Melodic death metal
Encyclopedia
Melodic death metal is a heavy metal music
style that combines elements from the New Wave of British Heavy Metal
(NWOBHM) with elements of death metal
. The style was developed during the early and mid-1990s, primarily in England
and Scandinavia
. Scandinavia in particular did much to popularize the style, which soon centered in Gothenburg
, Sweden
, and spawned a local music scene called Gothenburg metal. This "Gothenburg" style subsequently inspired many bands in the United States
, which led to a flourishing movement in that country.
, 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 beat
s. The vocal style of the genre is a combination of harsh screaming
, clean harmonies, and death growl
s.
, At the Gates
, and Dark Tranquillity
, which laid the foundation for the Gothenburg
metal scene.
Another key band in the definition 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
and define melodic death metal as an authentic genre.
, with melodic metalcore gaining prominence in the 2000s, especially in the United States.
, Sweden
. This movement was born in the Scandinavian
death metal scene, based primarily in Stockholm
and Gothenburg. Swedish and Finnish
bands in the scene used grindcore
-based riffs and began incorporating progressive rock
flourishes in their music, and in the mid 1990s the Swedish scene moved from Stockholm to Gothenburg, where bands like At the Gates
, Dark Tranquillity
, Soilwork
and In Flames
added New Wave of British Heavy Metal elements and popularized the Gothenburg style. Stewart Mason of Allmusic states that this "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 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.
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
style that combines elements from the New Wave of British Heavy Metal
New Wave of British Heavy Metal
The New Wave of British Heavy Metal was a heavy metal movement that started in the late 1970s, in Britain, and achieved international attention by the early 1980s. The movement developed as a reaction in part to the decline of early heavy metal bands such as Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin and Black...
(NWOBHM) with elements of death metal
Death metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs heavily distorted guitars, tremolo picking, deep growling vocals, blast beat drumming, minor keys or atonality, and complex song structures with multiple tempo changes....
. The style was developed during the early and mid-1990s, primarily in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
. Scandinavia in particular did much to popularize the style, which soon centered in Gothenburg
Gothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, and spawned a local music scene called Gothenburg metal. This "Gothenburg" style subsequently inspired many bands in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, which led to a flourishing movement in that country.
Musical characteristics
Melodic death metal uses components of NWOBHMNew Wave of British Heavy Metal
The New Wave of British Heavy Metal was a heavy metal movement that started in the late 1970s, in Britain, and achieved international attention by the early 1980s. The movement developed as a reaction in part to the decline of early heavy metal bands such as Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin and Black...
, in particular the fast riffing and harmonic
Guitar harmonics
A guitar harmonic is a musical note played by preventing or amplifying vibration of certain overtones of a guitar string. Music using harmonics can contain very high pitch notes difficult or impossible to reach by fretting...
guitar lines, but also is influenced by the characteristics of death metal
Death metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs heavily distorted guitars, tremolo picking, deep growling vocals, blast beat drumming, minor keys or atonality, and complex song structures with multiple tempo changes....
like heavily distorted guitars, fast double-bass drum patterns and sometimes blast beat
Blast beat
A blast beat is a drum beat often associated with extreme metal and grindcore, although its usage predates the genres, and is utilised by many different styles of metal...
s. The vocal style of the genre is a combination of harsh screaming
Screaming (music)
Screaming is a vocal technique that is most popular in subgenres of heavy metal, punk and hard rock, including metalcore, deathcore, post-hardcore, groove metal, black metal, and grindcore...
, clean harmonies, and death growl
Death growl
A death growl, also known as death metal vocals, guttural vocals, death grunts, and harsh vocals among other names, is a vocalisation style usually employed by vocalists of the death metal and black metal music genre, but also used in a variety of heavy metal and hardcore punk subgenres.Death...
s.
Origins (early 1990s)
Credit for the popularity of melodic death metal can be attributed to the mid-90s releases of In FlamesIn Flames
In Flames is a Swedish heavy metal band from Gothenburg, formed in 1990. Since the band's inception in 1993, they have released ten studio albums and one live DVD...
, At the Gates
At the Gates
At the Gates is an extreme metal band from Gothenburg, Sweden, and a major progenitor of the Gothenburg death-metal sound. Their early albums lean towards a death metal sound, but later albums sound more like melodic death metal.Initially active from 1990 to 1996, the band reformed in 2007 for a...
, and Dark Tranquillity
Dark Tranquillity
Dark Tranquillity is a Swedish melodic death metal band from Gothenburg. They are one of the longest-standing bands from the original Gothenburg metal scene, and are one of the most integral pioneers of the melodic death metal genre of music....
, which laid the foundation for the Gothenburg
Gothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
metal scene.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
band Carcass
Carcass (band)
Carcass are an extreme metal band from England, who formed in 1985 and disbanded in 1995. A reunion was enacted in 2008 without one of its original members, drummer Ken Owen, due to health reasons....
, who started out playing grindcore
Grindcore
Grindcore is an extreme genre of music that started in the early- to mid-1980s. It draws inspiration from some of the most abrasive music genres – including death metal, industrial music, noise and the more extreme varieties of hardcore punk....
but morphed into a death metal style and helped pioneer the melodic death metal genre with their 1993 album Heartwork
Heartwork
Heartwork is the fourth album by metal band Carcass, released through Earache Records in 1993. The album was recorded at Parr Street Studios, Liverpool between May 18 and June 21, 1993....
and define melodic death metal as an authentic genre.
Late '90s and influence on other genres
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. Its influence lead to the diversification of modern metalcoreMetalcore
Metalcore is a subgenre of heavy metal combining various elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk. The name is a portmanteau of the names of the two genres. The term took on its current meaning in the mid-1990s, describing bands such as Earth Crisis, Deadguy and Integrity...
, with melodic metalcore gaining prominence in the 2000s, especially in the United States.
Gothenburg metal
According to Steven Gibb of AllExperts.com, many bands that are considered melodic death metal are part of a Swedish death metal movement called "Gothenburg metal" that originated in GothenburgGothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. This movement was born in the Scandinavian
Scandinavians
Scandinavians are a group of Germanic peoples, inhabiting Scandinavia and to a lesser extent countries associated with Scandinavia, and speaking Scandinavian languages. The group includes Danes, Norwegians and Swedes, and additionally the descendants of Scandinavian settlers such as the Icelandic...
death metal scene, based primarily in Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
and Gothenburg. Swedish and Finnish
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
bands in the scene used grindcore
Grindcore
Grindcore is an extreme genre of music that started in the early- to mid-1980s. It draws inspiration from some of the most abrasive music genres – including death metal, industrial music, noise and the more extreme varieties of hardcore punk....
-based riffs and began incorporating progressive rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
flourishes in their music, and in the mid 1990s the Swedish scene moved from Stockholm to Gothenburg, where bands like At the Gates
At the Gates
At the Gates is an extreme metal band from Gothenburg, Sweden, and a major progenitor of the Gothenburg death-metal sound. Their early albums lean towards a death metal sound, but later albums sound more like melodic death metal.Initially active from 1990 to 1996, the band reformed in 2007 for a...
, Dark Tranquillity
Dark Tranquillity
Dark Tranquillity is a Swedish melodic death metal band from Gothenburg. They are one of the longest-standing bands from the original Gothenburg metal scene, and are one of the most integral pioneers of the melodic death metal genre of music....
, Soilwork
Soilwork
Soilwork is a Swedish melodic death metal band from Helsingborg. They are currently signed to Nuclear Blast. Formed in late 1995 by Björn Strid and Peter Wichers, originally under the name Inferior Breed, the band changed their name in late 1996 to Soilwork .Their sound is a fusion of the classic...
and In Flames
In Flames
In Flames is a Swedish heavy metal band from Gothenburg, formed in 1990. Since the band's inception in 1993, they have released ten studio albums and one live DVD...
added New Wave of British Heavy Metal elements and popularized the Gothenburg style. Stewart Mason of Allmusic states that this "increasingly melodic" style of Swedish death metal combines the post-hardcore
Post-hardcore
Post-hardcore is a genre of music that developed from hardcore punk, itself an offshoot of the broader punk rock movement. Like post-punk, post-hardcore is a term for a broad constellation of groups...
aggression and guttural vocals of black metal
Black metal
Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, blast beat drumming, raw recording, and unconventional song structure....
with melodic and technically proficient guitar lines. Stewart Mason claims the style has become very popular in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, using the term "Swedecore" to describe Scandinavian-style metal as played by non-Nordic
Nordic countries
The Nordic countries make up a region in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic which consists of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden and their associated territories, the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland...
bands.