Technical death metal
| Death Metal | |
|---|---|
| Stylistic origins | Thrash metal |
| Cultural origins | Early-Mid 1980s United States, England, and Sweden. |
| Typical instruments | Guitar - Bass guitar - Double-bass drum |
| Subgenres | |
| Melodic death metal - Technical death metal - Brutal death metal - Slam Death Metal | |
| Fusion genres | |
| Deathgrind - Death/doom - Deathrash - Deathcore - Blackened death metal - Progressive death metal | |
| Regional scenes | |
| Florida death metal - Texas death metal - New York death metal - Scandinavian death metal - United Kingdom death metal | |
| Other topics | |
| Death grunt - Extreme metal - Blast beat | |
Technical death metal, or tech death for short, is a term used to describe bands in the subgenre death metal. As death metal bands began further exploring the genre, they experimented with a variety of song structures, tempos, and playing techniques from other genres to create music that changed the style. As a result of such experimentation, such as the works of Cynic and Cryptopsy, the subform of tech death established itself as a complex and varied musical style.
A general explanation of technical death metal is that it incorporates a variety of influences from other genres of music to compose music that is thought to be unexpected, difficult to play and difficult to comprehend. Songs tend to be written without distinct choruses, with varied or layered time signatures, and sometimes dissonant or atonal guitar riffs. Frequently the result is the appearance of chaos followed or surrounded by a thick groove.
The experimentation of death metal bands started in the late 1980s and early 1990s in some parts of Morbid Angel, Suffocation, Monstrosity, and Vital Remains albums.
The subform had its foundation implanted in the early 90's when Atheist's debut album Piece of Time, Hellwitch's Syzgyial Miscreancy and The Key by Nocturnus came out (All three in 1990). Other early technical death albums are Considered Dead (1991) by Gorguts, Nespithe (1993) by Demilich and Focus (1993) by Cynic. While Cynic became recognised for their technicality, it wasn't fully understood until the mid 1990s when other bands created music that furthered what were then the borders of death metal. By Cryptopsy's 1996 release of None So Vile, it was thought that certain bands were creating music that was too varied and technical to be generalized as standard death metal.
While there are many bands that would cite either band as an influence, some bands are considered technical death metal simply because they defy categorization as standard death metal.
Bands currently heralded as present-day icons for technical death metal include Nile, Decapitated, Spawn of Possession, Psycroptic, Immolation, Anata, Martyr and Necrophagist.
Vs. Brutal Death Metal
Technical Death metal is very similar to brutal death metal, as both are subgenres of death metal and there are bands that crossover. But while technical death metal focuses on technicality, brutal death metal focuses on speed and aggression.
Bands
Some notable bands of this genre include:
- Aletheian[1]
- Anata[2]
- Arsis[3]
- Atheist[citation needed]
- Beneath The Massacre[4]
- Coprofago[5]
- Cynic[6]
- Cryptopsy[7][8]
- Decapitated[9]
- Demilich[10]
- Devolved[11]
- Dungortheb[citation needed]
- Epicedium[12]
- Dying Fetus
- Gorguts[13]
- Immolation[citation needed]
- Iniquity[14]
- In-Quest[citation needed]
- Lykathea Aflame[15]
- Martyr[16]
- Meshuggah[17][18][19]
- Necrophagist[20]
- Negativa[citation needed]
- Neuraxis[21]
- Nile[22]
- Origin[23]
- Pestilence[citation needed]
- Polluted Inheritance[24]
- Psycroptic [25]
- Quo Vadis[26]
- Spawn of Possession[27]
- Suffocation[28]
- Sympathy[29]
- Theory in Practice[30]
- Visceral Bleeding[31]
- !T.O.O.H![citation needed]
Notes
- ^ Band page @ Encyclopaedia Metallum
- ^ Band page @ Encyclopaedia Metallum
- ^ Band page @ Encyclopaedia Metallum
- ^ Band page @ Encyclopaedia Metallum
- ^ Band page @ Encyclopaedia Metallum
- ^ Band page @ Encyclopaedia Metallum
- ^ Band page @ Encyclopaedia Metallum
- ^ Review @ Maelstrom
- ^ Band page @ Encyclopaedia Metallum
- ^ Band page @ Encyclopaedia Metallum
- ^ Band page @ Encyclopaedia Metallum
- ^ Band page @ Encyclopaedia Metallum
- ^ Band page @ Encyclopaedia Metallum
- ^ Band page @ Encyclopaedia Metallum
- ^ Band page @ Encyclopaedia Metallum
- ^ Band page @ Encyclopaedia Metallum
- ^ Chad Bowar. "Top 10 Heavy Metal CDs Of 2005 @ About.com: Heavy Metal". Retrieved 2007-06-25.
{{cite web}}: Check|authorlink=value (help); External link in|authorlink= - ^ "Band page @ Metal Store". Retrieved 2007-06-28.
- ^ Ben Mitchell. "Review of "Nothing" @ Blender". Retrieved 2007-06-28.
- ^ Band page @ Encyclopaedia Metallum
- ^ Band page @ Encyclopaedia Metallum
- ^ Band page @ Encyclopaedia Metallum
- ^ Band page @ Encyclopaedia Metallum
- ^ Band page @ Encyclopaedia Metallum
- ^ Band page @ Encyclopaedia Metallum
- ^ Band page @ Encyclopaedia Metallum
- ^ Band page @ Encyclopaedia Metallum
- ^ Band page @ Encyclopaedia Metallum
- ^ Band page @ Encyclopaedia Metallum
- ^ Band page @ Encyclopaedia Metallum
- ^ Band page @ Encyclopaedia Metallum