The HISTORY OF DEATH METAL

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Death metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs heavily distorted
guitars, tremolo picking, deep growling vocals, blast beat drumming, minor keys or atonality, and
complex song structures with multiple tempo changes.

Building from the musical structure of thrash metal and early black metal, death metal emerged during
the mid 1980s.[2] Metal acts such as Slayer,[3][4] Kreator,[5] Celtic Frost,[6] and Venom were very important
influences to the crafting of the genre.[2] Possessed[7] and Death,[8][9][10]along with bands such
as Obituary, Carcass, Deicide and Morbid Angel are often considered pioneers of the genre. [11] In the
late 1980s and early 1990s, death metal gained more media attention as popular genre niche record
labels like Combat, Earache and Roadrunner began to sign death metal bands at a rapid rate. [12] Since
then, death metal has diversified, spawning a variety of subgenres.[13]

History
Emergence and early history
English heavy metal band Venom, from Newcastle, crystallized the elements of what later became
known as thrash metal, death metal and black metal, with their 1981 album Welcome to Hell.[14] Their
dark, blistering sound, harsh vocals, and macabre, proudly Satanic imagery proved a major inspiration
for extreme metal bands.[15] Another highly influential band, Slayer, formed in 1981. Although the band
was a thrash metal act, Slayer's music was more violent than their thrash
contemporaries Metallica, Megadeth and Exodus.[16] Their breakneck speed and instrumental prowess
combined with lyrics about death, violence, war and Satanism won Slayer a rabid cult following.
[17]
According to Allmusic, Slayer's third album Reign in Blood "inspired the entire death metal genre".
[18]
 It had a big impact on the genre leaders.[16]

Possessed, a band that formed in the San Francisco Bay Area during 1983, was attributed by Allmusic
as "connecting the dots" between thrash metal and death metal with their 1985 debut album, Seven
Churches.[21]While attributed as having a Slayer influence, [22] current and former members of the band
had actually cited Venom and Motorhead, as well as early work by Exodus, as the main influences of
their sound.[23][24]Although the group had released only 2 studio albums in their formative years, they
have been described by both music journalists and musicians as either being "monumental" in
developing the death metal style, [25] or as being the first death metal band. [26][27][28] Earache
Records noted that "....the likes of Trey Azagthoth and Morbid Angel based what they were doing in
their formative years on the Possessed blueprint laid down on the legendary  Seven
Churches recording. Possessed arguably did more to further the cause of 'Death Metal' than any of the
early acts on the scene back in the mid-late 80's."[29]

Chuck Schuldiner (1967–2001) of Death, during a 1992 tour in Scotland in support of the albumHuman.

During the same period as the dawn of Possessed, a second influential metal band was formed
in Florida: Death. Death, originally called Mantas, was formed during 1983 by Chuck Schuldiner, Kam
Lee, and Rick Rozz. In 1984 they released their first demo entitled Death by Metal, followed by several
more. The tapes circulated through the tape trader world, quickly establishing the band's name. With
Death guitarist Schuldiner adopting vocal duties, the band made a major impact on the scene. The fast
minor-key riffs and solos were complemented with fast drumming, creating a style that would catch on
in tape trading circles.[30][31] Schuldiner has been attributed by Allmusic's Eduardo Rivadavia as being
"widely recognized as the Father of Death Metal". [32] Death's 1987 debut release, Scream Bloody Gore,
has been described by About.com's Chad Bowar as being the "evolution from thrash metal to death
metal",[33] and "the first true death metal record" by the San Francisco Chronicle.[34]
Along with Possessed and Death, other pioneers of death metal in the United States
include Autopsy,Necrophagia, Master, Morbid Angel, Massacre, Atheist, Post Mortem,
Obituary and Deicide.

Growing popularity
By 1989, many bands had been signed by eager record labels wanting to cash in on the subgenre,
including Florida's Obituary, Morbid Angel and Deicide. This collective of death metal bands hailing
from Florida are often labeled as "Florida death metal". Death metal spread to Sweden in the late 1980s,
flourishing with pioneers such as Carnage, God Macabre, Entombed,Dismember and Unleashed. In the
early 1990s, the rise of typically melodic "Gothenburg metal" was recognized, with bands such as Dark
Tranquillity, At the Gates, and In Flames. Following the original death metal innovators, new subgenres
began by the end of the decade. British band Napalm Death became increasingly associated with death
metal, in particular, on 1990's Harmony Corruption. This album displays aggressive and fairly technical
guitar riffing, complex rhythmics, a sophisticated growling vocal delivery by Mark "Barney" Greenway,
and socially aware lyrical subjects, leading to a merging with the "grindcore" subgenre. Other bands
contributing significantly to this early movement include Britain's Bolt Thrower and Carcass, and New
York'sSuffocation.

To close the circle, Death released their fourth album Human in 1991, an example of modern death
metal. Death's founder Schuldiner helped push the boundaries of uncompromising speed and technical
virtuosity, mixing technical and intricate rhythm guitar work with complex arrangements and emotive
guitar solos.[38] Other examples are Carcass's Necroticism – Descanting the Insalubrious,
Suffocation's Effigy of the Forgotten and Entombed's Clandestine from 1991. At this point, all the
above characteristics are present: abrupt tempo and count changes, on occasion extremely fast
drumming, morbid lyrics and growling vocal delivery.

Earache Records, Relativity Records and Roadrunner Records became the genre's most important labels,

[39]
 with Earache releasing albums by Carcass, Napalm Death, Morbid Angel, and Entombed, and Roadrunner
releasing albums by Obituary, and Pestilence. Although these labels had not been death metal labels, initially,
they became the genre's flagship labels in the beginning of the 1990s. In addition to these, other labels formed
as well, such as Nuclear Blast, Century Media, and Peaceville. Many of these labels would go on to achieve
successes in other genres of metal throughout the 1990s.

In September 1990, Death's manager Eric Greif held one of the first North American death metal
festivals, Day of Death, in Milwaukee suburb Waukesha, Wisconsin, and featured 26 bands
including Autopsy, Broken Hope, Hellwitch, Obliveon, Revenant, Viogression, Immolation,Atheist,
and Cynic.[40]
Later history
Death metal's popularity achieved its initial peak between the 1992–93 era, with some bands such
as Morbid Angel, Cannibal Corpse andObituary enjoying mild commercial successes. However, the
genre as a whole never broke in to the mainstream. The genre's mounting popularity may have been
partly responsible for a strong rivalry between Norwegian black metal and Swedish death
metal scenes. Fenriz ofDarkthrone has noted that Norwegian black metal musicians were "fed up with
the whole death metal scene" at the time. [41] Death metal diversified in the 1990s, spawning a rich
variety of subgenres which still have a large "underground" following at the present.

Origin of the term

The most popular theory of the subgenre's christening is Possessed's 1984 demo, Death Metal; the
song from the eponymous demo would also be featured on the band's 1985 debut album,  Seven
Churches.[56] Possessed vocalist/bassist Jeff Becerra said he coined the term in early 1983 for a high
school English class assignment. [57] Another possible origin is a fanzine called Death Metal, started
by Thomas Fischer and Martin Ain of Hellhammer and Celtic Frost. The name was later given to the
1984 compilation Death Metal released by Noise Records.[58][59] The term might also have originated
from other recordings. A demo released by Death in 1984 is called Death by Metal.[60]

Subgenres

 Melodic death metal: Scandinavian death metal could be considered the forerunner of "melodic

death metal". Melodic death metal, sometimes referred to as "melodeath", is heavy metal music
mixed with some death metal elements. Unlike most other death metal, melodeath usually features
screams instead of growls, slower tempos, much more melody and even clean vocals are heard at
rare times.Carcass is sometimes credited with releasing the first melodic death metal album with
1993's Heartwork, although Swedish bands In Flames, Dark Tranquillity, and At the Gates are
usually mentioned as the main pioneers of the genre and of the Gothenburg metal sound.

 Technical death metal: Technical death metal and "progressive death metal" are related terms
that refer to bands distinguished by the complexity of their music. Common traits are dynamic
song structures, uncommon time signatures, atypical rhythms and unusual harmonies and
melodies. Bands described as technical death metal or progressive death metal usually fuse
common death metal aesthetics with elements of progressive rock, jazz or classical music. While
the term technical death metal is sometimes used to describe bands that focus on speed and
 extremity as well as complexity, the line between progressive and technical death metal is thin.
"Tech death" and "prog death", for short, are terms commonly applied to such bands
as Cryptopsy, Edge of Sanity, Opeth, Origin andSadist. Cynic, Atheist, Pestilence and Gorguts are
examples of bands noted for creating jazz-influenced death metal. Necrophagist andSpawn of
Possession are known for a classical music-influenced death metal style. Death metal
pioneers Death also refined their style in a more progressive direction in their final years.
The Polish band Decapitated gained recognition as one of Europe's primary modern technical
death metal acts.[61][62]

 Deathcore: With the rise in popularity of metalcore, some of its traits have been incorporated
into death metal. Bands such as Suicide Silence, Salt the Wound and the early works from Job for
a Cowboy combine metalcore with death metal influences. Characteristics of death metal, such as
fast drumming (including blast beats), down-tuned guitars, tremolo picking and growled vocals,
are combined withscreamed vocals, melodic riffs and breakdowns. Decibel magazine stated that
"One of Suffocation's trademarks, breakdowns, has spawned an entire metal subgenre:
deathcore."[63]

 Death/doom: Death/doom is a style that combines the slow tempos and melancholic
atmosphere of doom metal with the deep growling vocals and double-kick drumming of death
metal.[64] The style emerged during the late 1980s and gained a certain amount of popularity during
the 1990s.[64] It was pioneered by bands such as Autopsy, Winter,[65] Asphyx,[65] Disembowelment,
[65]
 Paradise Lost,[65] and My Dying Bride.[65]

 Goregrind and deathgrind: This style mixes the intensity, speed, and brevity of grindcorewith
the complexity of death metal. It differs from death metal in that guitar solos are often a
rarity, shrieked vocals are more prominent as the main vocal style (though death growls are still
utilized and some deathgrind bands make more use of the latter vocal style), and songs are
generally shorter in length, usually between one and three minutes. The style differs from
grindcore in the more technical approach and less evident hardcore punk influence and aesthetics.
Some notable examples of deathgrind are Brujeria, Cattle Decapitation,[67]Cephalic Carnage, Pig
Destroyer,[68] Circle of Dead Children and Rotten Sound.

 Blackened death metal: is a style that combines death metal and black metal.[69][70]Examples of
blackened death metal bands are Belphegor,[71] Behemoth,[72] Akercocke,[73]Svart Crown,
[74] [75]
 and Sacramentum.
Other fusions and subgenres
There are other heavy metal music subgenres that have come from fusions between death metal and
other non-metal genres, such as the fusion of death metal and jazz. Atheist and Cynic are two
examples; the former went so far as to include jazz-style drum solos on albums, while the latter
incorporated elements of jazz fusion. Nile have also incorporated Egyptian music and Middle Eastern
themes into their work, while Alchemist have incorporated psychedelia along with Aboriginal music.
Some groups, such as Nightfall, Septic Flesh, and Eternal Tears of Sorrow, have
incorporated keyboards and symphonic elements, creating a fusion of symphonic metal and death
metal, sometimes referred to as symphonic death metal.