| Melodic death metal |
| Stylistic origins |
Death metal, NWOBHM, thrash metal, black metal |
| Cultural origins |
Early to mid-1990s, Scandinavia (particularly Gothenburg, Sweden) |
| Typical instruments |
Electric guitar, bass guitar, drums (double kick), keyboard, acoustic guitar, vocals |
| Derivative forms |
Melodic metalcore |
| Regional scenes |
| Sweden - United States - United Kingdom - Japan - Brazil |
| Other topics |
| Death growl – Clean vocals – Bands |
Melodic death metal (also referred to as melodeath) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that combines elements from the New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) with elements of death metal. The style originated and developed in Sweden during the early and mid-1990s (pioneered by bands Dark Tranquility, At the Gates, and In Flames). The Swedish death metal scene did much to popularize the style, which soon centered in the "Gothenburg metal" scene in Gothenburg, Sweden.
Musical characteristics [edit]
Melodic death metal uses components of NWOBHM, in particular the fast riffing and harmonic guitar lines, but also is influenced by the characteristics of death metal like heavily distorted guitars, fast double-bass drum patterns and sometimes blast beats some even utilizing elements from other genres such as black metal (Dark Tranquility on their notably influential album The Gallery) and thrash metal (At The Gates on their also influential 1995 release Slaughter of the Soul).[1] The vocal style of the genre may be a combination of harsh screaming, clean vocals, and death growls, if not emphasizing one of these styles over the rest.[2]
Origins (early 1990s) [edit]
The origin and popularity of Melodic death metal can be attributed to the bands In Flames, At the Gates, and Dark Tranquillity, with their early 1990s music releases that defined the genre and laid the foundation for the Gothenburg metal scene.[2]
Carcass, shown here performing at Gods of Metal festival in Bologna, Italy (2008), helped develop the melodic death metal genre with their 1993 album
Heartwork.
[3]
Another key band in the development of melodic death metal was the British band Carcass, who started out playing grindcore but morphed into a death metal style and helped pioneer the melodic death metal genre with their 1993 album Heartwork.[3]
Late '90s and influence on other genres [edit]
Since the late '90s, melodic death metal bands have added more melodic choruses and riffs and have used keyboards more prominently than other death metal bands; their lyrics, unlike those of death metal, did not focus on death, violence, gore, horror, or blood for the most part.[4] Its influence lead to the diversification of modern metalcore, with melodic metalcore gaining prominence in the 2000s, especially in the United States. Stewart Mason of Allmusic stated that the "increasingly melodic" style of Swedish death metal combines the post-hardcore aggression and guttural vocals of black metal with melodic and technically proficient guitar lines. Stewart Mason claims that the style has become very popular in the United States, using the term "Swedecore" to describe Scandinavian-style metal as played by non-Nordic bands.[5]
See also [edit]
References [edit]
