Can anyone recommend me actually decent death metal with really high production quality? Not deathcore though, but I mean, like, snap to the grid, Power Tooled-to-nothing death metal. Something along the lines of Scar Symmetry...

I need it to explain to a friend the difference between deathcore and death metal, and she won't let me play anything with below Scar Symmetry production quality. SS is good, I just need something heavier that isn't so spacey.

Death remasters are the best place to start.

Get the last four albums, especially Sound of Perseverance.

Neaera - Armamentarium

Ridiculously layered, a huge wall of sound but extremely professionally done, released on Metal Blade too. Style is basically melodic death metal (as in "death metal that is melodic", not Gothenburg/melodeath), with some flashes of their metalcore/melodeath past. Scar Symmetry is a pretty good comparison for production but the music is obviously much more DM. One of my favorites of the genre, it's a highly recommended album on all levels.

Abysmal Dawn - Programmed To Consume

Modern death METAL with top-notch production.

Thanks guys! I'll have to check those out!

Odious Mortem's Cryptic Implosion sports some cleanest, but very loud, production on any death metal album. Very high-end stuff.

The new Augury album has some of the most pristine production values I've ever heard.

It's equal parts progressive and death metal, though.


My favorite death metal production still belongs to Immolation - Close to a World Below

Bloodbath's albums sound pretty crisp to me.

Morbid Angel's Covenant is produced by Flemming Rasmussen who was the producer for most of Metallica's 80's output. Up to that point (1993) it was probably one of the more professional and cleaner sounding DM recordings.

Look for anything produced by Neil Kernon (Queensryche, Nevermore). He's known for his clean sound. He's produced albums for Nile, Macabre, Cannibal Corpse, Usurper and Exhumed.

Neaera - Really good, I like it. The low growls sound a little cheesy, but I still like it.
Abysmal Dawn - I like it, reminds me a lot of the second Job For A Cowboy album.
Odious Mortem - Wow. Simply wow. This is awesome. Exactly what I was looking for.
Augury - It's really cool and futuristic sounding. I'll probably listen to this one a lot.
Immolation - Sounds awesomely evil. Not exactly what I was going for, but it's cool.

Sorry, I lied, hahaha. I really just wanted these to listen to myself, but I was pretty sure I would get flamed by the elitists. It turns out you guys are actually mostly cool!

Insomnium - Above The Weeping World (2006): Great melodic death metal band, production is flawless. One of the best bands around, awesome vocalist.

Dew-Scented - Incinerate (2007) + Inwards (2002): Death/Thrash with Great production, overdose of riffs and a good vocalist.

The Absence - Riders of The Plague (2007): Another great melodic death metal with great production and powerful vocalist, tight riff/melodies/solos

Dark Tranquillity - Fiction (2007): One of my favorite melodic death metal bands, flawless production too. A must have, I dig the fuck out of this one!

I don't have anything else in mind, but I might come back with something else !

Aborted's Goremageddon has a mechanical yet brutal sounding production.
Neuraxis has clean production overall. Check out Thin Line Between.

Yes, Indeed!! Also 2004 onward for Cannibal Corpse is excellent production. Especially "Evisceration Plague". Also some bands from Gothenburg (Arch Enemy, In Flames, Dark Tranquillity) have some albums with excellent production. Although the musicianship for In Flames is a little off.

Decapitated - Nihility
Has very clear and well mixed sound. It's also an awesome band. Actually the first death metal band I ever listened to.

Anata - Under a Stone with No Inscription.
Just about the same as above.

They were also the first death metal band I heard. I heard their song "Spheres of Madness" and was just blown away. Awesome band.

It's hard to believe nobody has mentioned Unleashed yet, but their last two albums in particular, Midvinterblot and Hammer Battalion, have "top notch" production.

Okay, since this is the type of production you're looking for, I'll recommend a couple that may/may not have been mentioned.

Severed Savior - Servile Insurrection (very, very similar to Odious Mortem - shared members)
Hour Of Penance - The Vile Conception
Fleshgod Apocalypse - Oracles
Martyr (Can) - Feeding The Abscess (all albums are good, but this one has the type of production you seem to be after)
No Emotions - My Will
Emeth - Telesis (again, all albums are good, but this one has the best production)
Krisiun - AssassiNation and Southern Storm (in particular the latter)
Martriden - Martriden and The Unsettling Dark (both the EP and full-length have identical production, so listen to both)
Inevitable End - The Severed Inception (music is a little sloppy, but it has nice, loud production)
Quo Vadis - Defiant Imagination
Pavor - Furioso

Yeah, that should be plenty. There's no need to go through all of them, just the ones that capture your attention.

Wanna know a trick? Just look up Par Olofsson. Virtually every band he's done album art for will fit your request. Abysmal Dawn, Deeds of Flesh, Odious Mortem, Severed Savior, most of the bands Mikey mentioned, and most popularly, The Faceless. The lattermost still retains some deathcore qualities though, so you may want to stray from that one.

I was going to mention Deeds Of Flesh, but I only have Of What's To Come, and the production sounds too thick for what he was after.

I've maybe only listened to that one once, but I remember it being rather crystal clear (I recall a bass solo under a tech riff, I can't imagine that working ever, but it may sound like something that a uber clean tech death band would do). The only other album I have is Path of the Weakening, and while it's much better, the production is also much rougher, so that's a no go in this situation..

I was just about to mention Unleashed. Their debut, Where No Life Dwells also has remarkably clean production, especially for its time.

That's fair enough. I can't really comment on other albums, as I haven't heard any of them.

Well, I didn't just go listen to it because I didn't want to turn off Aspid (your fault Mikey, I've already fallen in love with them), but yeah, it's definitely muddy. It's like if you were listening to a super clean tech death album through a wet rag.

Aspid are great! Good to see you enjoying them.

Of What's To Come is very muddy, but I think that, in this case, it does help. Anyway, this is digressing from the topic, so I think we should leave it there.

Origin and Archspire.