Melodic death metal is a subgenre of death metal that employs highly melodic guitar riffs, often borrowing from traditional heavy metal. The genre features the heaviness of death metal but with highly melodic or harmonized guitar riffs and solos, and often features high-pitched shrieked vocals alongside the low-pitched growls commonly featured in traditional death metal. Pioneered by the English heavy metal band Carcass with their 1993 album Heartwork, melodic death metal developed further in Sweden in the mid-1990s. The Swedish death metal scene did much to popularise the style, soon centering in the "Gothenburg metal" scene. At the Gates' Slaughter of the Soul, Dark Tranquillity's The Gallery, and In Flames' The Jester Race, all released in the mid-1990s, were highly influential albums in melodic death metal, with At the Gates and In Flames being the two most common influences on North American 2000s heavy metal bands. Many American heavy metal bands emulated At the Gates' sound, resulting in the usage of the phrase "At the Gates worship".
Fleshcrawl is a German death metal band formed in Illertissen, Bavaria, in 1987. Their most recent album, Into the Catacombs of Flesh, was released in 2019 under Apostasy Records.
Grave is a Swedish death metal band that was formed in 1988 by vocalist and guitarist Ola Lindgren who is their only constant member. The band had particular success in the early 1990s, and their first four albums, Into the Grave, You'll Never See..., Soulless and Hating Life, cemented their reputation as one of Sweden's foremost death metal bands. Grave went on hiatus in 1997, but got back together two years later. Since then, they have released seven more albums, making a total of eleven studio albums. Along with Dismember, Entombed and Unleashed, Grave is considered one of the "big four" of Swedish death metal.
Draconian is a Swedish gothic metal band formed in Säffle in 1994.
Deadlands is the third studio album by Norwegian metal band Madder Mortem, released on Century Media Europe on 21 October 2002. Released in the US on The End Records, 11 February 2003. It was the final CD to be released by them on Century Media Records. The band have since signed to Peaceville records.
Invocator are a Danish technical thrash metal band featuring Esbjerg-based guitarist/singer Jacob Hansen, founder of the band. They are considered influential on the European thrash metal/heavy metal scene, and known for incorporating elements from death metal, thrash metal, groove metal and progressive metal into their style.
The Eternal are an Australian gothic/doom metal band formed in 2003 by Mark Kelson on guitar, lead vocals and keyboards. They are known for playing dark, melodic, doom metal with eastern and gothic influences.
Paganizer is a Swedish death metal band playing the classic Swedish style metal, in the style of Grave and Dismember. The band was formed initially by Johansson, Carlsson and Jocke in 1998 after the departure of Terminal Grip since 1997.
Paths of Possession is an American melodic death metal band featuring George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher of Cannibal Corpse in a more melodic environment, with song structures that have much more in common with early Bay Area Thrash than the Tampa death metal scene.
Fall Into Madness is Steel Attack's second album, released in 2001. The second album by Swedish power metal quartet, Steel Attack, is beyond comparison. They're original power metal feel is still intact from the first album, Where Mankind Fails, but with improved vocals by Steven Steel, some added keyboards, and a better production that brings out the best from all its talented members. The first track, "Fall into Madness", is possibly the best song they've ever written, with unreal guitar work, very powerful drums, and great chorus arrangements. All tracks are fast and furious, with the exception of "Holy Swordsman" which shows Steel Attack displaying a heavy and awesome groove.
All Flesh Is Grass is the second studio album by Norwegian metal band Madder Mortem, released on 5 March 2001 through Century Media Records. It was recorded in Studio Underground, Västerås, Sweden, in October 2000.
As Blood Rains from the Sky... We Walk the Path of Endless Fire is the fifth studio album by the German death metal band Fleshcrawl.
Soulskinner is the sixth studio album by the German death metal band Fleshcrawl. The last to feature founding guitarist Stefan Hanus.
Made of Flesh is the seventh studio album by the German death metal band Fleshcrawl. It is considered the sequel to Soulskinner and is the first of their albums to feature their current guitarist Oliver Grbavac, who joined the band to replace founding member Stefan Hanus and the last to feature bass guitarist Tobias Schick.
Bloodred Massacre is the fourth studio album by the German death metal band Fleshcrawl. It is their first release to feature vocalist Sven Gross, who performed with the band until his death in 2021.
Bloodsoul is the third studio album by the German death metal band Fleshcrawl. It was the last Fleshcrawl album to feature vocalist Alex Pretzer. In addition, it was the first of their albums to be recorded at The Abyss studio.
Impurity is the second studio album by the German death metal band Fleshcrawl. It was their first album to feature guitarist Mike Hanus, brother of founding member Stefan Hanus and last to feature founding bass guitarist Markus Amann, and it is the only Fleshcrawl album thus far that does not bear the "carved-in-flesh" Fleshcrawl logo.
Descend into the Absurd is the first studio album by the German death metal band Fleshcrawl. It was the only Fleshcrawl album on which guitarist Giro Schmidt appeared.
In Depths of Dreams Unconscious is an EP by the Swedish death/black metal group Crimson Moonlight, released in 2007 on Endtime Productions.
In Solitude was a Swedish heavy metal band from Uppsala.
