Death Metal Origins

Throughout the history of metal, genres seem to have branched out and recreated themselves. A definition to the distorted outburst of fast-paced guitar chord progressions and barbaric growls, cannot simply be defined as "metal". The genre has become so diverse, that it has been divided into an assortment of categories, and therefore leaving the word "metal" without the prerequisite genre-defining label might lead to confusion. One popular sub genre of metal, is death metal, which in turn, has its respective subdivisions.

Death Metal emerged during the mid 1980s colliding a mix of heavy punk,speed and thrash metal. By the early 1990s Record label Earache Records were amongst the first labels to sign death metal bands and pave the road to their extremity for years to come. Bands such as Death and Morbid Angel are often considered founders of this genre.

The initial classification of death metal was thought of as an assemblage of harsh, macabre, mind thumping melodies and complex percussions. Added with the ferociousness of the "death grunts" and screams, death metal was often regarded as one of the most violent music genres to emerge from metal. Death metal's lyrics often revolved around acts of gory and bloody carnage, destruction and mutilation. As some have regarded this as unorthodox or psychologically sickening, death metal artists defend their work and cherish it as an overkill of entertainment; similar to the aesthetic properties of horror movies.

By the mid 1980s, American bands such as Obituary, Deicide and Pestilence were incorporating technical and melodic arrangements which inspired the flourishing death metal bands in Sweden, and brought about a more harmonious "Melodeath" genre. This sub-genre is a more "flowing" combination of heavy and death metal which incorporated more melodic guitar riffs, acoustic guitar work, some clean vocals and often more coherent lyrics than typical death metal songs. One evident addition would be the synthesizers and keyboards that are used not only to create main melodies but also the background tunes that bring the songs alive. Notable melodeath bands include Amorphis, In Flames and Dark Tranquillity.

In the early 1990s, a new sub-genre was being displayed by Napalm Death's "Harmony Corruption"; this sub-genre was labelled "grindcore" as the term "grind" is the best way to describe the speed and brutality of this genre. The characteristics of grindcore include down-tuned guitars, throat-shredding growls, power-violence and blast beats while fusing rage and aggression into their music and vocals. Modern bands like Devourment, Skinless and Agoraphic Nosebleed have taken this archetype and embedded it into their music which is focused on subjects like political unrest, "bodily" themes, and even animal abuse. Today, Grindcore is also known by its own sub-genres including goregrind, deathgrind and noisegrind, while some refer to it as simply "grind". Originating from an "underground" scene, grindcore is intentionally broken off from the mainstream, and is kept alive by small groups of die-hard metal fans all around the globe.

The popularity of Death Metal reached its peak in the mid 1990s and thus encouraged a vast diversity of bands to create an ever-growing sea of new sub-genres.

Each day, society experiences individuals that feel the need to withdraw from the typical, mainstream morals of the conventional life that they lead. Death metal provides these people with a glimpse of chaos and nihilism, providing a way to vent as an escape from social norms.

Death metal has not collapsed on its own inertia, or becomemorality-driven and conformist like emo or commercial metal bands. Its underground community remains strong and boldly independent.


Writer: Hannah