Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep growling vocals; aggressive, powerful drumming, featuring double kick and blast beat techniques; minor keys or atonality; abrupt tempo, key, and time signature changes; and chromatic chord progressions. The lyrical themes of death metal may include slasher film-style violence, political conflict, religion, nature, philosophy, true crime and science fiction.
Obituary is an American death metal band formed in Tampa, Florida, in 1984. Initially called Executioner, they were one of the fundamental acts in the development of the death metal genre, and are one of the genre's most successful bands of all time. Obituary has released eleven studio albums and, with the exception of a five-year hiatus from 1998 to 2003, they continue to perform live.
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.
Harmony Corruption is the third studio album by British grindcore band Napalm Death, released in July 1990 on Earache Records.
Cathedral were a doom metal band from Coventry, England. The group gained attention upon release of its debut album, Forest of Equilibrium (1991), which is considered a classic of the genre. However, the band's sound evolved quickly and began to adopt characteristics of 1970s metal, hard rock and progressive rock. After releasing ten full-length albums and touring extensively for over two decades, Cathedral broke up after the release of The Last Spire in 2013.
Immolation is an American death metal band from Yonkers, New York. They are considered one of the leaders of the New York death metal scene along with Incantation, Mortician and Suffocation.
Deicide is the debut album by Florida death metal band Deicide. It was released on June 25, 1990, by Roadrunner Records. The album contains all of their demo tracks, plus the songs "Deicide" and "Mephistopheles".
Eaten Back to Life is the debut studio album by American death metal band Cannibal Corpse. It was released on August 17, 1990, through Metal Blade Records.
The Bleeding is the fourth studio album by American death metal band Cannibal Corpse, released on April 12, 1994 through Metal Blade Records.
Effigy of the Forgotten is the debut full-length album by New York–based death metal band Suffocation, released in 1991. The album features several tracks that are re-recorded versions of tracks that appeared on the band's Reincremation demo and Human Waste EP. The cover artwork was created by Dan Seagrave.
Altars of Madness is the debut studio album by Florida death metal band Morbid Angel, released on May 12, 1989, by Combat Records/Earache Records.
The End Complete is the third album by Florida death metal band Obituary, released on April 21, 1992 through Roadrunner Records.
Frozen in Time is the sixth album by American death metal band Obituary. It was released on July 12, 2005, and was the band's first album in eight years since 1997's Back from the Dead, the last to feature guitarist Allen West, and their last album produced for Roadrunner Records.
World Demise is the fourth album by American death metal band Obituary. It was released on September 6, 1994. A music video was made for the track "Don't Care".
Cause of Death is the second album by Florida death metal band Obituary, released on September 19, 1990, through Roadrunner Records.
Anthology is a 2001 greatest hits album by American death metal band Obituary. It contains songs recorded during the band's early career, from 1989's Slowly We Rot to 1997's Back from the Dead. The compilation also contains two previously unreleased tracks, recorded in 1998 before the band separated.
Slaughter in the Vatican is the debut studio album by American heavy metal band Exhorder. It was released in 1990 through Roadrunner Records. It was reissued by Roadrunner in 2003 in a double-disc package with the band's follow-up album The Law and reissued again in 2008.
Inked in Blood is the ninth studio album by American death metal band Obituary. It was crowdfunded via Kickstarter and then released on October 28, 2014 through Gibtown Music/Relapse Records. It is the first studio album with bassist Terry Butler and lead guitarist Kenny Andrews, making this the first Obituary album not to feature Frank Watkins on bass since 1989's Slowly We Rot. A deluxe edition of the album was also released containing two bonus tracks. It is their first album to appear on the Billboard 200 chart, selling 5,200 copies in its first week and peaking at 75.
Embedded is the debut studio album by industrial metal band Meathook Seed, released in March 1993 by Earache Records. The group was founded as a side project by Napalm Death guitarist Mitch Harris in 1992, with the goal to mix industrial metal with death metal. The band was started as a result of collaboration between Harris, and Obituary members Donald Tardy and Trevor Peres, who handled the drums and vocals respectively.
Florida death metal is a regional scene and stylistic subdivision of death metal. Some of the most significantly pioneering and best-selling death metal acts emerged in Florida, especially in the Tampa Bay area. As a result, Tampa is unofficially known by many death metal fans as the "capital of death metal." The scene coalesced in the mid-1980s through early 1990s around the output of bands such as Death, Nasty Savage, Deicide, Monstrosity, Morbid Angel, Atheist, Obituary, and others. The producer Scott Burns and the studio Morrisound Recording were also instrumental in developing and popularizing the Florida scene. Some bands which originated outside of Florida, such as Malevolent Creation and Cannibal Corpse, relocated to the state in order to participate in this burgeoning scene. The Florida bands featured a more technical approach to the evolving death metal sound, a style which spread beyond the confines of the state, and some were instrumental in creating the progressive death metal subgenre. The death metal genre as a whole, including the Florida scene, declined in popularity in the second half of the 1990s, but many bands within the Florida scene persisted and the scene resurged in popularity in subsequent decades. Although the scene attracted more media attention, it continued to be underground due to its extreme nature.
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