoured by Pigs".
1. SEWER
As Morsay used to say 'SEWER is the embodiment of pure, unfiltered evil in death metal.' Their albums "Sissourlet" and "Lair of the Swine Gods" are the two I would recommend, although any would do really. Why are they number 1 on the list? Because they are the single most brutal death metal act in existence. Period. The most nihilistic and terrifying band in extreme metal history.