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The Official Death Metal Recommendations Thread


RelentlessOblivion

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Okay, here's the next round:

 

Stormcrow - Enslaved in Darkness:

Stormcrow are more of a crust/death metal hybrid, but I've included them here because of their sonic similarity to Bolt Thrower. Bolt Thrower's early work was also quite crusty, which could explain much of the similarity, but these guys also have similarly punishing heavy riffs, grimy warlike atmosphere, and alternating fast and mid-paced passages. This was one of my gateways into crust, and while I still don't know much about it, as long as there's more stuff like this out there, I'm game. Dave may dig this as well, since he seems to be into Bolt Thrower.

 

Suffocation - Effigy of the Forgotten:

Suffocation more of less started the whole brutal/technical death metal thing, that millions of bands have tried to replicate since, but honestly none of them can match Suffocation's level of quality. This stuff is completely fucking crushing, it takes all of death metal's more brutal tendencies up until this point and not only goes to a greater extreme, but does so with such clinical precision that there really is no escaping the onslaught. Extremely tight and calculated musicianship, LOW vocals, and riffs that don't let you up for a breath whilst mercilessly pummeling you, Suffocation should not be missed by any death metal fan.

 

Terrorizer - World Downfall:

Terrorizer are another grindcore band that I have included here, like Repulsion, because of how massively influential they were to death metal. This was one of the first albums recorded at Morrisound studios and features the sound the studio would become famous for, which would prompt almost every Floridian death metal band to use this studio to record with. They would also become largely influential because 3 of their 4 members would go on to join other well known bands and become vastly influential with them. Pete Sandoval and David Vincent joined Morbid Angel, and Pete's drumming was mostly responsible for bringing blast beats to death metal from grindcore, and Jesse Pintado joined Napalm Death and pushed their sound into the death metal realm (Harmony Corruption). Beyond all this though, it's just a great fucking album, and while it is grindcore to the bone, it is less spazzy and more death metal sounding than most other early grind albums, and I find that it has a great deal of appeal to most fans of death metal.

 

The Chasm - Procession to the Intraworld:

While Morbid Angel's Altars of Madness is my favorite death metal album, I would probably have to call The Chasm my favorite death metal band. Not only is this band very deep and original without straying from the roots of death metal, they're also obscenely consistent, and I honestly have difficulty picking a favorite album from them. Everything I've heard from them has been nothing less than masterful, engrossing, and honestly perfect death metal, I really can't imagine asking more from them, except for them to never stop making albums this good. EVER. Look no further if you would like to experience death metal with a very personal and spiritual feel, in addition to featuring some of the best melodies and atmospheres the genre has ever hosted.

 

Therion - Beyond Sanctorum:

Therion are yet another one of those bands that started out as a death metal band, but evolved to a vastly different sound. Their first album is pretty savage and straight forward death metal, a bit thrashier and less "Swedish" sounding than their Sunlight Studios peers, but it was with their second album Beyond Sanctorum that they began to experiment. This album is still a death metal album, but you can hear the classical music influence infiltrating their sound with songs like this one, although not all of the songs on this album are this way. However, this is an extremely original and well done death metal album, and honestly among the best death metal albums to ever emerge from Sweden (which is saying something, as they have produced more than just a few death metal bands).

 

Thou Shalt Suffer - Into the Woods of Belial (compilation):

Thou Shalt Suffer were one of Norway's best death metal bands in the early 90's, before everybody in that country decided to jump ship and start making black metal. Thou Shalt Suffer features three members that would later go on to be pretty well known in their black metal scene, those being Ihsahn and Samoth, who would later start Emperor, and Ildjarn. This is quite different from their later projects though, despite featuring keyboards that wouldn't sound totally out of place on some of Emperor's albums, this is some extremely morbid and creepy sounding death metal. I can't really think of any bands that they directly sounded like, but what's on display here is very evil sounding, ripping and dark riffs, eerie keyboards, and Ihsahn's savage and guttural vocals really made something pretty barbaric and heinous here. I'm not complaining that they moved on to other things, because I do like both Emperor and Ildjarn, but it would have been nice if they had done more music like this, because this is fucking excellent.

Unleashed - :Where No Life Dwells

Unleashed were another one of the more well known early Swedish death metal bands, having formed after Nihilist broke up and reformed as Entombed. The band basically did this to fire Johnny Hedlund in a roundabout way, and he decided to form Unleashed after this happened. Unleashed don't sound directly like Entombed though, they remind me a bit more of Grave, with less of Entombed's d-beat/crust influences and more doomy and Celtic Frost influenced passages. Unleashed were not as good as their aforementioned compatriots back in the day, but still turned out some great albums, and are notable for being the most consistent and best among them today.

 

Utumno - Across the Horizon:

I'm not exactly sure how many death metal bands actually existed in Sweden in the early 90's, but there were quite a few of them. Utumno never managed to record a full length album, but both of their EPs are magnificent, some of favorite music of this scene. What was great about the early Swedish scene is there was a general sound to unify these bands, they sounded "Swedish", but each of them were doing things a different way. Utumno were faster, more technical, and more melodic (but in a sorrowful, morose sort of way) than most of their contemporaries, really taking that Swedish sound to another level with their depth and complexity. This was recently reissued, so you no longer have to stomach the $200+ price tag on ebay, so make sure to add this to your collection before it goes out of print again.

 

Vader - De Profundis:

Vader are probably Poland's best known metal band, and not without good reason. Not only were they one of Poland's earliest and best extreme metal bands, but they have kept their level of quality and amount of recorded output pretty consistent throughout the years. Their sound is very influenced by Slayer and Morbid Angel, sounding a bit like a cross between the two, but definitely done in a way that's uniquely Vader. All of their albums that I've heard are high quality death/thrash metal, but I would probably call this album De Profundis my favorite, and perhaps the best album to cut your teeth on if you're new to them. Wherever you start though, you simply can't go wrong with Vader.

 

Weapon - From the Devil's Tomb:

This one is a bit different than many of the other suggestions I've made so far, as Weapon are a relatively new band, and they are playing a savage black/death metal hybrid. I'm not sure if this is one that will mesh with my other recommendations or not, but will give me a good idea as to whether I should be including stuff like this in the future or not. I'm hoping this strikes a chord, as it is pretty complex and well done death/black metal, with some great musicianship and songwriting. Of note here are the Middle Eastern melodies and atmosphere, which mesh nicely with the savage riffs and drumming, as well as the accomplished performances of the musicians and great lead work. Not much else to say I guess, other than enjoy.

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Re: suggestions?

Immolation and Incantation just tried to kick my head in. That is some seriously punishing shit right there.
Both bands are obscenely consistent too. You can buy almost any album from either of those bands and expect to hear great death metal. Incantation has a couple of mid period albums that aren't as great as their first three, but they're still good. Sent from my HTC PH39100 using Tapatalk 2
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Another round perhaps?

!T.O.O.H.! - Rad a trest:

!T.O.O.H.! are one weird fucking band. Then again, they're from the Czech Republic, a country known for producing more than its share of bizarre metal acts. These guys are a progressive and avant-garde tech/death band, with twisted and unique riffs, strange vocals, and a somewhat folky sense of melody that sets them apart from anyone else I've heard. If you like your metal on the weirder side, and I know that I definitely do, especially with death metal, this should suit you nicely. I could have just as easily put this into the progressive avant-garde thread, but the death metal section could probably use another weird entry like this.

 

Anata - Under a Stone With No Inscription:

Anata are one of my favorite tech death bands ever, because while they are very technical, they're not wanky and are quite original. The way that they structure their riffs, drumming, songs, and vocal patterns are completely unlike any other tech death band I've ever heard, and their compositions are the perfect balance between melody and brutality, with plenty of dizzying playing to keep any technical metal fan interested. They're also very consistent, I have all but 1 of their albums and they're all magnificent. Do yourselves a favor and pick them up, these guys are class acts.

 

Angelcorpse - Exterminate:

Angelcorpse is the band that Pete Helmkamp founded when his original band Order From Chaos was winding down. Other than Pete's trademark vocals though, this doesn't sound anything like Order From Chaos. Where Order From Chaos were blunt, neanderthalic, and primitive death metal with more than a share of black and thrash influences, Angelcorpse sounds like a more complex and blackened Morbid Angel. Gene Palubicki's playing is definitely Trey Azagthoth inspired, as is Longstreth's drumming inspired by Pete Sandoval. This is not to say that they're total Morbid Angel worship, but if their relentless approach to their sound with some black metal influences sounds good to you, you should definitely give these guys a listen.

 

Antediluvian - Through the Cervix of Hawaah:

Antediluvian are a newer Canadian death metal band that fit right in with all of the chaotic noise coming out of that country lately, and always, come to think of it. While they don't sound quite as modern and polished as bands like Weapon or Mitochondrion, they do have a similarly chaotic and blackened take on rotten sounding death metal that I find quite compelling. Despite sounding primitive, they still weave their songs into quite a spooky and revolting tapestry, much like the aforementioned Mitochondrion or Portal, though not on as much of a technical level. Despite fitting in with the newer Canadian sound, these guys are definitely doing it their own way, and if you like grimy, nasty sounding death metal, this should definitely do the trick.

 

Asphyx - The Rack:

Asphyx were just one of many Dutch death/doom bands from the late 80's and early 90's, and very much fall in line with the quality in sound that country's scene is known for. Lots of chunky, heavy palm muted riffs, alternating speeds between slow/mid paced and faster tempos, and of course all topped off by the gnarly sounding vocals of Martin Van Drunen. The guy sounds like Chuck Schuldiner or John Tardy taken to the extreme, sounding disgusted by everything he says as he paints the gruesome picture of the lyrics over the filthy death metal they're playing. This album, and its follow up Last One On Earth, are both essential classic death metal albums that any fan of the genre shouldn't be without. These guys sound like getting run over by a tank on a heated battlefield, which can only be a good thing, as this is death metal.

 

At the Gates - The Red in the Sky is Ours:

Before they sold out and helped "gift" the world with melodeath on the massively overrated Slaughter of the Soul album, At the Gates were one of the best and most original death metal bands in Sweden. What you'll hear on their debut is nothing short of technical, melodic, and brilliantly written death metal. Early on, Tomas used a very tormented vocal sound, not unlike Luc Lemay's on Gorguts more avant-garde works, which gives this another dimension of uniqueness. Add to that the use of violins, backing up the magnificent tremolo picked melodies and riffs, the use of bizarre timings and lots of shifting riffs and tempos, and you have something totally different from anything else being done at the time. This is sorrow filled, bleak, and very expressive death metal that I can't give enough praise to, as this is easily my very favorite Swedish death metal album, and among my very favorite death metal albums ever. Buy or die.

 

Behemoth - Demigod:

Most everybody has heard of Behemoth. They're huge, they play all over the world, and they get all kinds of fan boy praise. While I do prefer their black metal works to the slightly blackened death metal sound that they evolved into, their newer works not only have merit, but some of them are pretty fucking good. They get shit from a lot of people for sounding a bit like Nile (really just the middle-eastern flavored melodies), and for playing a million miles an hour, and having a great production, blah blah blah. Just listen to how fucking good they are at it, not everyone can have a drummer this fast and pull it off without sounding ridiculous, but these guys definitely do. Here, I definitely feel like all of the polish works in their favor, you can hear absolutely everything happening, and it sounds glorious (or blasphemous, as the case may be). All of their albums since the transition are of about equal quality and sound, but I still prefer Demigod for their death metal material, my first album of theirs.

 

Blasphemophagher - The Ill Command of Absolute Chaos:

Blasphemophagher are a newer Italian band playing in the field of Blasphemy worshiping death/black metal, but I feel that these guys fall a bit further to the death metal side of that sound than say, Black Witchery. This is chaotic and filthy sounding death/black metal, but with this newest album of theirs, they've cleaned up the production to the point that you can actually hear what the fuck is going on, so I figured it would probably be the best way to break a new listener into that sound. Tons of blast beats, killer riffs, and relentless song structures is what you'll find here, but it's death metal, so those are all good things, right?

 

Blood Red Throne - Altered Genesis:

Blood Red Throne are one of my favorite modern death metal bands. They extol everything that modern death metal should be about, great production, high speed riffs and drumming, low brutal vocals, excellent instrumentation, but they do it without falling victim to many of the problems about modern death metal. The riffs here are memorable in addition to being bludgeoning, the vocals lack variety, but are still quite good and vicious enough to fit the music at hand, and the instrumentation is catchy and doesn't just feel like a meandering shift from one section to another. Also of note here is the awesome bass playing and wonderful drumming. I'm told that these guys went down hill after this album, having changed a few members around, but their first 3 albums are all excellent.

 

Bloodbath - Nightmares Made Flesh:

Just about everybody knows who Bloodbath is by now, featuring members of all kinds of big name Swedish bands like Opeth, Edge of Sanity, Katatonia, etc..., and that they were formed to pay homage to old school Swedish death metal. Now, I never found them to be all that good at that task, using many Entombed riffs well enough, but with cheesy rock song structures that made it sound a bit cheap. Those albums are still okay, but I feel that they peaked with Nightmares Made Flesh, the only album not to feature Mikael Akerfeldt's vocals. On this go around, the band dropped the old school Swedish tendencies and just made a great modern death metal album, heavy and complex riffs, the rock song structures with choruses and verses actually complimenting the riffs and vocals here, and a sound of their own. The highlights of this album for me are the fucking fantastic vocal performance from Peter Tagtgren, honestly better even than his work in Hypocrisy (aside from the Inferior Devoties EP), the Blakkheim melodies used in a death metal context, and the catchy and fun songs. After this they would turn even more modern sounding with a Morbid Angel worshiping sound, but again it's nowhere near as good as this, so if you're to get one Bloodbath album, let it be this one.

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Bloodbath - Cancer Of The Soul that's a classic! Also the At The Gates song. Hell that whole list is awesome!
Thank you. Hopefully there's some stuff there that you weren't familiar with before that you enjoyed, that was my intention in making these lists. There are lots of essentials on there, but hopefully everyone can find something there that they didn't know before.
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Into the Grave and You'll Never See are great, however, the poster that started this list was trying to get into death metal from thrash/heavy metal. I started out with bands that either had less harsh vocals, or bands that were representative of various styles/scenes of death metal, so I could get feedback from him and see what he liked to expand upon it. Now that he's basically liked most of what I've posted, I'm going back through to fill in the gaps. There's a ton more that I'll be adding, so keep checking back to see if you dig anything else I post about. I have similar threads in the Black Metal, Thrash Metal, Progressive Metal, Folk Metal, Doom Metal, and Power Metal sections for the same stuff, pretty much all of them started by RelentlessOblivion if you want to check out my video lists in any of those areas. The same applies, I was initially trying to get someone from a pretty traditional metal standpoint into other styles, but I'm now going back through to fill in the gaps and get stuff that I missed on the first go around. I'm no expert, but I do have a decent number of albums in my collection, so there will probably be some stuff you didn't know about that you would like in those threads.

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Yes i got the initial starting point of the thread, and i really like the dedication and time you put into doing this. Looking forward to see more of this.
Thanks, as long as somebody can find something they like in there, the purpose was served and the time was worth it. Here are the links to the other threads if you're interested: http://metalforum.com/black-metal/1076-recommendations.html http://metalforum.com/doom-metal/1077-doom-101-a.html http://metalforum.com/folk-metal/1722-folk-metal-essentials.html http://metalforum.com/power-metal/866-great-albums.html http://metalforum.com/progressive-metal/1078-intro-prog.html http://metalforum.com/thrash-metal/1079-advanced-thrash-metal.html
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