What makes a Death Metal band a Death Metal band?

[metallicarocks]

I've always thought that if it was heavy metal and had screaming and/or yelling vocals, it was Death Metal, but it's looking like that idea is definetely false. ? [img]graemlins/scratchhead.gif[/img]

[the_drip]

Re: What makes a Death Metal band a Death Metal band?

If the band claims to be Death Metal, then they're death metal.

[Mordor]

Re: What makes a Death Metal band a Death Metal band?

Well,they have to play death metal [img]images/icons/tongue.gif[/img]

[Black Mariah]

Re: What makes a Death Metal band a Death Metal band?

Speed, lyricaly content, and type of vocals. With few exceptions, death metal bands are fast. The lyrics tend towards the "I want to rip off your head and shit down your neck, then fuck your neck hole, which I had previously shat into" variety. Vocals are usually a low growl, although more are using the high screech as well.

[skarhead]

Re: What makes a Death Metal band a Death Metal band?

what black mariah wrote is correct

there are some bands that have more political lyrics , especially when they're connected with grind scene ( dying fetus, misery index , internal bleeding iirc but i could be wrong)

also there are many bands that have dark/satanic lyrics.

almost all those bands have complex riffing and drumbeats ( ok i know that there are kickdrums and blastbeats but using them together with the rhytm changes is imho complex) , very fast drumming , riff can be slow but the drums are almost anytime insanely fast.

Blast beats - i think one of the most important things for some bands ( hi Krisiun [img]images/icons/tongue.gif[/img] )

floyd rose based solos [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[metallicarocks]

Re: What makes a Death Metal band a Death Metal band?

I get many [img]graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] 's when I say that COF is death metal. It fits the criteria so far. So is it really death metal?

[Freehill]

Re: What makes a Death Metal band a Death Metal band?

I'll say CoF is Black Metal. The lines are blurring all the time so who really knows anymore... [img]graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[RacerX]

Re: What makes a Death Metal band a Death Metal band?

http://www.bnrmetal.com/pages/genres.htm

"One of the more extreme forms of metal, death metal is basically an offshoot of thrash, with less melodic riffs and a low, growly, often almost unintelligible vocal style that at its best (or worst, depending on one's point of view) has been described as "cookie monster vocals". The early nineties saw the initial rise of death metal in places such as Florida ( Death, Morbid Angel, Deicide, Obituary, and others) and Sweden ( At The Gates, Entombed, and others), and is still quite popular today. A second form of death metal is the so-called Gothenburg style, named for the Swedish city where innovators such as Dark Tranquillity and In Flames reside. Here, the vocal style is similar but the musical style is much more melodic, occasionally bringing to mind an Iron Maiden."

[JacksonConcept]

Re: What makes a Death Metal band a Death Metal band?

If the vocalist and I use that term loosely, sounds like he's vomiting or trying to sh*t an elephant, its probably death metal.

[MetalMedal II]

Re: What makes a Death Metal band a Death Metal band?

Yeah, I think the vocal style is the key item that makes a band metal.
A case in point is the band Death which is obviously death metal, but Chuck's sideproject, Control Denied, didn't seem to be. The instrumental music from each band was very similar, but just differed in the vocal style.

[Ninja Guitar]

Re: What makes a Death Metal band a Death Metal band?

When done correctly, death metal can be very dynamic and powerful. Most death metal bands fail in that area.

I've been trying to write music that is exactly like death metal, but with clean melodic vocals. It's hard to get clean vocals to sound "brutal" over atonal, chaotic death metal riffs. It's basically sounding more like prog. metal with some chaotic, wacky atonal moments.