robotniq wrote:
A lot of people forget about the 80s Chicago scene (Master, Death Strike, Terminal Death, Devastation, Sindrome). These bands were a big part of the early death metal sound internationally, and yet they often get forgotten by people these days. Terminal Death's "Faces of Death" demo (1985) is probably the earliest recording that has all the elements of what later became known as death metal.
In terms of industrial death-ish metal, check out "Streetcleaner" by Godflesh, Meathook Seed (UK), Mortified (UK), and Sin (NYC).
Early MDB and Paradise Lost is most certainly death metal.
Thank you for these recommendations, I'm taking notes. I thought Godflesh was more of a "pure" industrial metal band though, I'll need to give it another listen (the other bands are unknown to me so I'll check them). And yes I'm thinking about adding something by early MDB and Paradise Lost, possibly "As the Flower Withers" and "Lost Paradise" which are the most death metal-sounding. I'm not sure, regarding Katatonia, though. I will take time to listen to it more.
Tanuki wrote:
I see you've got Intestine Baalism covered, sweet, they're one of my all-time favorite bands! As far as death 'n' roll and Six Feet Under is concerned, I'll always give SFU kudos for
Undead, they actually showed up for that one. Other than that though, I was pretty stumped. As for industrialized metal, I toyed with the idea of mentioning Mirrorthrone or one of Vladimir Cochet's other projects, but I wasn't sure how relevant they'd be... Anyway, I hope some of this is helpful to you, best of luck with your project!
1. 2 Ton Predator -
BoogieThis album scared the shit out of kid-Tanuki. Tons of brutish grooves, like Pantera on meth, but nowadays I don't know if I'd consider it heavy enough to be considered death'n'roll. Probably not, but hey, where else am I gonna mention this.
Standout track:
September FluSee also: Invocator -
Weave the Apocalypse2. Vehemence -
God Was CreatedArtisanal melody-driven death metal, finely crafted. If you like Intestine Baalism, you'll love this. Achingly beautiful melodies, sometimes very unsettling, in no small part due to the story this concept album tells. Worthy of a trigger warning, even by death metal standards.
Standout track:
Christ, I Fucking Hate YouSee also: Edge of Sanity -
Purgatory Afterglow3. Konkhra -
Sexual Affective DisorderI think death metal and sex are pretty inextricable, at least in the early days. Konkhra is a great example of some sordid Freudian death metal. Obscene squelching bass-led grooves and remarkably high-brow lyricism about emotional attachment and repression.
Standout track:
BlindfoldedSee also: Ill-Disposed -
Four Depressive Seasons4. Without Grief -
DeflowerThe thinking man's In Flames. Too many icy, saturnine melodies to count, almost Dissection-esque with how bitter and strangulated they sound. The Gothenburg sound refined to a diamond luster and hardness.
Standout track:
Suicidal StrokeSee also: Sacrilege -
The Fifth Season5. Whispered -
Shogunate MacabreIf Amon Amarth were held hostage at an Anime Convention and forced to write an album at katana-point. Kabuki metal should, by all rights, be a self-limiting and hokey gimmick, but it resulted in one of the most memorable and freshest takes on bombastic symphonic death metal I can think of.
Standout track:
Upon My HonorSee also: Imperial Circus Dead Decadence -
Kuruoshiku Saita Na Mukuro Wa...6. Lykathea Aflame -
ElvenefrisMajor scale flourishes, shimmering Arabesque orchestral interludes that come out of nowhere, monstrous chugs... It reads like the scrawlings of a mad pharaoh. One of the most radical and batshit insane technical death metal albums.
Standout track:
Land Where Sympathy is AirSee also: Gorod -
Leading Vision7. Massacre -
From BeyondSome people call this a poor man's
Leprosy and dismiss it, but
From Beyond is my hill to die on. I think it's fantastic, top to bottom. Great riffs, drumming, growls, atmosphere, everything just works. Its "follow-up"
Promise, not so much.
Standout track:
SuccubusSee also: Brutality -
When the Sky Turns Black8. Gorement -
The Ending Quest11 reviews on M-A with a 98% average; I double-take every time I see that, I swear. A gem of old school Swedish death that deserves its praise though, so much oppressive and crushing atmosphere. There's something so sinister and unsettling about this, I can't even put my finger on it.
Standout track:
Sea of SilenceSee also: Epitaph -
Seeming Salvation9. Sceptic -
Pathetic BeingsHighly ambitious technical death metal that doesn't go off the deep end with impossible-to-follow measures or melodies. Laser-hot solos and an atypical vocal style, another album/band I hardly see anyone talking about.
Standout track:
Lost IdentitySee also: Theory in Practice -
Colonizing the SunThanks a lot for that answer, it's very comprehensive and helpful!
Indeed, Intestine Baalism was a nice discovery for me. If more melodic death metal sounded like this, I'd probably be a bigger fan the genre. I definitely see the continuity between death metal (ex. Death riffing in songs like "Open Casket" or albums like "Like an Ever Flowing Stream" by Dismember being possible early examples of a more melodic take on death metal) and melodic death metal, but some bands seem by now so far removed from death metal that I have a hard time putting them in a "death metal" list. I think I'm treating MDM like death metal/hardcore crossovers or prog death and death/doom, basically seeing which element overpowers the other. I think one of the most borderline album I've put in that list is Dissection's "Storm of the Light's Bane" because it's often more into melodic black metal territory. But it's a cult album.
Concerning death'n'roll and Six Feet Under, well, I'm a bit exagerating here since I liked some of their album... but it's just that, with this band, it's really hit-or-miss... I love groove metal so their often bouncy and mid-tempo death metal pleases me, some of their earliest work like "Maximum Violence" is highly enjoyable for me, but some of their other stuff really sounds like a bad joke.
And yeah... can't say I'm a big death'n'roll fan overall even if on paper it has everything to please me. "Wolverine Blues" again, as I said, is a GREAT album (just today I've listened to it multiple time) and Systral (formerly a more grindcore/powerviolence-oriented punk band) also had an interesting take on death'n'roll. But I struggle to find anything else to my taste. Not a big fan of Pungent Stench or even "Swansong" by Carcass.