Melodic Death Metal

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Melodic death metal, also referred to as melodeath, combines elements from death metal with elements from thrash metal, more traditional heavy metal and even hard rock. A typical feature of melodic death metal is the use of Iron Maiden-like twin guitar harmonies, melodic guitar leads and inherently melodic upbeat thrash riffage, and the guitars are often downtuned to B; sometimes synths and electronica elements occur in melodic death metal, too. The vocals are typically growled, shrieked or screamed, but some artists combine these harsh vocals with clean singing. Swedish artists in and around the city of Gothenburg have been especially influential in melodic death metal, leading to the establishment of the Gothenburg sound which has also made its way into metalcore and, more recently, power metal and progressive metal. Here on MMA, metalcore artists who make use of the Gothenburg sound, such as Nothing Divine, are included under metalcore, and power metal artists that make us of the Gothenburg sound, such as Raintime and Amaranthe, are included under power metal, while progressive metal artists that make use of the Gothenburg sound, such as James Labrie, are included under progressive metal. Sometimes a division is made between “melodeath” as a genre term referring specifically to melodic death metal based on the Gothenburg sound and “melodic death metal” as a term referring to more traditional death metal which emphasizes melody, as in the case of Terra Tenebrae, Arkan, and late Bolt Thrower. Carcass’ “Heartwork” is considered to be among the first melodic death metal releases, while artists like At the Gates, In Flames, Dark Tranquility, and Arch Enemy are among the most influential melodic death metal artists, and other examples are late Illdisposed, Deadlock, Amon Amarth, Omnium Gatherum, and Blood Stain Child.

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melodic death metal top albums

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EDGE OF SANITY Crimson Album Cover Crimson
EDGE OF SANITY
4.38 | 119 ratings
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CARCASS Heartwork Album Cover Heartwork
CARCASS
4.38 | 84 ratings
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DARK TRANQUILLITY The Gallery Album Cover The Gallery
DARK TRANQUILLITY
4.43 | 41 ratings
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AMORPHIS Tales From the Thousand Lakes Album Cover Tales From the Thousand Lakes
AMORPHIS
4.31 | 78 ratings
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CARCASS Torn Arteries Album Cover Torn Arteries
CARCASS
4.35 | 20 ratings
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INSOMNIUM Heart Like A Grave Album Cover Heart Like A Grave
INSOMNIUM
4.44 | 13 ratings
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INSOMNIUM Winter's Gate Album Cover Winter's Gate
INSOMNIUM
4.34 | 15 ratings
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DARK TRANQUILLITY Fiction Album Cover Fiction
DARK TRANQUILLITY
4.22 | 28 ratings
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IN FLAMES Colony Album Cover Colony
IN FLAMES
4.17 | 48 ratings
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AT THE GATES Slaughter of the Soul Album Cover Slaughter of the Soul
AT THE GATES
4.17 | 43 ratings
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DARK TRANQUILLITY Moment Album Cover Moment
DARK TRANQUILLITY
4.44 | 8 ratings
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DISILLUSION Back to Times of Splendor Album Cover Back to Times of Splendor
DISILLUSION
4.24 | 19 ratings
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melodic death metal Music Reviews

AT THE GATES Terminal Spirit Disease

Album · 1994 · Melodic Death Metal
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UMUR
"Terminal Spirit Disease" is the third full-length studio album by Swedish death metal act At the Gates. The album was released through Peaceville Records in July 1994. It´s the successor to "With Fear I Kiss the Burning Darkness" from 1993 and features one lineup change since the predecessor as guitarist Alf Svensson has been replaced by Martin Larsson. "Terminal Spirit Disease" was originally intented to be released as an EP, but label pressure meant it ended up being released as a full-length album. It´s a combined studio and live release though, as the first six tracks are new studio recordings and the three closing tracks are live recordings of "All Life Ends", "The Burning Darkness", and "Kingdom Gone". All three previously appeared in studio versions on the band´s first two albums. So calling "Terminal Spirit Disease" a full-length studio album is a bit of a stretch, but that´s how it´s catalogued.

Stylistically the listener is treated to melodic death metal with the distinct sounding high pitched snarling/growling vocals of Tomas Lindberg in front. At the Gates display a more streamlined and tuned version of their style on this release, and the experiments of the first two albums are nowhere to be found. At the Gates hit a good balance between aggression/brutality and melody and catchiness on this release. While it´s not ideal with three live tracks of previously released material on what is tagged a studio release, the live tracks are well performed and also feature a well sounding production.

So upon conclusion "Terminal Spirit Disease" is quality melodic death metal release, and the studio tracks show a slightly more mature version of At the Gates. Not all issues from the previous releases have been weeded out, and personally I could for example have wished for a more varied vocal approach (a deeper growl here and there wouldn´t have hurt). Lindberg´s tortured screaming vocal style can be a bit hard on the ears. It´s a subjective opinion though, and a 3.5 star (70%) rating is still deserved.

THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER Servitude

Album · 2024 · Melodic Death Metal
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UMUR
"Servitude" is the tenth full-length studio album by US death metal at The Black Dahlia Murder. The album was released through Metal Blade Records in September 2024. It´s the successor to "Verminous" from 2020 and there have been a few lineup changes since the release of the predecessor. Firstly guitarist Ryan Knight has returned to the fold, having originally departed in 2016 after an eight year stint with the band. Secondly and on a more sad note lead vocalist/founding member Trevor Strnad took his own life in May 2022. A huge force on the post-2000 death metal scene Strnad could not be easily replaced, but guitarist and main composer (and co-founder) Brian Eschbach took up the challenge and performs the vocals on "Servitude" (Eschbach does not perform guitars on this release).

So it´s of course the number one question when listening to "Servitude", if Eschbach brings the goods like Strnad did on so many albums before this one...and the answer is yes. Strnad was a very unique vocalist and of course Eschbach can´t replace him one-to-one, but I think he steps up to the plate and brings his own version of the high pitched blackened snarling/deep growling death metal vocal style with success. Regarding the instrumental part of the music there´s nothing negative to say about it. This is more or less The Black Dahlia Murder as they have sounded since day one. Predominantly fast-paced, melodic (often neo-classical influenced) death metal with horror themed lyrics performed by an incredibly skilled band. The rhythm section deliver sharp, precise, and powerful drumming and bass playing, the guitarists play one fast-paced and sharp riff after another and deliver loads and loads of melodic lead themes and solos, and on top of it all Eschbach´s high pitched blackened snarling/deep growling death metal vocals.

"Servitude" still stands out a bit from the last couple of releases though, as The Black Dahlia Murder have gone for a slighly less polished and a generally more stripped-down production style, which I personally think suits the material well. It´s a more immediate and instantly effective release than anything they´ve released in the last 15 years. And that´s not a criticism of the releases which came before this one, because they are all great in their own right, but "Servitude" is just a bit more direct and in-your-face.

Faced with an immense tragedy The Black Dahlia Murder never wavered (at least not publicly) and almost immediately vowed to to return with a new lineup and keep the band going, and "Servitude" is the proof that they did the right thing. I´m sure Strnad would have been proud of the result. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.

SOILWORK Sworn to a Great Divide

Album · 2007 · Melodic Death Metal
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UMUR
"Sworn to a Great Divide" is the seventh full-length studio album by Swedish metal act Soilwork. The album was released through Nuclear Blast Records in October 2007. It´s the successor to "Stabbing the Drama" from 2005 and features one lineup change as guitarist and founding member Peter Wichers has been replaced by Daniel Antonsson.

The material on "Sworn to a Great Divide" more or less continue the melodic death metal/metalcore style of "Stabbing the Drama", although I´d say the metalcore leanings are stronger on this album compared to the predecessor. This is still in some way melodic death metal too though but it´s in the most polished and melodic end of the spectrum. The vocals alternate between screaming raw vocals (sometimes hardcore influenced and sometimes semi-growling) and clean vocals. Typically with raw vocals on the verses of the songs and clean vocals on the melodic and anthemic choruses.

"Sworn to a Great Divide" doesn´t offer much Soilwork´s fans haven´t already heard on the previous releases and if development of sound has to be discussed, the development is towards a more metalcore oriented sound, with heavy chugging riffs, use of electronics/keyboards, and Björn Strid´s hardcore influenced screaming vocals. I´ve heard the album described as commercial, and while I woudn´t go that far, I´d go as far as to call it accessible.

"Sworn to a Great Divide" is relatively well produced, although to my ears the music could have prospered from a more raw and punchy sound production. It all becomes a bit too polished and nice at times, and even the heavy riffs and screaming vocals won´t offend many. It´s all simply a bit too formulaic and predictable, and it would seem at this point that Soilwork had lost their edge or maybe just wanted to pursue a more accessible direction. I´m probably being a bit too harsh here, as "Sworn to a Great Divide" is still a quality release by a prolific and hard working act, but upon conclusion it´s just not among their greatest achievements and a 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating isn´t all wrong.

INFERNAL DOOM Just the Beginning

Album · 2005 · Melodic Death Metal
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siLLy puPPy
Perhaps the most southern based death metal band on the entire planet, INFERNAL DOOM emerged from the extreme southern Patagonian city of Punta Arenas, Chile in 1999 and has been keeping warm in its proximity to Antarctica by unleashing its own brand of melodic technically infused death metal. The band has released four albums in its quarter of a century existence with this debut JUST THE BEGINNING debuting in 2005. Initially released only as a CD-R, the band has since found supporting labels and the album was reissued in 2015 in a more appropriate CD and digital format.

With an ever changing lineup over the decades this earliest offering features Jaime Bustamante (vocals, guitar), Marcelo Oyarzo (guitar), Marco Alvarez (bass) and Vladimir Vukovic (drums). While labeled generally as death metal, this debut is a strange sounding album that sounds a bit like melo-death with doses of technicalities only the vocals aren’t of the guttural growl variety but rather a raspy scream from the abyss effect. The band releases its albums in the English language thus projecting an international intent of marketing.

The album of nine tracks and about 47 minutes of playing time comes across more like a progressive metal album with death metal crossover over aspects somewhat akin to a weaker style of Death, Cynic or even Atheist. In fact the band considers itself progressive death metal. The music while not incompetent doesn’t quite measure up to the ambitions though with lazy drumming (most of the time) and rather monotonous guitar riffing (for the most part). The tempos often drop down to such slow speeds that it completely escapes being death metal altogether especially when the clean vocals are thrown in. The overall effect is a little too polished to sound threatening and yet not competent enough to sound like a compelling progressive metal album either.

The second instrumental “Without Scape” sounds more akin to the melodic heavy metal instrumentals delivered by 80s bands such as Iron Maiden however it’s a bit more energetic and based in extreme metal with heavier drumming and more distorted guitar riffing. The closing “Beginning Of The End” is the longest track and most progressive track at just over 11 minutes long and starts out with some demented chanting before bursting into a heavy metal attack. The track features varying tempos and some slide guitar moments as well as what sounds like fretless bass. It’s also probably the most competent track on the album however even so it’s mostly an extended jamming type of track with a receptive riffing cycle and a bunch of guitar squeals and antics. Nice noisy as fuck ending though! Decent but nothing mind blowing either.

Granted this was a primeval debut that found a band in one of the remotest regions of the planet finding its way onto a much larger world’s stage. To my ears this sounds a bit amateurish even with the short electronic instrumental “Butterfly Effect” which is more of an ambient clean guitar intermission. It’s a decent album with nothing inherently wrong but sounds like it suffers from an identity crisis as if it doesn’t know if it wants to be prog, prog metal or death metal and in the end doesn’t really sound like any of the above. Basically what drags this album down is the samey songwriting approach. This is my first exposure to INFERNAL DOOM so most likely their newer albums are much more competent. This one however is just a bit too underwhelming for my liking however not offensively so in any way. Just average.

SUPPLICIUM Resurrection of the Shadows

Album · 2008 · Melodic Death Metal
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siLLy puPPy
SUPPLICIUM is a blackened melodic death metal band from Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia and is virtually unknown outside of its homeland. It’s origins date back to as far back as 1995 and the band consists of Omar (vocals), Roger (bass), Freddy (guitar), Christian (guitar), Marco (keyboards, vocals), Gonzalo (drums), John (guitar and Tadashi (bass). All members have stuck together throughout the decades and the band is still officially active although it has only released a few demos and this sole album RESURRECTION OF THE SHADOWS in 2008.

While starting out as a death-doom metal band, its sound morphed into a more melodic At The Gates type of Swedish melo-death with blackened influences especially in the raspy vocals. This lone album features eight tracks at a playing time of 36 minutes and pretty much showcases a rather generic approach to the whole melo-death sound with rather predictable repetitive riffing and the standard melodic guitar solos that follow. The band features the expected twin guitar harmonic approach more prevalent of classic heavy metal bands like Iron Maiden and Judas Priest than old school death metal.

The tracks are a bit on the sweetened saccharin side of the equation and although i love certain bands in the melo-death camp, many just don’t work out so well and unfortunately SUPPLICIUM is one of them that is just a bit too underwhelming for my liking. It’s all a listenable experience as the musicians are all competent at their retrospective instruments and even the vocals are dynamically brash and deliver the goods however the songwriting itself is a bit on the weak side with a series of samey sounding tracks that rely on the same melodic riffing techniques and by the numbers melo-death accoutrements. There are also dueling vocal performances with different extreme styles. On the positive side the guitar tones are spot on and the band does deliver a thunderous roar that at least keeps things firmly in the death metal camp. There is also an atmospheric keyboard presence in the backdrop keeping it all a bit airy.

It’s not unthinkable that this band could emerge with something far superior to this effort if it has taken the last several years since this album’s release to craft some more interesting songwriting techniques but basically this is just a standard example of melo-death that doesn’t either offend or excite. It’s like a melo-death comfort food that simply fills the space while you’re attending to other tasks at hand. As an active listener though i don’t find this compelling enough to get excited about but in a far flung place like Santa Cruz, Bolivia this band probably has a loyal following as an exciting live act in a region with few options. A competent and well performed album that just doesn’t compete on the world’s stage but that’s not for lack of talent but rather a rather bland creative approach.

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AMON AMARTH Wrath of the Norsemen

Movie · 2006 · Melodic Death Metal
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Kingcrimsonprog
Talk about value for money, from a band like Amon Amarth you wouldn’t expect them to be able to afford such a crazily generous and in depth DVD package when some of the bigger bands can’t afford anything even half this good.

The Set comes in a glorious 3 DVD digipak with detailed artwork, a full booklet and an awesome little viking crown that keeps it closed. Then you get Five full concerts (with 22, 16,13, 11 and 9 tracks respectively) and a documentary.

The main feature; a 22 track concert from Cologne in 2005 is an incredible affair with crystal clear sound, Huge guitar tones, amazingly heavy drums and nice clunky bass. The camera work is of a higher quality than even some of the biggest metal bands’ DVDs and again the sound is immense.

Then theres the performance, the band are absolutely electric delivering furious renditions of material from all eras a their career from the massive ‘Amon Amarth,’ and ‘Fate of Norns,’ to catchy closer ‘Death In Fire,’ and the crowd just lap it up.

Vocalist Johan Hegg absolutely commands the stage, engaging the crowd at every opportunity and singing his heart out while the band hammer through their classics like ‘heavy,’ is going out of style.

On top of all that you have a great light show, huge Amon Amath banners, more pyro than a kiss concert and an interlude with about thirty Viking reenactors sword fighting on stage! That feature is worth the money alone, the show is probably one of the best metal concerts on the market and I can’t stress how good the sound and picture are; then on top of all that you get the rest of the set, featuring virtually ever Amon Amarth song ever written, and performances from ‘Waken Open Air festival,’ ‘Summer Breeze Festival,’ and two more indoor concerts in Europe.

If you like Amon Amarth Buy this right now. If you don’t, you will within thirty seconds of watching this.

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