Black Metal and Death Metal

[Inconium Guard]

Would anybody mind giving me a relatively in-depth definition of the two and their differences? Or post the link to a site explaining such?

I'm not sure if there's been a thread like this before, but if there has been, I apologize. I'm sort of new to the death/black metal scene, so any help would be appreciated.

 

[Birkenau]

The difference is black metal bands encourage slitting your wrists and dying your hair black, while death metal bands focus more on eating children and slaughtering old people.

Oh and there's something different musically with styles, but that's not really relevant.

 

[Shadows Skulk]

The difference is Death metal bands encourage slitting your wrists and dying your hair black, while black metal bands focus more on eating children and slaughtering old people.

Oh and there's something different musically with styles, but that's not really relevant.

yeah, that, except the exact opposite

 

[animalstack]

it's not always really clear-cut, but generally the differences are as follows:

lyrics - death metal focuses more on death, gore, mutilation, etc, while black metal is more satanic

appearance - black metal bands tend to wear lots of black leather, spikes, bullet belts, and corpse paint so others can get some idea of how "true" they are

sound - the difference here is mostly in the vocal styles. death vocals are usually deep and guttural like opeth, while black vocals are more shrill like (forgive me) dani filth. also, black metal bands seem to favor the crappiest production values possible, even when they can afford better

hope this helps

 

[deliverance]

^ that's pretty accurate.

oh, and death metal > black metal

some death metal bands to check out, if you haven't:
death, morbid angel, monstrosity, nile, bloodbath (mike from opeth does vox on the older 2 releases)

and some other not full fledged death metal bands that rule, to check out:
atheist, agalloch, novembre

awesome swedish metal to check out:
the crown, in flames (old stuff), soilwork (old stuff), arch enemy (old stuff),

 

[cthulufhtagn]

^^i think he nailed it more or less

^no way man, black metal is at least as good as death if not better
essential black metal to check out: emperor "anthems to the welkin at dusk", dark funeral "the secrets of the black arts", darkthrone "transilvanian hunger", mayhem "de mysteriis dom sathanas", venom "black metal"

also deliverance you forgot 2 of the best swedish death metal bands, amon amarth and hypocrisy

 

[Inconium Guard]

I'm glad a few of you could clear that up...

except to me, if what you all said about the lyrics is true, than Opeth is neither Black nor Death metal. Hence the term Forest Metal heheh


Oh and wow, I'd like to check out all these bands but it seems like it might be hard to find their stuff, except for Emperor who I've heard of.

Plus I need some money

 

[twilightsrobe]

Black metal tends to have faster, repetitive guitar playing, higher pitched vocals, often with anti-religious lyrics, and constant blast-beat drumming. Production favors low end, for that raw in-the-middle-of-the-forest-running-around-like-trolls sound.

Check out early Emperor, Ulver - Bergtatt, and Burzum - Hvis Lyset Tar Oss; those are some of the better stuff.

 

[deliverance]

^no way man, black metal is at least as good as death if not better
essential black metal to check out: emperor "anthems to the welkin at dusk", dark funeral "the secrets of the black arts", darkthrone "transilvanian hunger", mayhem "de mysteriis dom sathanas", venom "black metal"

also deliverance you forgot 2 of the best swedish death metal bands, amon amarth and hypocrisy

eh, i don't listen to much black metal.
i like amon and hypocrisy, but i only listen once in a while, i like the mentioned bands more.

 

[cthulufhtagn]

they're a different style, less melodic....amon amarth is seriously like the AC/DC of swedish metal though, every album they put out you know exactly what to expect and you're never disappointed

 

[G-Master]

Black metal tends to have faster, repetitive guitar playing, higher pitched vocals, often with anti-religious lyrics, and constant blast-beat drumming. Production favors low end, for that raw in-the-middle-of-the-forest-running-around-like-trolls sound.QUOTE]

That basically sums up the criteria of the "tr00 black metal" out there. And is extremely accurate. There are exceptions, however, to every genre - as it seems there are various forms of death or black metal - but the typical attributes and common fundamentals of either genre are as described previously.

When I mentioned that there are "various forms" I meant for the following: Technical Death metal (or BM), Melodic Death metal (or BM), progressive death metal (or BM), etc. As there are bands that have obvious influences from either genre but don't really follow the traditional guidelines of the common black or death metal group.
These bands are much better than their counterparts who follow the abused formula of either genre. Borknagar and Arcturs to name a few. Arcturus being one of the absolute best "progressive" or "metal" band out there. You won't find many bands that experiment and change their sounds as often as these masters do. I highly recommend them.

Morbid Angel is another band said to be among the best Death metal groups in history. While they're over the top and are relentless with their constant assault on the listener, they're not your average "Death metal" group. They're highly skilled on their instruments ... which is lacking in the majority of typical death or black metal.

My rant has gone on far enough. But let me add one thing, Death ... yes, the Chuck Schuldiner led group, is NOT a death metal band. Where people ever got this idea is beyond me. I could honestly care less about the classification of any band, but if you must classify them, do so properly by observing their music.
Early Death was similar to Death metal, but around "Spiritual Healing" and especially on "Human", they are nowhere near Death metal. Chuck's music was constantly evolving, however, it grew in complexity and technique more so than it did for brutality. It was Technical Metal at it's fullest. Yet if you must categorize them in any of the basic metal genres it would easily fit under "Thrash metal".

 

[NFU]

Death Metal: Created in the late 80s early 90s, spawning from thrash, primarily by bands such as but not limited to: Deicide, Possessed, Morbid Angel, Dismember, Entombed, etc. Concentrates mainly on heavy downtuned and frequently "chugging" riffs to achieve a "brutal" audio assault, with typically deep gutteral "growling" vocals, but occasionally features higher pitched screams as well or instead of. Not inheritantly melodic, but often contains a simple or "evil" melodic hook in each song to convey the overall appeal and vibe of the genre. The lyrical content containing most words of death, destruction, gore, horror film inspiration and the like. A few sub genres have spawned from Death Metal known as Melodic Death, Grind, Tech Death and several others. Florida and Stockholm being the 2 primary locations of Death Metal's origin, but quickly spread worldwide and still does today.

Black Metal: Arguably coined by the album from Venom of that name. Originally started as a mindset and aproach to heavy metal music, rather than a defined sound of its own by bands such as: Celtic Frost, Venom, Bathory, Hellhammer, and even Mercyful Fate. Later the genre exploded with its "2nd wave" primarily in scandanavia and even more acutely in Norway. The "black circle" formed which consisted of norwegian metalheads who were playing death metal and were then influenced into playing this new form of black metal...attempting to create the most evil and extreme form of metal at that time. This sound was primarly inspired by the work of early Bathory, and made popular by Mayhem, Darkthrone, Emperor, and several others...containing highly distorted almost "wall of sound" creating riffs of minor chords and progressions, as well as high pitched screams and shrieks as the vocal style of choice. This new extreme form of metal caught on like wildfire across the world due to mass media coverage of anti-christian lyrical content and arson/vandolizing acts created by these musicians. Later the genre would take on new forms and elements including keyboards, acoustic instruments and clean vocals often inspired by the viking/norse roots of the history of the musicians creating it, and even in some cases take on some classical elements by those who were proficient and daring enough to try.



there, i did my best to sum them both up and give a brief history for you.

 

[FUBAR]

Also check out Enslaved (their last two albums) for some great progressive black metal

 

[deliverance]

guitarmaster, i agree that death isn't exactly death metal, i simply put them under that category cause that's what they're usually called. that and chuck is called 'the father of deathmetal' sometimes too... but that was pretty stupid of me, considering i think they can be best called tech. metal too.

 

[Luz]

I LOVE YOU.
\m/

Luz.-


ps: Soilwork SUCKS!

some death metal bands to check out, if you haven't:
death, morbid angel, monstrosity, nile, bloodbath (mike from opeth does vox on the older 2 releases)
awesome swedish metal to check out:
the crown, in flames (old stuff), arch enemy (old stuff),

 

[deliverance]

i love you too. lets make babies, no? and NOW soilwork sucks, but they're old shit fuckin slays, i think.
also, check out monstrosity!

 

[Inconium Guard]

Ahh I knew I could rely on you guys to deliver the info goods. Thanks alot!


Gotta check out these bands you're all mentioning. I came to Opeth via Progressive Rock/Metal, (as opposed to some who may have discovered them through Death Metal, or Classic Metal), and I was surprised at how brutal such melodic music could be. Thanks to them have a real interest in the other genres that make up there sound. I used to think I never really liked extreme metal, but now I really appreciate the raw aggression and energy it seems to present to the listener.

 

[Demilich]

Don't listen to anyone who tells you that the main difference between death and black is the vocal style. At these people I laugh

And yea, Opeth is neither.

 

[Inconium Guard]

Can we somehow, right now, officially "create" the term Forest Metal? I mean seriously I love that description. I'd actually like to hear what the band members actually think of it...I also realize I didn't invent the term, I'd just like to see it used when describing Opeth, and maybe other bands that were influenced by them. Hell if I created a band tomorrow I could guarantee I'd be making some forest metal (once the band's skills get a little more cohesive haha).

 

[NFU]

Don't listen to anyone who tells you that the main difference between death and black is the vocal style. At these people I laugh

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