Why Would Someone Choose Death?

I have been inspired to write a new post. This inspiration has come from several sources over the last half year or so and could even be traced back to my December 2009 post when I briefly mentioned that I had begun listening to Nile. More recently I have started exploring the technical death metal genre thanks to my roommate who first introduced me to The Faceless. I had also previously got into a band from Germany called Obscura, which is a very progressive melodic death metal. Furthermore, I have been nurturing my love of ALL things Nile and I just cannot get enough of them. So perhaps my acclimation to the harsh sounds of Nile can be linked to my current obsession with that most extreme of all metal genres: Death Metal

I must admit that previously I fell into the category of metalhead that thought, "Death metal is just too much, I cannot get into it." It is not that I never gave it a chance. I listened but I would venture to say that my opinion was probably already colored with preconceptions. Those preconceptions were not misconceptions. I know just how technically difficult death metal is and I know that the lyrics are offensive but not to be taken literally. I think it is just too sporadic and incomprehensible for a casual listen to do it justice and to be more than just a casual listener, one must get over the accessibility hurdle that the vocals often present. With the new mindset that Nile gave me, I began to delve deeper and give death metal the chance it deserved... and I am completely infatuated! And I reckon that it will be more than an infatuation as I see no signs of losing interest.

And finally, I was pushed completely into this obsession by my first real death metal show. I went to the Decibal Defiance tour late last year and saw Suffocation, The Faceless, Decrepit Birth, and Fleshgod Apocalypse. The energy was incredible. Having almost zero previous knowledge of these bands (other than The Faceless), I found myself completely engrossed and lost in the music. I was overcome with sheer joy at the utter heaviness of the sound which led to uncontrollable headbanging and moshing (which I felt the effect of for several days afterwards!) At the time, I knew of only a few Suffocation songs, and probably would not have recognized those songs if they played them, but it did not matter. I just ate up whatever came out of their amps.

The thrill of the weeks after that concert were like nothing I had experienced except maybe for when I first discovered power metal. I scoured the internet and Ian Christe's book "Sound of the Beast: The Complete Headbanging History of Heavy Metal" for the essential back catalog of death metal and to find out who the new leaders in the genre are. At times over the last few years, I had thought, "I know what kind metal I like and I know what is out there. Discovering new stuff is getting more and more difficult. Do I have to wait for some new band to form to really pique my interest again? If so, it looks pretty bleak with all the metalcore emo trance bullshit out there." But no, I just had to grow as a listener. I felt like a kid in a candy shop. There is so much for me to discover. Death metal has a nearly 30 year history which has not died out due to lack of mainstream metal recognition because of the passion of its die hard fans. That translates to a lot good news for me.

On to some genre history...

I do not know quite as much about this genre since I am admittedly so new to it, but I have been doing some extensive research and can relate the basics to you. Death metal's origins can be traced to the late 80s when mainstream glam was dying and the most popular form of "true"

metal was thrash, which is due to the success of bands like Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax. Death metal was a response to thrash in the same way that thrash was a response to classic metal: faster, heavier, more, more, more. These guys wanted to throw all the rules out the window. Who was the first death metal band? The answer is debatable, but we are fairly sure who coined the term. In 1985 the SF Bay area band Possessed released their album Seven Churches and it contained a song entitled "Death Metal." Again, it is debatable whether or not this was the first death metal band, as Possessed still retained many thrash elements in their instrumental stylings, but there was one important trend started with that album. The vocals were by and large harsh, guttural grunts. This was the starting point of the push to make a kind of music that lost all of its connection to the classic metal, something completely new and unrecognizable.

To that end, bands that are now classified as the first wave of death metal bands began to spring up. To find these band in the late 80s, one had only to travel to Tampa, Florida. Not so much a concert scene as a centralized location for the movement, the far southern state became the holy land of death metal. As Ian Christe points out in his book, in the continental US, you could not find a place as geographically or psychologically further from Seattle and the grunge movement, which was also in its infancy during this time period.

The main reason for the choice of locale would have to be the existence of one man and his band. "Evil" Chuck Schuldiner is considered the godfather of death metal. A brilliant guitarist, under

appreciated for his progressive and technical influence by the mainstream, Chuck's appropriately named band Death was among the first purely death metal bands. Along with Deicide and Morbid Angel, the early unholy trinity of death metal was born. 1987's Scream Bloody Gore by Death, laid the ground work for the other albums that followed. Technical, super fast riffing characterized by palm-muting and tremolo picking on heavily down-tuned guitars was the order of the day. The drumming was equally, if not more so, technical and precise with blast beats and double bass drumming as an essential component of most every song. And once again, perhaps the biggest accessibility hurdle to the genre, guttural vocals whose harshness and function as an additional rhythm layer were more important than understandability. While certainly not the first genre of metal whose lyrical focus was death and its many permutations, death metal took that kind of lyrical content to the extreme.

(Chuck Schuldiner passed away in 2001 from brain cancer, but not before he left his undying mark on heavy metal with his superb, progressive, genre-defining guitar work)

Other early albums that are considered foundation laying or groundbreaking are Morbid Angel's Alters of Madness (1989) and Deicide's self titled release from 1990 (Deicide's lead singer Glen Benton is pictured below in full performing armor). Not to be overlooked are

Obituary's Slowly We Rot (1989), Morgoth's Cursed (1991), and Suffocation's Effigy of the Forgotten (1991). And of course, I cannot leave out the best selling death metal band in the USA and probably the most well known: Cannibal Corpse. Transplanted from Buffalo, NY to Tampa, their first album Eaten Back to Life (1990) is still a fine example of brutal death metal.

At this point in my research I was a little overwhelmed, as I am sure the readers of this may find themselves. Their is so much to talk about such as the influence of Napalm Death on the whole thing (which led to Grindcore) and how Long Island's Suffocation used their NY hardcore influence to perfect the use of the breakdown in death metal. Then one must further analyze how each of these aspects lead to the branching out of the current subgenres (brutal, slam, technical, etc.). But for the sake of this post, that is enough history.

Also, for brevity's sake (not my strong suit) I will keep my recommendations of bands to myself for now, but feel free to contact me if you want me to shout at you to listen to Nile, Necrophagist, The Faceless, and Vital Remains (another band featuring Glen Benton's vocals).

I will not, however, waste any words in expressing to you the valuable lesson I learned from my new found acceptance of death metal. Death metal is not for everyone, and I didn't think it was for me either. But NEVER let that color your opinion of what you hear before you decide. We all evolve as people and that obviously includes our taste in music. Do not be close minded to something new because of a genre label. And do not be surprised when you listen to something a second time and hear it in a totally different way. Just as we grow up disliking the taste of one food or another only to find we quite like that same food as an adult, the same thing can happen with art of all kinds. I will echo the sentiments I have expressed before: 1) explore what is out there and be open to all kinds of music and 2) heavy metal and its musicians are constantly underestimated. Don't do it. For more on that second point, I will direct you to the following link:

http://www.wikihow.com/Appreciate-Death-Metal

This wikiHow on "How to Appreciate Death Metal" does an amazing job of conveying what fans of the genre love and guard closely. I especially like the comparison to jazz music and I have heard that reiterated by many musicians within the genre. Like jazz, death metal basically gives you the license to do whatever you want musically. No rules. Have at it. Death metal is HARD TO PLAY. PERIOD. Many will argue against technicality for technicality's sake, and there are cases when I would agree, but that doesn't take away from one's ability to appreciate what they are doing is impressive even if you don't like the music.

Two words of power to finish it off: TURTLE DICKS....

As in, pickles shall hence forth be known as:

Thanks to my roomie Chris for the above.

God speed on the Devil's thunder, getcha' pull, and may the power of the riff compel you always.