Types of Death Metal
Melodic death metal, sometimes referred to as melodeath, is a less extreme form of death metal. Songs are typically based around Iron Maiden-esque guitar harmonies and melodies with typically higher-pitched growls, as opposed to traditional death metal's brutal riffs and much lower death grunts. Grindcore band, Carcass, are sometimes credited with releasing the first melodic death metal album with 1994's Heartwork although Swedish bands In Flames, Dark Tranquility, At the Gates are usually mentioned as the main pioneers and popularizers of the genre and of the Gothenburg metal sound. Since the genre's creation, Finnish melodic death has also risen, with a more thrash metal neoclassical influenced sound, such as those of bands like Eternal Tears of Sorrow, Kalmah, Norther, and early Children of Bodom.
Scandinavian death metal could be called the forerunner of melodic death metal. Bands like Entombed, Dismember, Unleashed, and the aforementioned At the Gates helped to define the sound that would evolve into melodic death metal. This term is generally interchangeable with melodic death metal. Entombed (ex-Nihilist) was the band, which started to combine punk and death/thrash riffs and set a trademark "Sunlight studios" guitar sound - mainly created by the use of the Boss Heavy Metal distortion pedal, creating a raw, mechanical, electric buzz, which many bands of this genre later tried to reproduce. Nevertheless, this sound was inspired by British deathgrind band Unseen Terror on their debut album Human Error.
Florida death metal
Florida death metal is more rigid and percussive than the Scandinavian variant, more precise, refined and traditional; in many ways this style can be seen, at least in the early days as an extension of thrash metal, especially the Kreator/Destruction variety, but with added complexity and brutality. It tends to be more direct and brutal than the "technical death metal" pioneered by bands such as Cynic and Athiest. Bands include Deicide, Malevolent Creation, Monstrosity, Obituary, Resurrection, Brutality, Morbid Angel, and Death though later Death's albums fall more into the category of progressive death metal (see below).
Technical death metal
Technical death metal, a narrow but influential subgenre, refers to bands who are particularly distinguished by the virtuosity of their musicians. Technical death metal is musically characterized by chaotic riffs, atypical rhythms, polished production, and rapidly changing time signatures. It is a term commonly applied to such bands as Gorguts, Immolation, Necrophagist, Athiest, Decapitated, Cryptopsy, Spawn of Possession, Nile, Origin, Dying fetus, Philosopher, and Psycroptic.
Progressive death metal
Progressive death metal is a subgenre of death metal that incorporates characteristics such as time signature and mood changes from progressive metal. The overlapping of genres is quite common. The genre typically showcases death metal's growls, blastbeats, chaotic alternating rhythms of progressive metal, acoustic parts and the use of instruments not common to traditional heavy metal such as the saxophone. Amorphis (Early), Orphaned land, Opeth, Cynic, Novembre, Coprofago, Death, Pestilence (latest release), Nocturnus and Athiest are seen as progressive death metal. This and technical death metal are closely associated, sharing many of the same traits and often overlapping, but have different emphasis as descriptions.
Brutal death metal developed by combining certain aspects of the song structures of grindcore/goregrind with death metal but it should not be confused with deathgrind (a 50/50 combination of death metal and grindcore) because it has nothing to do with hardcore punk. This genre tends to be a little less technical (see above) and focused more on creating challenging and harsh music. Brutal death metal is associated with bands like Suffocation, Cannibal Corpse, Iniquity, Cryptopsy, Disgorge (US), Devourment, Krisiun, Disavowed, and Deeds of Flesh. The death grunts are almost always very low-pitched and the lyrics are usually gore related. In addition, the guitar riffs are usually slow chunky grooves or hyper fast and down-tuned, often with pinched harmonics. Typically, if guitar solos are played, they usually make large use of tremolo picking. The drumming is usually highly varied in style, ranging from slow rhythms to blast beats. The sound production on most brutal death metal bands albums usually has a very dense sound. Brutal death metal is the heaviest variation of death metal.
Death/doom is a slow and melancholic subgenre inspired by and mixed with classic doom metal. The genre was created by the likes of Sempiternal Deathreign, Dream Death, Delirium, Asphyx, My Dying Bride, paradise Lost, Anathema, Winter, and Disembowelment. Whereas traditional doom metal relies heavily on slow tempo to create a melancholic atmosphere, death/doom is slightly faster and emphasizes minor-key melodies to create a similar atmosphere, and usually utilizes a mix of death growls and singing.
Blackened death metal is a subgenre of death metal fused with the more fluid and melodic elements of black metal. These bands also tend to adopt some of the thematic characteristics of that genre as well; evil, Satanism, and occultism are all common topics and images. Hypocrisy, Necrophobic, Goatwhore, Thelema-era Behemoth, Belphegor, Zyklon, and Dissection are examples. Rather than what the name implies, blackened death tends to be black metal played with the intensity and musicianship of death metal, i.e. more complex drumming with emphasis on fills as well as lower tuned guitars utilizing the heavier attack and percussiveness of death metal guitar playing.
Deaththrash (also known as "Death/thrash" or "deaththrash") is a form of thrash metal with elements of death metal, including fast drumming, guitar picking techniques such as tremolos, death-themed lyrics and possible "death growl" vocals. In the earliest incarnation this style was the progression from thrash metal to death metal began in 1986. These were the bands that started the "Deaththrash" sound from their albums such as: "Reign in Blood" by Slayer, "Beneath the Remains" by Sepultra, "Pleasure to Kill" by kreator and Dark Angel's "Darkness Descends" which inspired other thrash bands to use a dirtier sound. Some bands in this particular genre are: Pestilence, Epidemic, and Cancer. Because of the experimentation of death metal of Testament's last three albums, they may be considered death thrash in those points.
Grindcore
Grindcore is considered by some to be an even more extreme variant of death metal and hardcore punk. However, many fans of grindcore and music historians would place it in a genre by itself, since the genre historically developed in parallel to death metal (both developed in the 1980s, death metal from thrash metal and grindcore from crust punk), each influencing the development of the other, but with early grindcore having a much more obvious hardcore punk, crossover thrash, and anarcho-punk influence.
Deathgrind is a style that combines a 50/50 combination of death metal and grindcore. Guitar solos are a rarity and song lengths are generally short as the case in grindcore. They are also less groove-oriented rhythms. But it separates itself from grindcore by having a more complex musical approach, more focus on death growls than shrieked vocals, and the hardcore punk influence is not prodigious. Brujeria, Cattle Decapitations, and cephailc Carnage would be considered as the most known bands of this style.