Death Metal....whats it all about?!

pants on fire

I'm a big big rock fan and I just dont really understand the whole Death Metal thing.
I guess most people would think I'm into all the "mainstream" rock like metallica, slipknot, RATM, Pantera, sum41, avenged sevenfold, blink 182, zakk wylde's stuff etc etc but I know the ONLY reason i'm into that stuff is because it is generally the most musical and enjoyable to me.

I've heard some death metal stuff and I gotta say that as a somewhat fan of metal, I just dont get it.
Whats it all about?!! I dont hear music in it.

senordingdong

Some people don't hear music in Blink 182, Slipknot or Metallica.

It's just differnet strokes really.

Tar.Aldarion

Where to start? :eek:

Who have you listened to? And what does 'I dont hear music in it' mean?

Oh and I think you should reduce the size of vegeta there.

Karl Hungus

Indeed, it would be good to have an idea of what death metal you've actually heard, so we might relate something.

pants on fire

I guess it means that I find it very uncomfortable on my ears!! I can get goosebumps listening to some music, but not death metal. I hate to say it, because I know it sounds kinda offensive, but its just noise to me.
I dont really understand because I feckin love pantera, slipknot, SOAD, etc etc

I've listened to mastadon and opeth. not feelin the buzz.
Im just interested in why people do like this stuff.

ANarcho-Munk

I like it just for that amazing atmosphere it gives you. The first time I heard Napalm Death I thought they were pure shyte but now I really like them. It just takes a bit of time to get adjusted to it.

Karl Hungus

pants on fire wrote:

I've listened to mastadon and opeth. not feelin the buzz.

Mastodon are not Death Metal by any stretch of the imagination, and Opeth are practically a genre unto their own.

Karl Hungus

Well, perhaps to try and relate what Death Metal is about, perhaps the idea that "It's not music" can be quite accurate in a sense.

I think if we take Morbid Angel for example, while they do indeed have many traditionally musical moments, for the most they excel in creating absolute aural chaos.

Unfortunately, I'm not so much into the more traditional Death Metal, which is basically about heavy music taken to an extreme, both musically and lyrically. See for example, Deicide, Obituary, Cannibal Corpse, and such like. There's a lot of lyrics about gore and death, which doesn't really interest me a whole lot.

No, I'd be more interested in bands that have a little more originality, take for example bands like Opeth, Death, Cynic, Atheist and Pestilence, who take Death Metal and take it to more interesting places, using more interesting song structures, elements of Prog and Jazz, and generally more interesting lyrics than the likes of Cannibal Corpse. There's a lot of dynamics at work, so where a more traditional DM band would be all ahead extremity, it can get dull, therefor a band that contrasts the extreme with the melodic is much more interesting.

Here's some examples of some serious Death Metal:

Cryptopsy - Cold Hate, Warm Blood - A little more the full steam ahead extremity, but nicely offset with little melodic interludes.

Death - Crystal Mountain - A far more melodic Death Metal band altogether.

Morbid Angel - Rapture - Chaos

projectmayhem

i just recently got into opeth - in a big way. i don't consider them death metal at all. they're not like anything out there atm.

other death metal out there (morbid angel, cannibal corpse etc.) does nothing for me. i don't mind the music per se... i'd say some death metal musicians are the best in the world.. but the vocals kill it for me. as do the inane, cheesy lyrics

It wasn't me!

Death Metal's appeal lies in its extremity and energy to be honest. I'm not really interested in lyrics to be honest, for the most part, but musically, I love the technical side and the riffs death metal has. Big, brutal, powerful, angry music.

John

projectmayhem wrote:

i just recently got into opeth - in a big way. i don't consider them death metal at all. they're not like anything out there atm

Their earlier albums were more death metal. Now, as KH states, they're more their own genre. I like death metal (again agreeing more with KH as regards what bands I listen to). It's loud, it's heavy and it's impressive sounding. Yes it's noisy, for years I couldn't listen to it. In fact I ended up listening to pure noise (yes, it's a genre) like Merzbow before I could tolerate death metal.

Pugsley

pants on fire wrote:

I hate to say it, because I know it sounds kinda offensive, but its just noise to me.

Most people who are new to death metal tend to get distracted by the growling vocals and fail to hear the music behind it, Nevermore will give you death metal music, but with melodic vocals, it should give you a chance to appreciate the music. For some excellent death metal though Karl Hungus listed some excellent bands, with links there, that are definately worth checking out.

I started out listening to the earlier In Flames, the Whoracle and The Jester Race albums are both amazing albums to get introduced to metal, they arent the most brutally heavy of bands, but the guitar work is excellent, and both albums are excellently written with a good mix of acoustic, ambient, instrumental, and pretty fast melodic death metal.

pbsuxok1znja4r

Pugsley wrote:

Most people who are new to death metal tend to get distracted by the growling vocals and fail to hear the music behind it

So is it a case of learning to simply tune out the vocals? If that's the case then wouldn't the music be better off without vocals at all? I like to think I've exposed myself to a reasonable amount of death metal and can tolerate listening to it (even enjoy some of it - Faust Again, Opeth) but all in all I think the music is full of unrealised potential due to it's failure to utilise melody and vocal-melody to a higher degree, or in some cases, at all.

gline

tbh its the drumming that does it for me with death metal and the brutal "singing ", but especailly the amazing drumming

It is all about what you are into, music style is a personal thing, you listen to and enjoy what you like not what anyone else is into, thats just my 2c anyway

TerrorFirmer

projectmayhem wrote:

i just recently got into opeth - in a big way. i don't consider them death metal at all. they're not like anything out there atm.

other death metal out there (morbid angel, cannibal corpse etc.) does nothing for me. i don't mind the music per se... i'd say some death metal musicians are the best in the world.. but the vocals kill it for me. as do the inane, cheesy lyrics

Sadly, same here. With Death Metal, I find that in most cases I love the music, but the vocals completely turn me off - most notable example being Cannibal Corpse, as the only Death Metal band I've been continuously exposed to. I've listened to others, but my gripe definately lies with the vocals no matter what band it happens to be.

Karl Hungus

To be fair, I think Death Metal vocals are an aquired taste. I absolutely ****ing hated them at first, but after a while, I grew to like them. I generally prefer a singer with more versatility, one who can do melodic vocals aswell, but the DM vox don't bother me at all and can sound really good at times.

ianmc38

pants on fire wrote:

I guess it means that I find it very uncomfortable on my ears!!

I'm of the same opinion. The "singing" in death metal just ruins what has alot of potential. Some of the drumming in death metal is just unbelievable, as are alot of the guitarists. the vocals do nothing for me but p*ss me off tbh.

pants on fire

I guess most people are just saying what I figured they'd say.
Its all about the expression and atmosphere and stuff.

When I listen to music, I like a good mix of heavy \ aggressive stuff and melodic\musical.
Thats why I like the bands I do. But I just wanted to see if I was missing something!!!

I leave the Death Metal to u guys!!

NIBBS

I'm another one who initially didn't take to Death Metal even though some would say it would be a natural progression for a Thrash fan in the eighties to move into Death in the early 90's.........

anyway, I listen to a very wide range of music, mainly in the rock/metal region, but over the last 5/6 years I've gotten more and more into the extreme ends of the spectrum, and I now like a lot of Death Metal vocals, I agree though, as with all genres there's a level at which the music can become monotonous and boring, and I tend towards the bands that stretch themselves and try something a little different....

I tend to take lyrics as they are for different types of bands and not read too much into their importance in relation to most Death Metal, there's a lot of Gore and Mutlilation etc.......but again it's generally all part of the theatrics of the scene itself.......I say give the bands that KH mentions a listen and you might well pick up a few things that you like in there, maybe not, I'm not totally into Noise yet, but I've a few mates that just love that side of things, bands playing 600 beats per minute, walls of sound etc.....and at the end of the day it's always going to be each to their own, there's certainly some great musicanship amongst the Death fraternity, and don't be too dismissive of the whole thing.....

conzy

I like some of the death Metal Guitar, like that Crystal Mountain sonf that Karl mentioned, but the "singing" WTF? It totally puts me off:mad:

They should release instrumental albums instead of screaming

Just my 2c

Karl Hungus

conzymaher wrote:

I like some of the death Metal Guitar, like that Crystal Mountain sonf that Karl mentioned, but the "singing" WTF? It totally puts me off:mad:

They should release instrumental albums instead of screaming

Just my 2c

Eh, that's a bit ignorant right there. As far as poigniant and meaningfull lyrics go, Death are one of the best, if not the best band in the scene, and to say that they should just release instrumentals because you don't like the singing? Well that's just plain wrong imho.

pbsuxok1znja4r

Also, I have no appreciation for the whole "machine-gun" double-bass thing. While it may technically be a skillful technique to pull off, I think in terms of songwriting, it's by far the easier route to take. It gets pretty unimaginitive after you've already heard it a few times. It's almost as bad as what shitty artrock and indie bands like Interpol do with their rhythm guitars, i.e. downstroke downstroke downstroke downstroke for a whole song. Also, most of the conceptual crap that comes hand in hand with many death metal bands gets irritating very easily.
Considering I've acquired a taste for hardcore/metalcore bands' vocals, I don't see why I mightn't eventually end up liking death metal vocals someday. But it begs the question; why should you go through something you don't even enjoy so that you might aquire a liking for it? Wouldn't one's time be better spent on something that one enjoys to begin with?

Karl Hungus

scouser.tommy wrote:

Also, I have no appreciation for the whole "machine-gun" double-bass thing. While it may technically be a skillful technique to pull off, I think in terms of songwriting, it's by far the easier route to take. It gets pretty unimaginitive after you've already heard it a few times.

I definetly agree. I find far more of musical worth in a band like Opeth, who have a far more varied drumming style. Martin Lopez is just astounding, from the more chilled jazzy side of things, straight to the extreme "Machine-gun" style, I think in effect variety is just better. Blasting out when the song requires it is a lot better than blasting out constantly.

scouser.tommy wrote:

Also, most of the conceptual crap that comes hand in hand with many death metal bands gets irritating very easily.

Eh, such as?

scouser.tommy wrote:

Considering I've acquired a taste for hardcore/metalcore bands' vocals, I don't see why I mightn't eventually end up liking death metal vocals someday. But it begs the question; why should you go through something you don't even enjoy so that you might aquire a liking for it? Wouldn't one's time be better spent on something that one enjoys to begin with?

Why take the lazy route?

I've found over the years that the best music isn't something that gives instant gratification, but takes time to appreciate. Blackwater Park was left on my shelf for about a month after I got it before I started to get into the vibe of it, and that's easily one of the best albums I own.

conzy

As far as poigniant and meaningfull lyrics go, Death are one of the best, if not the best band in the scene

Ok, But If i could understand what he was saying I might be able to appreciate the lyrics.......

Karl Hungus

conzymaher wrote:

Ok, But If i could understand what he was saying I might be able to appreciate the lyrics.......

Yeah... That goes with the whole 'Aquired taste' of Death Metal vocals. Once you're into it, most of the time you can understand it perfectly well.

pbsuxok1znja4r

Karl Hungus wrote:

I definetly agree. I find far more of musical worth in a band like Opeth, who have a far more varied drumming style. Martin Lopez is just astounding, from the more chilled jazzy side of things, straight to the extreme "Machine-gun" style, I think in effect variety is just better. Blasting out when the song requires it is a lot better than blasting out constantly.

Karl Hungus wrote:

Eh, such as?

Well, all the gore/death imagery, like. I dont see the merit in it being "death" metal rather than just 'metal'. To me it just seems like gimmickry. Joe Teeny-rocker is all the more likely to walk into the record shop and part with his week's pocket money for the album that "expresses his individuality" through being shockingly different artwork/imagery/whatever. Basically, my personal preference is for bands that express themselves solely through the music, rather than anything else whatsoever. It's not a big deal, really. It's never stopped me listening to Iron Maiden or the likes.

Karl Hungus wrote:

Why take the lazy route?

I've found over the years that the best music isn't something that gives instant gratification, but takes time to appreciate. Blackwater Park was left on my shelf for about a month after I got it before I started to get into the vibe of it, and that's easily one of the best albums I own.

Yeah in my experience I've found the very same thing to be true. When I first bought Glassjaw's "Everything You ever Wanted To Know About Silence", I basically had to put it aside for weeks because I simply didn't like listening to the vocals. That was a year ago and I still get mileage from that album by listening to it every second day or so. Slow-burners FTW.

Karl Hungus

scouser.tommy wrote:

Well, all the gore/death imagery, like. I dont see the merit in it being "death" metal rather than just 'metal'. To me it just seems like gimmickry. Joe Teeny-rocker is all the more likely to walk into the record shop and part with his week's pocket money for the album that "expresses his individuality" through being shockingly different artwork/imagery/whatever. Basically, my personal preference is for bands that express themselves solely through the music, rather than anything else whatsoever. It's not a big deal, really. It's never stopped me listening to Iron Maiden or the likes.

Wait, you're talking about cover art? Well, ok so.

scouser.tommy wrote:

Slow-burners FTW.

Damn right.

gline

albums that are instantly listenable to usually are instantly forgotten too.

Too me ages to get into some bands, had 1 or 2 of their mp3s for 2 years orr more and decide to give them a try and turn out to be great (1 example is classica from Novembre, brilliant )

i agree with the whole idea of a band being just about the music. Forget the image they put accross and what they say in magazines and cover art etc. I listen to music for the music not because a band is popular or a good "gimmick"

Per Liefsonson

Personally I get more satisfaction out of an album in the long run if I have to work at it slightly, so to speak.

plonk

My opinion of music has changed dramatically in the last 3 years. I was a chillis fan and snow patrol and whiever else. One day I decided to buy Toxicity and have never looked back.
Gline said it right that if an albums that are instantly listenable to usually are instantly forgotten too. It took me a while to get into system but know as a result I love metal. If you want an album to listen to try clayman by In Flames. Its probably one of the best albums ive listened to in a while.

gline

plonk wrote:

If you want an album to listen to try clayman by In Flames. Its probably one of the best albums ive listened to in a while.

that album was my first look into death metal so to speak was listening to metallica and pantera before, started me on the trail
not so fond of it now though