Death Metal: Bands, History and Lyrics

Death metal appeared as a separate extreme music style in the late 80-s. To be more exact, it happened after classical thrash metal had reached the peak of popularity and began transforming into something even more extreme and brutal. The first elements of death metal can be found in the works of such bands as Sepultura, Slayer, Venom, Hellhammer and some others. All these bands are different, but they were united by their desire to make a revolution in metal music, to introduce something absolutely new into its history. As a result, they served as a creative impulse for the next generation of musicians that chose to move on.

One of these musicians was “the godfather” of death metal - Chuck Shuldiner. Together with his band Death he became the founder of this scandalous style having not only given to it its title but also formed those features of death metal that distinguished it from other styles, such as black metal. One of these distinguishing features of death metal, along with its horrible sound and wild distortion, is its extreme lyrics. The death metal lyrics are full of blood and flesh that created the atmosphere of cruelty. Death metal vocal also adds to this horrible picture; it got the name growling, as it resembles growling of a wild animal, and not of a person.

Initially death metal appeared in the U.S., so the first death metal school was called American. Its representatives were Death, Morbid Angel, Obituary, Deicide, Cannibal Corpse and others. This school is characterized by very high speed and as a rule rather complicated chaotic guitar riffs. The lyrics are mostly devoted to various carrions, wild murders (Cannibal Corpse lyrics), or Satanism (Deicide lyrics).

Then two more schools appeared; one of them could be generally called European. Its representatives are Benediction, Carcass and others. These bands are not characterized by extremely fast-paced rhythms as they pay more attention to the atmosphere of death metal. They are notable for leisurely low guitar riffs. Their lyrics are also crazy and wild, but more psychological – to intensify malicious and gloomy atmosphere.

The third school appeared in Sweden, Northland, the birthplace of mighty northern warriors – Vikings. The founders of this school are Entombed, Unleashed, Grave. Its death metal is characterized by a special extremely “heavy” sound and low guitar tuning (very often the lowest tuning - B, E, A, D, F#, B). The lyrics along with typical death metal topics are connected with Scandinavian mythology, and are often penetrated by belligerent spirit of Vikings (e.g., Unleashed lyrics, Amon Amarth lyrics). Some bands use sepulchral topic in their lyrics (Entombed, Grave).