GMD Poll: Death's Discography Ranked
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HamburgerBoy
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tbf I was thinking of his riff-riffs, not his in-betweener riffs. Like yeah sometimes he can put a harmony phrase between verses, but once the verse/chorus hits it's the same kindergarten pedal-point four-notes-up-and-down riffing over and over. He's basically the Kenny G of melodic metal riffing. It's the kind of melodic riffing that bands like Exodus were outgrowing in 1983, let alone bands that make their melodic aspect their focus.
I hope so.
Allfader
Kvelding
HamburgerBoy
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chug chuggachuggachugga powerchord
chug chuggachuggachugga powerchord-up-one-step
chug chuggachuggachugga up and down a scale
weedleweedleweeee spazzy Watchtower wannabe bit with corny Middle-Eastern flair
chug chug chug chug three note pedal-point chug chug chug
etc etc
I agree, that song is a fucking joke, thank you for posting one of his worst to demonstrate that with. With Death there's usually some gimmick melodic part, a Middle-Eastern section or a jazz-muzak bit or whatever, but when you cut into the real meat of nearly any given riff it's the same bullshit pedal point buttressing a three- or four-note ascending/descending melody in whichever scale he feels like beating you over the head with that day. Chuck is probably the most amateur songwriter of any major metal band in the sense that he has no ability whatsoever to utilize melody in an interesting way (aside from rare early exceptions like the previously-mentioned Archangel). Unless 80s Manilla Road counts as major heavy metal; Mark Shelton was still worse. He could write a good groove, he could hire a bunch of really fine studio musicians to do some cool stuff in spite of his skeleton melodies, but he was basically a hack where songwriting was concerned.
oh there are many examples. Here's one.
That intro is supposed to be that contemplative clean prog part. Sure. But that tail riff just sounds as awkward the first time as the hundredth, he just didn't know where to go with that core idea, how to finish it. Then straight into typical Schuldiner melodic mode. Wow, so emotion. Much deep. Then it's generic thrash time at 1:10, great production helps this sound decent but pick out the riff in and of itself... then of course the middle-eastern diminished scale solo with .."atmospheric chords" in the background. Then again another typical bass-change melodic section...
I mean, I'm really not nitpicking but this is hardly impressive song-writing, like he had all the time in the world sitting at home to come up with impressive material, this is the best he managed after a couple years of exploring the fretboard and this song has cachet too, it's celebrated by the Death people (there's crab people, and there's death people), it's not like it's track 9 on some record.
That intro is supposed to be that contemplative clean prog part. Sure. But that tail riff just sounds as awkward the first time as the hundredth, he just didn't know where to go with that core idea, how to finish it. Then straight into typical Schuldiner melodic mode. Wow, so emotion. Much deep. Then it's generic thrash time at 1:10, great production helps this sound decent but pick out the riff in and of itself... then of course the middle-eastern diminished scale solo with .."atmospheric chords" in the background. Then again another typical bass-change melodic section...
I mean, I'm really not nitpicking but this is hardly impressive song-writing, like he had all the time in the world sitting at home to come up with impressive material, this is the best he managed after a couple years of exploring the fretboard and this song has cachet too, it's celebrated by the Death people (there's crab people, and there's death people), it's not like it's track 9 on some record.
Phylactery
Active Member
Leave Human out of this, it’s pretty good! Although not something I listen to frequently.
I agree “Scavenger of Human Sorrow” is fucking horrible, though.
I agree “Scavenger of Human Sorrow” is fucking horrible, though.
Allfader
Kvelding
Funny, given that the whole TSOP album (also ITP and Symbolic) was written in very specific keys, with extremely logical and classically conventional chord and modal progressions, with actually some quite clever ideas. Any guy who knows just a bit of music can tell you that your statement is utter bullshit.
If you don't like his style, that's a totally different thing altogether.
Apologies. Yes I agree Human is okay. However, it's one step closer to that trendy prog sound Schuldiner was reaching for, and one step further from pure death metal Leprosy era Death...
TechnicalBarbarity
Poser Disposer
... and all this time i thought it was just burgerboy trying to be an edgelord but it seems like there might actually be someone out there who agrees with him. That or it's probably just some alt who's trying to troll us+fluff hbb.
CiG
Approximately Infinite Universe
HamburgerBoy
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What is "classically conventional" about a two-chord power chord riff? Are you saying that the specific key that particular pedal-point riff I mentioned is not reused many times in his other songs? Chuck throws a lot of decoration into his songs, as I've stated many times. His pedal-point verse riffing, the actual bulk of any of his songs, follow very safe and similar melodies over and over.
jimmy101
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The only melody quirk he seems to favour on TSOP is the major ninth (found in that haunting breakdown part of Scvenger & the intro/verse riff for spirit crusher).
Apart from that, his melodies/modes seem to vary significantly from song to song.
Apart from that, his melodies/modes seem to vary significantly from song to song.
zabu of nΩd
Free Insultation
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I've tried pretty hard to get into Death. Definitely interesting, but they don't amaze me. DM's one of my least favorite subgenres though. Lot of it just sounds like a version of thrash with more obnoxious vocals, less satisfying pace, and gratuitously random/awkward riffs. I've acquired a lot of metal tastes over the years, but something about DM is just too much for me.
CiG
Approximately Infinite Universe
zabu of nΩd
Free Insultation
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Allfader
Kvelding
Not decorations, man. In musical terms, what you are trying to say it's called Floritura (frill/flourish, even grace notes), but it's not the case here. Chuck's approach to melody is not about adding flourishes into a section, the harmonic base of those sections "call" for those melodic elements that are integral to the development of the motifs that lead into the next section. It's basically thoughtful songwriting.
Try looking a score of a song from TSOP. It'll be far more evident for you.
fair enough.Thrash has always sounded like metal eternally stuck in its adolescence, and death metal the adult version of thrash. Thrash is one-dimensional, death metal expands to the deeper ends of musical possibility and closer to an aesthetic abyss. Thrash is aggressive, death is brutal. Thrash is frustration, death metal is fkng nihilism. Thrash has never made a single individual delve into their innermost self, it's just not meant to be that profound, death metal when at its darkest and most sharply composed will make a motherfucker think those late nights. There's a powerful drama to be found in death metal, not in thrash.
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