The Age Old Debate: Black Metal vs Death Metal

Which do you like more?

Unitron wrote: While I do love some black metal bands (Myrkur, Melechech, and Satyricon are all among my favorite bands), I much prefer death metal. While I have to be in the mood to really enjoy black metal, I can enjoy my favorite death metal bands at pretty much any time.

Pretty much how I feel too. I guess I just prefer riff driven music more than atmosphere driven ditto.

Death metal. I really hate the pose that comes with black metal- misanthropy, looking grim, corpse paint, crappy production (blowfly buzzing guitars, screeched vocals) or overdone symphonic/atmospheric bollocks, the way some bands are anti-Christian, but pro-Odin/Pagan/something else (it's all religion!), the superior attitude of some fans (just to be clear, I don't get that from anyone here!).

All that said, I do like some black metal, but it's mainly the big names which aren't Darkthrone (the worst offenders!) and Dimmu Borgir. And I got the Abbath album recently, which kicked ass! The album cover looked bloody dumb though.

I suppose that's a very negative way of looking at things. The positives for death metal? First heard it in 1989 (Death playing "Left To Die") and loved it instantly. It's just one of those love-at-first-sight/listen things. There are a few big name bands I don't much like (Suffocation, Six Feet Under, most of the melodic bands, deathcore like Whitechapel), but I'll take it over black metal most days.

well, neither, at least not in their "pure" form if I may say so, blend them with something else and I will give that a listen.

adg211288 wrote: Vim Fuego wrote: Death metal. I really hate the pose that comes with black metal- misanthropy, looking grim, corpse paint, crappy production (blowfly buzzing guitars, screeched vocals) or overdone symphonic/atmospheric bollocks, the way some bands are anti-Christian, but pro-Odin/Pagan/something else (it's all religion!), the superior attitude of some fans (just to be clear, I don't get that from anyone here!). All that said, I do like some black metal, but it's mainly the big names which aren't Darkthrone (the worst offenders!) and Dimmu Borgir. And I got the Abbath album recently, which kicked ass! The album cover looked bloody dumb though. It's a fair point but I do think that you are generalising somewhat. Black metal as a whole has mostly moved on from all that. Sure you do get bands that are just out there trying to be as true or kvlt as they can (some of which I do think are good but most don't interest me - I have one Darkthrone album which has always been enough), but a lot of newer black metal bands look like fairly ordinary people and are usually the one's pushing the genre forward and making the most interesting albums.  This is what the band who made my highest rated black metal album on my 2015 looks like for example:

Yes, I'll freely admit to sweeping generalisations! I suppose I haven't really moved on my view of black metal since the late 90s. Too many things annoyed me back then so I haven't much explored black metal since then.

I like every style of metal and like both black and death but my favorites include fusion aspects like Behemoth and their blackened death approach

Some interesting comments so far, particularly from black metal's detractors. Honestly it sounds like a couple of you there are judging the entire genre based on the lo-fi necro types. That's your prerogative I guess, but it annoys the shit out of me. I could just as easily say I fucking hate death metal because of deathcore and then the shoe would be on the other foot. I don't hate death metal at all for the record, just making a point. I imagine you guys would be just as pissed at the notion of all death metal being written off because of deathcore.

Here's another point: I made a simple poll. I didn't open an arena for a flame war.

I like marmite.

Also my last post was made more in the hope of preventing a flame war rather than stopping one already in progress.

Vim Fuego wrote: TheHeavyMetalCat wrote: Some interesting comments so far, particularly from black metal's detractors. Honestly it sounds like a couple of you there are judging the entire genre based on the lo-fi necro types. That's your prerogative I guess, but it annoys the shit out of me. I could just as easily say I fucking hate death metal because of deathcore and then the shoe would be on the other foot. I don't hate death metal at all for the record, just making a point. I imagine you guys would be just as pissed at the notion of all death metal being written off because of deathcore. Here's another point: I made a simple poll. I didn't open an arena for a flame war. Black metal is a Marmite genre (if you don't know what Marmite is... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marmite ) as in you either love it or hate it. It's harder to sit on the fence and have no opinion. I'm quite willing to check out new bands if anyone has suggestions. And this isn't really a flame war. This is very civilized compared to other places I post.

Melechesh are usually classed as melodic black metal. Melodic black is noted for its stronger production values than other forms of black metal.