Death and It's Friends

When a lot of people think of death metal they think of crazy fast, and a lot of screaming.  Well they're absolutely right.  Death metal has been one of the most influential styles of metal in the metal industry since the late 80's.  There are a lot of opinions on who is better or not in the death metal world.  Death metal is also a style that incorporates a lot of different genres.  A lot are very fast, and favor a lot of thrash elements.  Some favor even black metal roots as well, or even progressive vibes.  Either way the root of the intensity will always be death metal.  I want to put together a list of my all time favorite death metal groups.  Some are more progressive, and some favor grind core, or black metal, but like I said they are still rooted from death metal.  So here they are my top 20 favorite death metal groups.  Now the order is not in favorite to least favorite because I like them all for different reasons, and putting them up against each other would be really really hard for me.  Like putting Opeth up against something like Deicide would be hard because while both being death metal groups and awsome they are totally different, and some people would say that one or the other is better for whatever reason so I'm not saying that at all.  I'm saying I like them on their own individual plane for many different reasons.

Suffocation

Formed: 1989, New York

Style: American death metal

Albums

Deicide

Formed: 1987, Florida

Style: American death metal

Albums

Cryptopsy

Formed: 1988, Montreal Quebec

Style: Technical death metal

Albums

Death

Formed: 1983, Florida

Style: American death metal, grind core

Albums

Nile

Formed: 1993, South Carolina

Style: American death metal

Albums

Vital Remains

Formed: 1988, Rhode Island

Style: American death metal

Albums

Cannibal Corpse

Formed: 1988, New York

Style: American death metal

Albums

Immolation

Formed: 1986, New York

Sytle: American death metal

Albums

Behemoth

Formed: 1991, Poland

Style: Blackened Death metal

Albums

Entombed

Formed: 1987, Sweden

Style: Swedish death metal

Albums

Morbid Angel

Formbed: 1984, Florida

Style: American death metal, thrash

Albums

At the Gates

Formed: 1990, Sweden

Style: Melodic death metal

Albums

Opeth

Formed: 1990, Sweden

Style: Swedish progressive death metal

Albums

 

Carcass

Formed: 1985, England

Style: Death metal, grindcore,

Albums

Obituary

Formed: 1988, Florida

Style: American death metal

Albums

Vader

Formed: 1983, Olsztyn, Poland

Style: Polish death metal

Albums

Possessed

Formed: 1983, Califonia

Style: American death metal

Albums

Bloodbath

Formed: 1998, Sweden

Style: Swedish death metal

Albums

Atheist

Formed: 1984, Florida

Style: Technical death metal,

Albums

Napalm Death

Formed: 1981, England

Style: Grindcore, death metal

Albums

So there they are the list of my top 20 death metal groups.  Some have transitioned through different styles over the years, had many many line-up changes, and some have broken up and gotten back together.  Still their influences on death metal are ever present through their years of putting out fist pumping, crazy fast intensity.  There are essential albums here that every fan or new comer need to discover like Deicide's self titled debue, Cryptopsy - None So Vile, Death - Symbolic, Vital Remains - Forever Underground, Cannibal Corpse - Eaten Back to Life, Morbid Angel - Altars of Madness, Morbid Angel - Covenant, Opeth - Still Life, Carcass - Necroticism, Obituary - Frozen in Time, Possessed - Seven Churches, Atheist - Unquestionable Pressance, and Napalm Death's Scum.  Most death metal is plagued with the stereo type of being just a bunch of crazy devil worshipers with no talent or whatever.  I've heard people that know nothing about the music say stuff like that.  While a lot of the bands do favor the darker arts, and devil worship.  That is not entirely true.  Some like Napalm Death, Nile, Carcass, and Cannibal Corpse have different motives in their lyrics and what not.  Like Cannibal Corpse, and Carcass in their gore obsessed fetishes, and Niles focus on Egyptian cultures, and other not so known cultural elements.  I am a huge fan of Opeth for their abillity to write bi-polar types of music with such a progressive nature.  It really keeps you guessing the whole time.  I also like a lot of Deicide's stuff.  They are really a great balls of fury, straight up death metal band.  That will kick your ass the entire time.  So weather you like this band or that band for whatever reason, or say that this one is better than that one.  They are all full of majorly talented individuals that really pore their heart, and soul into their brutal take on heavy metal.  So have fun discovering new death metal worlds here.  I really recommend Opeth, Death, Morbid Angel, Obituary,Behemoth, and Nile.  So until next time stay hard, stay heavy.