Appreciating Death Metal

[King Richard]

I listen to Death Metal by focusing on the riffs and the feeling they evoke. In addition to this I listen for how the drumming and the riffs work in harmony, how certain riffs give an effect depending on the type of drum beat/rhythm. This kind of appreciation applies to most forms of metal, but Death Metal adds a very high sense of aggression and darkness, which plays heavily into the such an evocation.

Good explaination. That's pretty much how I roll too.

 

[IknowSATAN]

Are you kinda new to death metal ?

 

[V.V.V.V.V.]

He fucking said he is; please read before posting :zombie:

 

[Valdincan]

If your new to Death Metal, perhaps you should try melodic Death Metal? It is, well, more melodic and "structured" but still maintains the chaotic and aggressive feel as normal Death Metal.

I found it easier to get into Melodic Death Metal at first and then get into Death Metal, there are some really good Melodic DM bands out there, and many of them are some of my favorite bands.

 

[V.V.V.V.V.]

I agree with that, good post. Try out some melo-death like early Soilwork (Steelbath Suicide), In Flames circa-The Jester Race and even Whoracle, bands like Detonation, Holymarsh, Cipher System and even early Arch Enemy; then find some death metal bands that focus on the rhythmic/complex side of things...even Dismember or one of my favorites, Intestine Baalism; both those bands are PURE death metal for the most part, with great melodic and well-composed parts. I'm sure you'll get into it eventually.

 

[rms]

Necrophagist was one of my first death bands, try em out for yourself.

 

[SouthernTrendkill]

All I can reccomend is paying a lot of attention. I can put on some dm in the background and dig it to an extent, but if I really wanna love it then I have to sit and focus on that shit, take myself through all the twists and turns that the music makes.

Also, like everyone said, you gotta find bands you like, 'cause no matter what you do you can't dig bands you simply don't like. I know you're not looking for recs but really, you can't get into something you don't like, and finding your favorite death metal bands will probably teach you in itself how to listen to the other ones because you will just naturally get yourself into it more. Somebody mentioned getting into the death metal innovators like Death and Obituary but to me that stuff is the hardest kind of death metal to appreciate. It's great stuff but it's muddy and more primitive, plus more 80s-sounding. Maybe you're into all that stuff, I'm just saying, it DOES matter what death metal you're trying to appreciate. For me the easiest stuff to appreciate was bands such as Bloodbath and Disgorge, stuff with modern production.

Also, if you need another suggestion, try tripping on drugs! There are some forms of metal that I absolutely hate unless I'm tripping balls (power metal!). Frankly I think metal and drugs go together like... umm... lungs and oxygen. Death metal is probably the most stimulating kind of music so it is one of the best musics for tripping. I can't even tell how how absolutely unfathomably good some stuff has been to me while tripping. I reccomend dextromethorphan (cough syrup) for good music trips, I've never had much success with music on acid.

 

[Tonka Time]

get into the more melodic stuff first.
for example i got into carcass through their swansong album, then into heartwork and so on.

listen to a lot of different bands and dont give up on a band after only listening to one album, also you may enjoy something you told yourself was complete crap after a while of getting deeper into death metal.

 

[waif]

First extreme metal album I got (not sure if this is true - first death metal, anyways) was In Flames - The Jester Race. My goal was to get into death metal by starting with the more accessible melodic death metal. It should be noted that I had never heard (or at least, consciously heard) any death metal or melodic death metal at this point. This was pure speculation. Worked fine, though.

Anyhow, try starting with the stuff closest to thrash - few blast beats, less deep vocals, less vile lyrics - and try to appreciate the music - headbang to it and shit. Whatever. You either like it, love it, hate it, or don't really like it.

 

[Rob "Klister"]

hmm.. i never really had this problem. the first DM album i ever heard was Six feet under-Haunted back in 6th grade and it was the greatest thing ever. then i went to cannibal corpse/obituary/morbid angel/suffocation . maybe if you started with simpler stuff and worked up things might be easier to understand. try to look through all the different DM sub-genres. i like old school DM and Some brutal stuff but dont like melodic. might be your problem.

dex never helped me with power metal though(PM still pokes balloon knot).
and dont go around tellin people to chug cough syrup, do it right.

 

[SouthernTrendkill]

Excuse me? What do you mean by "do it right"? Cough syrup is the best thing I've ever had. I'd reccomend it to anyone and everyone.

 

[Rob "Klister"]

yes it is quite amazing and very introspective.
what i mean is do an extraction to get the pure dex out and toss all the other garbage. theres no need to be lazy.

 

[MasterOLightning]

This may sound blasphemous to some, but I would recommend listening to the tracks on an album in random order. Usually you won't lose too much in terms of album flow, and you'll definitely pick up things on the later tracks that you didn't initially.

 

[seedofvengeance]

I usually listen to albums on random after the first time.
Except Meshuggah... it just doesn't work that way.

 

[Satanstoenail]

Perhaps this is a stupid question, and one which can be answered simply "keep listening". However, I'll go ahead and ask it anyway:

How does one appreciate Death Metal? I bought Ribspreader's Congregating the Sick, and after I couple of listens (listening right now, in fact) I enjoy it quite a bit. However, I can tell that I'm not really "getting" the whole thing as I should. It all sorts of blends together, it's fairly tough to differentiate the individual tracks in my mind. By that I mean, if you played Morbid Reflections, I probably wouldn't be able to identify it.

Again, I'd imagine the most common answer here will be to simply keep listening (this is actually the first DM I've listened to and really enjoyed, in case that wasn't obvious). I'd like to know, though, what should be ones mindset when listening to DM? What sort of things should I listen for? Is what I'm listening to typical DM?

Hopefully this post makes some sense.

I get what you're saying. I kinda feel the same with Black Metal. My advice would be to go listen to a bunch of the classic albums, and if none of it takes your fancy, leave it alone. You can't force yourself to like something. Maybe you'll like it in a couple of years. I'll list some benchmark albums that imo should get you into it if you're going to:

Pestilence - Testimony Of The Ancients
Deicide - self titled
Entombed - Left Hand Path
Death - Spiritual Healing
Morbid Angel - Blessed Are The Sick
Obituary - Cause Of Death
Carcass - Necroticism: Descanting The Insalubrious

 

[AchrisK]

I don't know that there is a way to appreciate death metal as much as you just have to find releases you like. Truthfully, there is a lot of death metal that seems to run together. I say, reject what bores you, and embrace what interests you. Don't worry about liking what everyone says is amazing (Suffocation, whatever), though I know it is tempting. For me, I have found that a lot of brutal death and almost all melo-death bores me. But a lot of more progressive death interests me. I just find that some albums interest me and some don't, and I am trying to build my collection based on that.

 

[JontRevolting]

in the early days death metal was all about being the heaviest,fastest,most technical,most sataanic, all the early bands had their own unique sound or image going,it seems death metal is a very broad term these days,so i'd suggest going back to the early bands but as far as your actual question regarding how to listen to death metal i'm not too sure but a few beers would help IMO

 

[Vossyrus]

I enjoy death metal but I don't think it will ever be something I truly care for. I think death metal sounds much better live than on albums (I find this more so than most other genres) and I think studio recording hardly ever captures the energy of death metal band...and so, most often I find death metal to be boring.

I've said this before, but more recent Panzerchrist is probably the ideal style of death metal for me. Heavy, in-your-face, groove, and fitting production values.

I think a lot of death metal uses the overly dull-production value approach where nothing really stands out. I can understand this being relatively synonymous with death metal but isn’t always necessary. On the other hand, a lot of Polish bands go with the crystal-clear sound, "clicky" drums, and at twice the volume...which just annoys me.

As for melodic death, I consider that a different genre on it's own. I stongly hate the "bouncy" guitar work, and I can't handle soft melodies that seem to drag on...it has the same effect on me that listening to radio-rock does - I just can't stomach it.

 

[Onder]

i'm not too sure but a few beers would help IMO

Ya that helps maaan

 

[Zephyrus]

My first Death Metal album was Hypocrisy's Virus.