Why is Death considered the first DM band?

[EffigyForgotten]

I figured since this is from the 80's it belongs here...

So pretty much this album came out in February 87

And this came out in May 87

And not only did season of the dead come out first, its obviously heavier... Are their anymore bands that had albums out before Death that were DM? Don't even try Possessed, they were brutal thrash not death metal, same level as Kreator/Sodom/Sepultura etc.

 

[Umodian]

Seven Churches is widely considered the first DM album. Not "brutal thrash". So there ya go.
I'd also consider Sepultura's 'Bestial Devastation' to be a DM release, but I digress.

There was a bunch of demos out before though, but few full-lengths. Of notice are bands like Master and Insanity. (Master had an album ready for '85 but didn't release it until later due to disappointing record deals.)

That said, it really comes down to splitting hairs. Death remains one of the earliest bands of the genre as well as one of the most successful, a status I feel they mostly deserve, even if they may be rather overrated as a whole. (Artists tend to get better when they die, though.)

 

[EffigyForgotten]

Seven Churches is widely considered the first DM album. Not "brutal thrash". So there ya go.
I'd also consider Sepultura's 'Bestial Devastation' to be a DM release, but I digress.

There was a bunch of demos out before though, but few full-lengths. Of notice are bands like Master and Insanity. (Master had an album ready for '85 but didn't release it until later due to disappointing record deals.)

That said, it really comes down to splitting hairs. Death remains one of the earliest bands of the genre as well as one of the most successful, a status I feel they mostly deserve, even if they may be rather overrated as a whole. (Artists tend to get better when they die, though.)

Death overrated?

 

[EffigyForgotten]

Seven Churches is widely considered the first DM album. Not "brutal thrash". So there ya go.
I'd also consider Sepultura's 'Bestial Devastation' to be a DM release, but I digress.

There was a bunch of demos out before though, but few full-lengths. Of notice are bands like Master and Insanity. (Master had an album ready for '85 but didn't release it until later due to disappointing record deals.)

That said, it really comes down to splitting hairs. Death remains one of the earliest bands of the genre as well as one of the most successful, a status I feel they mostly deserve, even if they may be rather overrated as a whole. (Artists tend to get better when they die, though.)

Possessed/Sepultura etc, don't really have "growling" vocals.

 

[HamburgerBoy]

There's more to it than death growls, and Chuck's early vocals are hardly representative of the style as it came to be a few years later.

 

[poundingmetal74]

Death is overrated?

Look, I get that people compare Chuck Schuldiner to Christ. He's great and all, but he's no Chuck Schuldiner.

 

[Umodian]

Death is great and all, but they're hardly the be-all-end-all of DM that so many make them out to be.

 

[Wyvern]

Possessed/Sepultura etc, don't really have "growling" vocals.

Says who?

 

[EffigyForgotten]

Death is great and all, but they're hardly the be-all-end-all of DM that so many make them out to be.

Hmm I don't know what you mean, Death for me was like a "starting point" for DM, so pretty much if Death didn't exist I wouldn't listen to DM. Also I think Death's riffs are much more "alive" than other bands, like Death has those memorable riffs and songs that you can play over and over again without getting bored.

Care to explain what you mean by Be-all-end-all? I could see people listening to metal and Death being the only DM band they like if that's what you mean.

 

[KMADD]

From what i understand it was a band from florida that members of death were in called Mantas that started the DM movement in 84 Kam Lee (Massacre, Denial Fiend) was their vocalist.

 

[KMADD]

BTW that Necrophagia album is a classic.

 

[KMADD]

More info .http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kam_Lee

 

[Umodian]

Hmm I don't know what you mean, Death for me was like a "starting point" for DM, so pretty much if Death didn't exist I wouldn't listen to DM. Also I think Death's riffs are much more "alive" than other bands, like Death has those memorable riffs and songs that you can play over and over again without getting bored.

Care to explain what you mean by Be-all-end-all? I could see people listening to metal and Death being the only DM band they like if that's what you mean.

I'm just saying, some people will say this band is the greatest to have ever walked the earth. Which is a ridiculous statement.

Death was also the band that got me into DM, I just don't think they're the greatest DM band; I find Human and Scream Bloody Gore to be rather mediocre, for instance. I also find Chucks vocals rather boring a lot of the time. I've got no idea what you mean with riffs that are more "alive", but I can think of plenty of other DM bands with songs you can play over and over again.

 

[EffigyForgotten]

I'm just saying, some people will say this band is the greatest to have ever walked the earth. Which is a ridiculous statement.

Death was also the band that got me into DM, I just don't think they're the greatest DM band; I find Human and Scream Bloody Gore to be rather mediocre, for instance. I also find Chucks vocals rather boring a lot of the time. I've got no idea what you mean with riffs that are more "alive", but I can think of plenty of other DM bands with songs you can play over and over again.

By "alive" I guess I mean catchy, and I agree, scream bloody gore is pretty boring...

Songs like, Scavenger of human sorrow, Crystal mountain, misanthrope etc are good examples... Like to me, most DM just want to write brutal riffs, and death write whatever sounds good...

 

[karjim]

To answer the initial question, Chuck is considered the God Father of DM cause at the age of 16-17 in florida in 1983-4, when Metallica invented Thrash 2 years ago, the mister was ten times brutal and faster. Chuck said that he had a juvenile voice and he wanted to have angry and power in his throat...The only way he found was to scream very low.
Of course during 5 years no one didn't want sign his band and even understood this kind of music. And the shitty tapes didn't help.
He had to wait the Slayer masterpiece to open the doors of ultra fast and DM origins. The guy was waiting that people want more than Possessed&Co

 

[skeptik]

Again, Hellhammer was the first death metal band.

 

[EffigyForgotten]

Hellhammer sounds more like black metal to me...

 

[skeptik]

Then you need to listen to more death metal.

 

[Wyvern]

Hellhammer to me is more thrash musically and black lyrically.

But since I don´t like neither death nor black everything is possible.

 

[Bryant]

In reality, it is all about "putting a label" on something different. Black Sabbath is highly regarded as the first "metal" band, yet Blue Cheer had distorted guitars and was headbanging before BS. There is no right or wrong answer to who is the "first" really, because it is all perspective.
Is Coroner the first technical death Metal band ? They were doing those high screech type vocals that were popularized by bands like Children of Bodom long before they arrived.

Bryant