What is death metal?[views:7713][posts:41]___________________________________ [Feb 3,2006 7:29pm - infoterror ""] Death metal is structuralist heavy metal that borrows heavily from classical and industrial music. Its heritage is equal parts neoclassical heavy metal from the 1970s and hardcore punk from the early 1980s; if you throw Discharge, Judas Priest and King Crimson into a blender and set it on "high," you might get something like death metal. It took from roughly 1983-1988 for death metal to fully evolve, and at that point, it experienced six golden years of fruitful growth before lapsing as black metal eclipsed it in popularity. The original underground musical genre, death metal was completely unknown to most people until 1997 when it became fodder for mainstream commentary after several school shootings. During the 1980s and early 1990s, it was impossible to find death metal in normal record stores and chains; most people ordered it from small mailorder companies, or "distros," that stocked underground metal exclusively. The underground in fact replicated every aspect of the normal music industry, including journalists and radio stations, to avoid being tainted by "commercial" or "mainstream" music. We say death metal is "structuralist" because, in contrast to rock music, its goal is not a recursive rhythm riff that encourages constant intensity through verse-chorus structure; death metal, like black metal after it and prog rock and classical before it, uses "narrative" song structure, or a string of phrases connected in such a way that they effect musical and artistic change throughout the song. While rock music aims to find a sweet riff and ride it, and much of older heavy metal does the same, death metal is like opera: its goal is to use riffs to introduce more riffs, and through those, to create a treelike structure of motifs which resolve themselves to a final dominant theme. In this, death metal (like the progressive rock and synthpop bands that influenced it) is closer to classical music than rock music. The history of rock music has been written by commercial promoters who have tried to establish its "authenticity" and uniqueness, and therefore, almost all mainstream publications are hostile to death metal. Death metal reminds us that rock music, blues and jazz did not arise autonomously in America, but were based on centuries of European popular music (the I-IV-V chord structure of the blues is derived from European folk music, and its "blues scale" is a modification of Asian and Celtic scales). Rock music is a scam, and its marketing makes it seem to be something greater than what it is, which is the same old music dressed up as a product. Death metal more than any genre before it broke from the rock tradition, and therefore is a threat to the rock establishment and its profits. Like most musical genres in the modern time, death metal is constantly under assault not only from external interests, but from within, as self-interested people try to make rock music and dress it up as death metal. These attempts to simplify the genre would benefit those who attempt them, as they would both be able to make a saleable product (being similar to established musical tastes, it sells easily and broadly) and be able to claim the "authenticity" of belonging to an outsider form of art such as death metal. These false death metal bands have polluted the genre with the same mainstream dogma and musicality that death metal sought to escape. Like all human social breakdown, this breakdown occurs through the selfishness of individuals who are unwilling to admit that the health of the genre is more important than their personal profit. Death metal flourished from the mid-1980s to mid-1990s, and then was for most purposes replaced by black metal. Where death metal was structuralist with heavy emphasis on chromatic phrasing and hence rhythmic, black metal used narrative construction based on melody (an innovation of later and progressive death metal bands as well, such as At the Gates, Atheist, Gorguts and Demilich). As such, it is often hard to tell where death metal ended and black metal began, although in their mature form they are distinct genres. In this, and in the aesthetic components of death metal borrowed by mainstream bands as varied as Slipknot and Nirvana, death metal lives on. http://www.deathmetal.org/death_metal/ |
| _________________________________________ [Feb 3,2006 7:30pm - davefromthegrave ""] what is a shitty fucking thread? |
| _________________________________________ [Feb 3,2006 7:30pm - davefromthegrave ""] blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah |
| __________________________________________ [Feb 3,2006 10:48pm - dwellingsickness ""] Another useless thread by Infoterror I see |
| _______________________________________ [Feb 4,2006 8:50am - MetalcoreSUCKS ""] Man!!! Thats way to long to read.Make it shorter and then I will read it |
| ________________________________________________ [Feb 4,2006 8:55am - aterribleguitarist nli ""] that was very good, learn to read |
| ____________________________________ [Feb 4,2006 9:28am - scoracrasia ""] I think I just fell asleep, and I did not even read his post. |
| ______________________________________ [Feb 4,2006 12:59pm - BlackoutRick ""] Yeah, it's good. |
| ___________________________________ [Feb 4,2006 9:56pm - infoterror ""] THAT IS WHAT ALL THE GIRLS SAY "IT'S TOO LONG" ...THE BOYS DON'T COMPLAIN LOL GAY N PROUD AND BLACK http://www.gmad.org/ |
| __________________________________ [Feb 4,2006 10:41pm - brian_dc ""] yeah, this was actually a really cool post. Infoterror occasionally lets a few real gems through. They are usually musically related. I especially like the paragraph about death metal song structure being "narrative" |
| ___________________________________ [Feb 5,2006 10:22am - contagion ""] i hate when faggots decide its thier job to tell people exactly what certain genre's of music sound like. death metal has blast beats and growls. |
| _____________________________________ [Feb 5,2006 10:35am - thedeparted ""] contagion said:i hate when faggots decide its thier job to tell people exactly what certain genre's of music sound like. death metal has blast beats and growls. i agree completely, it's one of the if not most annoying things in the world. |
| ____________________________________ [Feb 7,2006 10:16pm - infoterror ""] brian_dc said:I especially like the paragraph about death metal song structure being "narrative" This is what makes writing death metal kind of hard, and fun. SUFFOCATION <3 |
| _______________________________________ [Feb 8,2006 12:39am - kessaris nli ""] I have warts on my dick... ...thats death metal (I don't really have genital warts, I was just making a point) |
| __________________________________ [Feb 8,2006 9:18am - ihateKSE ""] death metal is dead. i mean a few bands were cool back in 1993-1996ish era but i always loved thrash speed metal more than the cookie monster blast beat wacraehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh |
| _____________________________________ [Feb 8,2006 10:53am - Josh_Martin ""] aterribleguitarist nli said:that was very good, learn to read Y'know, its really kinda sad when people complain that something that is only six very short paragraphs long is too long to read. That took me about 30 seconds to read. And people wonder why metalheads get stereotyped as morons. |
| _____________________________________ [Feb 8,2006 10:53am - AUTOPSY_666 ""] Good, fuck off. |
| _____________________________________ [Feb 8,2006 10:55am - AUTOPSY_666 ""] That was aimed at the guy above Josh. |
| ___________________________________ [Feb 8,2006 12:09pm - ihateKSE ""] just an opinion my man. i wasn't a death metal fan only the biggies (Death, Obituary, Morbid Angel, Napalm Death, Gorguts, Disincarnate, etc...) just not my cup o tea. sorry |
| ___________________________________ [Feb 8,2006 12:22pm - Ionsphere ""] Biggie Smalls is death metal |
| ______________________________ [Feb 8,2006 12:42pm - Yeti ""] infoterror said:Like all human social breakdown, this breakdown occurs through the selfishness of individuals who are unwilling to admit that the health of the genre is more important than their personal profit. bingo. sure it sucks that death metal has lost its edge, and so many shit heads have perverted its sanctity, but i could care less about them. i still have all those gems that our forefathers forged for us to enjoy. Malevolent Creation, Cannibal Corpse, Bolt Thrower, early Deicide, Morbid Angel and so on. that was actually a good write up. |
| ________________________________ [Feb 8,2006 12:44pm - mimee ""] MALEVOLENT CREATION RETRIBUTION... classic. |
| ___________________________________ [Feb 8,2006 4:10pm - infoterror ""] Is anyone going to mention Obituary, Celtic Frost, Sodom, Massacra, Sepultura, Possessed, Necrovore, Morpheus Descends, Asphyx, Sinister, Amorphis, Infester, Atheist, Gorguts, Morgoth and Belial, or do I have to do it myself? |
| __________________________________ [Feb 8,2006 5:03pm - ninkaszi ""] what is death metal? autopsy, funebrarum, incantation, old deicide, old morbid angel, rottrevore, convulse, rancid christ, disciples of mockery, revenant, nihilist, old entombed, old dismember, grave, sadistic intent, goreaphobia, old vital remains, old massacre, old sentenced, old death, disincarnate, cancer, organic infest, messiah, pestilence, etc. |
| __________________________________ [Feb 8,2006 7:45pm - Necronaut ""] CIANIDE |
| ___________________________________ [Feb 8,2006 8:32pm - infoterror ""] THERION |
| ________________________________ [Feb 8,2006 8:38pm - Paulll ""] Death metal is what you make of it, throw rules on top of music and you create bands that all sound the same. |
| ______________________________ [Feb 8,2006 8:45pm - Troll ""] good read. |
| ______________________________ [Feb 8,2006 8:58pm - eddie ""] Paulll said:Death metal is what you make of it, throw rules on top of music and you create bands that all sound the same. the bands sound the same anyways, which is why it becomes a genera, call it what you like it'll still sound the same. |
| ____________________________________ [Feb 8,2006 9:51pm - evil puppy ""] davefromthegrave said:blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah yeah really |
| ____________________________________ [Feb 8,2006 11:53pm - infoterror ""] IMPRECATION |
| ______________________________________ [Feb 9,2006 12:31am - the_reverend ""] the problem with death metal not having an "edge" any more is cause it's an established genre. its pretty much accepted by every what it is and when someone pushes the edge, they push through the bounds set by the stereotype of the genre and then get classified as another genre. like death metal was expanded ++ blast beats ++ gurggles and bang death grind. shorten thw songs and add shocking porno samples, bang pornogrind. |
| ______________________________________ [Feb 9,2006 12:34am - the_reverend ""] what is "shocking" changes. when I was little you'd get a fine for saying ass, bitch, bastard. then thoses words were ok cause society could handle them. nowadays you hear fucks and shits every now and then |
| _________________________________________ [Feb 9,2006 1:48am - davefromthegrave ""] Josh_Martin said:aterribleguitarist nli said:that was very good, learn to read Y'know, its really kinda sad when people complain that something that is only six very short paragraphs long is too long to read. That took me about 30 seconds to read. And people wonder why metalheads get stereotyped as morons. I'm an english major and I read all the time. But when I saw the word "infoterror" at the top of the post I imeediately dismissed it as crap. |
| _______________________________________ [Feb 9,2006 8:54am - MetalcoreSUCKS ""] Death Metal is the most brutal,extreme form of Metal.Some people dont like it because of the vocals.But what would this world be like without Cannibal Corpse,Malevolent Creation,Bolt Thrower,Morbid Angel and Deicide? |
| _________________________________________ [Feb 9,2006 9:00am - largefreakatzero ""] eddie said:Paulll said:Death metal is what you make of it, throw rules on top of music and you create bands that all sound the same. the bands sound the same anyways, which is why it becomes a genera, call it what you like it'll still sound the same. It's "genre" and the dm bands do not all sound the same. I think that's hardcore you're thinking of. |
| ______________________________________________ [Feb 9,2006 6:15pm - Morbid Mike BMR Bass ""] Theres a book with an introduction by John Peel of the BBC by Albert Mudrian called Choosing Death:The Improbable history of Death Metal and Grind-Core and there is also a book called Sounds of the Beast:The Headbanging History of Heavy Metal by Ian Christe these pretty much sum up what Death Metal is and its rise and fall for anyone who wants the whole story. |
| ______________________________ [Feb 9,2006 7:02pm - eddie ""] largefreakatzero said:eddie said:Paulll said:Death metal is what you make of it, throw rules on top of music and you create bands that all sound the same. the bands sound the same anyways, which is why it becomes a genera, call it what you like it'll still sound the same. It's "genre" and the dm bands do not all sound the same. I think that's hardcore you're thinking of. yeah your right, vehemence , C.C. , suffocation, and morbid angel don't sound the same if you listen. but how many bands that try to do there own thing end up sounding just like those bands? you don't have to label iyt it labels its self. i'm talking more of the tech death metal, seriously i can't tell the difference between probably over half the bands, and it's not like i'm not listening genera: Noun Plural of genus. Noun Inflected forms: pl.gen·er·a 1. Biology A taxonomic category ranking below a family and above a species and generally consisting of a group of species exhibiting similar characteristics. In taxonomic nomenclature the genus name is used, either alone or followed by a Latin adjective or epithet, to form the name of a species. See Table at taxonomy. 2. Logic A class of objects divided into subordinate species having certain common attributes. 3.:shocked: A class, group, or kind with common attributes. |
| ______________________________ [Feb 9,2006 7:04pm - eddie ""] a rose by any other name is still a rose |
| _____________________________________ [Feb 10,2006 12:53pm - anonymous ""] burned! |
| ____________________________________ [Feb 10,2006 3:28pm - infoterror ""] CEREMONY |
| __________________________________________ [Feb 10,2006 4:04pm - largefreakatzero ""] I didn't get burned. I thought Mr. Eddie was going for this: genre n 1: a kind of literary or artistic work 2: a style of expressing yourself in writing [syn: writing style, literary genre] 3: an expressive style of music [syn: music genre, musical genre, musical style] 4: a class of art (or artistic endeavor) having a characteristic form or technique So, therefore, neither of us were incorrect (on the spelling anyway). |