Morbid Angel is an American death metal band based in Tampa, Florida, formed in 1983 by guitarist, primary composer and sole remaining original member Trey Azagthoth, vocalist and bassist Dallas Ward, and drummer Mike Browning. Widely considered one of the most influential bands in the genre and important in the transition of death metal from its thrash metal roots, they were one of the first bands to incorporate guttural vocals, up-tempo blast beats, multiple tempo changes and a dark atmosphere. They have been described as one of "the most influential and emulated bands in death metal", alongside Obituary, Death, Cynic, Autopsy and Deicide, and have been cited as an influence by many later bands. They were also the first death metal band to experience mainstream success in connection with being signed to Giant Records in 1992, heavy rotation of their music videos on MTV, and having the music video for the song "God of Emptiness" shown on an episode of Beavis and Butt-Head. Their first three albums – Altars of Madness (1989), Blessed Are the Sick (1991), and Covenant (1993) – are considered classics in the death metal genre.
Avant-garde metal is a subgenre of heavy metal music loosely defined by use of experimentation and innovative, avant-garde elements, including non-standard and unconventional sounds, instruments, song structures, playing styles, and vocal techniques. Avant-garde metal is influenced by progressive rock and extreme metal, particularly death metal, and is closely related to progressive metal. Some local scenes include Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area, Boston, and Seattle in the United States, Oslo in Norway, and Tokyo in Japan.
Gorguts is a Canadian death metal band formed near Sherbrooke, Quebec, in 1989. The band has gone through various membership changes since its inception; its only constant member has been guitarist-vocalist and co-founding member Luc Lemay, who remains the driving force of the band. To date, they have released five full-length albums and one EP. Their most recent release, Pleiades' Dust, was released on May 13, 2016. Their latest full-length album, Colored Sands was released in 2013 and was nominated for a Juno Award. Musically the band is known for its complex, musically dense form of technical death metal, and has become "one of the most advanced, experimental, and challenging groups in the entire genre."
Deathspell Omega is a French black metal band formed in 1998 in Poitiers. The group is an anonymous collective that has never confirmed the identity of any of its members.
C tuning is a type of guitar tuning. The strings of the guitar are tuned two whole steps lower than standard tuning. The resulting notes can be described most commonly as C-F-A♯-D♯-G-C or C-F-B♭-E♭-G-C. This is not to be confused with C♯ tuning, which is one and one half steps lower than standard tuning.
Origin is an American technical death metal band from Topeka, Kansas, founded in 1990 under the monikers Necrotomy and Thee Abomination. They have been recognized by music critics and metal fans alike for combining a harsh sound with a high level of technical skill.
Considered Dead is the debut studio album by Canadian death metal band Gorguts. It was released on October 8, 1991, by Roadrunner Records, whom the band signed with after the release of their 1991 demo ...And Then Comes Lividity. The album features guest vocals by Chris Barnes of Cannibal Corpse on three tracks, as well as a guest guitar solo by James Murphy, who has performed with Death, Obituary, and Testament. The following year, the band took part in the "Blood, Guts and Gore" U.S. tour along with Cannibal Corpse and Atheist.
The Erosion of Sanity is the second full-length album by Canadian technical death metal band Gorguts. The album was released on January 19, 1993, through Roadrunner Records. Though it is now considered a milestone in the genre, the album's release coincided with the decline of death metal's popularity as a genre, and Roadrunner decided to drop the band from their roster. The band subsequently entered into a five-year state of limbo in which they ceased touring, during which all members except Luc Lemay left. Gorguts later returned with a new lineup, releasing their third full-length album Obscura in 1998.
From Wisdom to Hate is the fourth album by Gorguts, released on March 6, 2001 through Olympic Recordings and Season of Mist. The musical style can be considered a compromise between the previous album Obscura and the older albums Considered Dead and The Erosion of Sanity. This is the only Gorguts album to feature drummer Steve MacDonald. MacDonald had a history of recurrent depression and committed suicide in 2002, which eventually led to the break-up of Gorguts in 2005.
Starkweather is an American heavy metal band from Philadelphia formed in 1989. They have a complex experimental metal sound often including use of dissonance, intricate tempo changes and avant-garde sensibilities. Starkweather helped pioneer the hardcore punk/heavy metal crossover sound that would later be known as "metalcore", as well as being a major influence on the mathcore subgenre. They have influenced many of today's top selling hardcore/metal bands such as Converge, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Mastodon and Coalesce among many others.
Deeds of Flesh is an American brutal death metal band from Los Osos, California, U.S. They were formed in 1993 by Jacoby Kingston, Erik Lindmark (1972–2018) and Joey Heaslet. They founded their own label, Unique Leader Records, which has since become home to a number of other death metal bands from around the world. Deeds of Flesh have released nine studio albums, their most recent being Nucleus which was released in 2020.
Obscura is a German technical death metal band from Landshut, founded by guitarist and vocalist Steffen Kummerer in 2002. The band have released six studio albums, a compilation album and twelve music videos since its formation. Their latest album A Valediction was released on 19 November 2021 via Nuclear Blast.
Krallice is an American black metal band formed by New York City musicians Colin Marston, Mick Barr, Nick McMaster and Lev Weinstein. They play an experimental, highly technical style of black metal. The band has released fourteen studio albums and three EPs, most recently the LP Mass Cathexis 2 - The Kinetic Infinite on December 1, 2023. They have been described as "one of the most interesting, engaging black metal bands to emerge in recent years" and "one of the most important bands in modern black metal".
Ulcerate is a New Zealand-based extreme metal band formed by guitarist Michael Hoggard and drummer Jamie Saint Merat in 2000. The band have released six studio albums to date. The band have been featured in numerous articles as one of New Zealand's most prominent extreme metal acts, have toured widely across North America and Europe, and have been compared favourably to bands such as Neurosis and Gorguts. The band's sound has been described as "nauseating, disorienting and gleefully disharmonic", and is characterised by extremely technical death metal with extensive use of dissonance, time signature changes, and complex song structures.
Revocation is an American technical death metal band from Boston, Massachusetts, consisting of guitarist and vocalist Dave Davidson, bassist Brett Bamberger and drummer Ash Pearson. The band has released eight studio albums, two EPs, and ten music videos since their formation.
Colored Sands is the fifth full-length album by Canadian technical death metal band Gorguts. It is Gorguts' first studio album since 2001's From Wisdom to Hate. The album features the band's first recordings with guitarist Kevin Hufnagel and bassist Colin Marston, and the band's only recordings with drummer John Longstreth. It is a concept album based on Tibet. The album was released digitally on August 6, 2013, and the release of the CD and vinyl versions on September 3, 2013.
Ygg huur is the fifth studio album by the American black metal band Krallice. The album was recorded between July 4 and 8 at Menegroth, The Thousand Caves Studio and was self-released digitally by the band on July 30, 2015, with physical versions released in September. The album received widespread critical acclaim for its dense, complex songwriting and unique sound, featuring on a number of end-of-year lists by music publications.
Derivae is the second studio album from the Italian post-metal band Nero di Marte. The album was released on October 28, 2014 through Prosthetic Records, and recorded at Studio 72 in Ravenna, Italy from May–June 2014.
Pleiades' Dust is the first EP by the Canadian technical death metal band Gorguts, released on May 13, 2016 through Season of Mist. It consists of a single track which runs for thirty-three minutes and is roughly divided into seven movements. It is also the band's only recording with drummer Patrice Hamelin, who has been performing with the band live since 2011 but only became an official member in 2014 after the departure of John Longstreth.
Rapture is the fourth and final studio album by French metalcore band Betraying the Martyrs. It was released on 13 September 2019 through Sumerian Records and was produced by Henrik Udd. It is the band's first release with lead guitarist Steeves Hostin. It is the last album to feature the band's vocalist Aaron Matts before he left the band in April 2021. It is also their last album to be released on this label before the band signed to Out of Line Music in October 2021, and their final studio album overall before their breakup in 2023.
