Editing Death metal (section)

==History==

===Emergence and early history (early to mid–1980s)===
[[Image:Death Mexico 06-89.jpg|thumb|right|Pioneering death metal band [[Death (metal band)|Death]] in 1989]]
English extreme metal band [[Venom (band)|Venom]], from [[Newcastle upon Tyne|Newcastle]], crystallized the elements of what later became known as [[thrash metal]], death metal and [[black metal]], with their first two albums ''[[Welcome to Hell]]''<ref>{{cite web |last=Rivadavia |first=Eduardo |title=Venom: Welcome to Hell |website=[[AllMusic]] |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/mw0000268406 |access-date=February 14, 2014 |archive-date=July 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230709174857/https://www.allmusic.com/album/mw0000268406 |url-status=live }}</ref> and ''[[Black Metal (Venom album)|Black Metal]]'',{{sfn|Kahn-Harris|2007}} released in late 1981 and 1982, respectively. Their dark, blistering sound, harsh vocals, and [[macabre]], proudly Satanic imagery proved a major inspiration for extreme metal bands.<ref>{{cite web|last=Ankeny|first=Jason|title=Venom Biography|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/p5755|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=February 14, 2014|archive-date=April 25, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110425110720/http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p5755|url-status=live}}</ref> Another highly influential band, [[Slayer]], formed in 1981. Although the band was a thrash metal act, Slayer's music was more violent than their thrash contemporaries [[Metallica]], [[Megadeth]], and [[Anthrax (American band)|Anthrax]].<ref name="Metal Hammer">{{cite web|last=de Paola|first=Enrico|title=Into The Lungs of Hell|url=http://www.emptywords.org/MetalHammerItaly03-2000.htm|work=[[Metal Hammer]]|publisher=Empty Words|date=March 2000|access-date=July 19, 2014|archive-date=July 13, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140713105117/http://www.emptywords.org/MetalHammerItaly03-2000.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Their breakneck speed and instrumental prowess combined with lyrics about death, violence, war, and Satanism won Slayer a cult following.<ref>{{cite web|last=Huey|first=Steve|title=Slayer Biography|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/p5453|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=February 14, 2014|archive-date=April 25, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110425111436/http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p5453|url-status=live}}</ref> According to Mike McPadden, ''[[Hell Awaits]]'', Slayer's second album, "largely invent[ed] much of the sound and fury that would evolve into death metal."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.vh1.com/news/gfg7pz/slayer-hell-awaits-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404081929/https://www.vh1.com/news/gfg7pz/slayer-hell-awaits-30 |url-status=live |archive-date=April 4, 2023 |title='Hell Awaits' by Slayer Turns 30, Still Head Of The Thrash Class of '85 |last=McPadden |first=Mike |date=March 22, 2015 |website=[[VH1]] |access-date=July 5, 2019}}</ref> According to [[AllMusic]], their third album ''[[Reign in Blood]]'' inspired the entire death metal genre.<ref>{{cite web|first=Steve|last=Huey|title=Slayer: Reign in Blood|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/r18220|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=January 5, 2007|archive-date=August 4, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110804163853/http://www.allmusic.com/album/r18220|url-status=live}}</ref> It had a big impact on genre leaders such as [[Death (metal band)|Death]], [[Obituary (band)|Obituary]], and [[Morbid Angel]].<ref name="Metal Hammer"/>

[[File:Possessed - Jalometalli 2008 - 02.JPG|thumb|150px|left|[[Jeff Becerra]] of [[Possessed (band)|Possessed]]{{sfn|Mudrian|2004|p=}}]]

[[Possessed (band)|Possessed]], a band that formed in the [[San Francisco Bay Area]] during 1983, is described by AllMusic as "connecting the dots" between thrash metal and death metal with their 1985 debut album, ''[[Seven Churches (album)|Seven Churches]]''.<ref>{{cite web|first=Eduardo|last=Rivadavia|title=Possessed: Seven Churches|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/r15558|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=February 14, 2014|archive-date=December 27, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111227123208/http://www.allmusic.com/album/r15558|url-status=live}}</ref> While attributed as having a Slayer influence,<ref>{{cite web|last=Rivadavia|first=Eduardo|title=Possessed Biography|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/p5171|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=February 14, 2014|archive-date=April 25, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110425111502/http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p5171|url-status=live}}</ref> current and former members of the band had actually cited Venom and [[Motörhead]], as well as early work by [[Exodus (band)|Exodus]], as the main influences on their sound. Although the group had released only two studio albums and an EP in their formative years, they have been described by music journalists and musicians as either being "monumental" in developing the death metal style,{{sfn|Purcell|2003|p=54}} or as being the first death metal band.<ref>{{cite book|last=McIver|first=Joel|title=The Bloody Reign of Slayer|publisher=[[Omnibus Press]]|year=2008|isbn=978-1-84772-109-9}}</ref>{{sfn|Ekeroth|2008|p=12}}{{sfn|Mudrian|2004|p=70}} [[Earache Records]] noted that "the likes of Trey Azagthoth and Morbid Angel based what they were doing in their formative years on the Possessed blueprint laid down on the legendary ''Seven Churches'' recording. Possessed arguably did more to further the cause of 'Death Metal' than any of the early acts on the scene back in the mid-late 80's."<ref>{{cite web|title=Interview With Jeff Becerra |url=http://www.earache.com/WickedWorld/interview/possessed/possessed.html |publisher=[[Earache Records]] |access-date=July 19, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121113120317/http://www.earache.com/WickedWorld/interview/possessed/possessed.html |archive-date=November 13, 2012 }}</ref>

[[File:Chuck Schuldiner.jpg|thumb|170px|right|[[Chuck Schuldiner]] (1967–2001) of [[Death (metal band)|Death]], during a 1992 tour in Scotland in support of the album ''[[Human (Death album)|Human]]''.]]

During the same period as the dawn of Possessed, a second influential metal band was formed in Orlando, Florida. Originally called Mantas, Death was formed in 1983 by [[Chuck Schuldiner]], [[Kam Lee]], and [[Rick Rozz]]. Inspired by the [[Brandon, Florida]] act [[Nasty Savage]], they took the sound of Nasty Savage and deepened it.<ref name=":0">{{cite web|last1=Stevenson|first1=Arielle|date=October 22, 2009|title=The way the music died: The earliest days of Tampa Death Metal|url=http://www.tampabay.com/features/music/the-way-the-music-died-the-earliest-days-of-tampa-death-metal/1046088|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091027025354/https://www.tampabay.com/features/music/the-way-the-music-died-the-earliest-days-of-tampa-death-metal/1046088/|archive-date=October 27, 2009|website=[[Tampa Bay Times]]|publisher=[[Times Publishing Company]]|accessdate=April 26, 2016}}</ref> In 1984, they released their first demo entitled ''Death by Metal'', followed by several more. The tapes circulated through the tape trader world, quickly establishing the band's name. With Death guitarist Schuldiner adopting vocal duties, the band made a major impact in the emerging [[Florida death metal]] scene. The fast minor-key riffs and solos were complemented with fast drumming, creating a style that would catch on in tape trading circles.{{sfn|Purcell|2003|p=54}} Schuldiner has been credited by AllMusic's Eduardo Rivadavia for being widely recognized as the "Father of Death Metal".<ref name="Death">{{cite web|last=Rivadavia|first=Eduardo|title=Death Biography|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/p4050|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=August 13, 2008|archive-date=April 24, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120424070300/http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p4050|url-status=live}}</ref> Death's 1987 debut release, ''[[Scream Bloody Gore]]'', has been described by About.com's Chad Bowar as being the "evolution from thrash metal to death metal",<ref>{{cite web|last=Bowar|first=Chad|title=Death Profile|url=http://heavymetal.about.com/od/death/p/pro_death.htm|publisher=About.com|access-date=January 14, 2014|archive-date=May 2, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140502050614/http://heavymetal.about.com/od/death/p/pro_death.htm|url-status=unfit}}</ref> and "the first true death metal record" by the ''[[San Francisco Chronicle]]''.<ref>{{cite news|author1=Aldis, N.|author2=Sherry, J.|title=Heavy metal Thunder|newspaper=[[San Francisco Chronicle]]|year=2006}}</ref> In an Interview Jeff Becerra talked about the discussions of being the creator of the genre, saying that Schuldiner cited Possessed as a massive influence, and Death were even called "Possessed clones" early on.<ref>{{Cite web|url = https://www.blabbermouth.net/news/jeff-beccera-puts-an-end-to-debate-over-who-was-the-first-death-metal-band-death-or-possessed/|title = JEFF BECERRA Puts an End to Debate over Who Was the First Death Metal Band: DEATH or POSSESSED|date = August 20, 2017|access-date = January 6, 2020|archive-date = August 20, 2017|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170820200245/https://www.blabbermouth.net/news/jeff-beccera-puts-an-end-to-debate-over-who-was-the-first-death-metal-band-death-or-possessed/|url-status = live}}</ref> Along with Possessed and Death, other pioneers of death metal in the United States include [[Macabre (band)|Macabre]], [[Master (American band)|Master]], [[Massacre (metal band)|Massacre]], [[Immolation (band)|Immolation]], [[Cannibal Corpse]], [[Obituary (band)|Obituary]], and [[Post Mortem (band)|Post Mortem]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Norton|first=Justin M.|title=Post Mortem - 'Coroner's Office' Retrospective|url=http://heavymetal.about.com/od/interviews/a/postmortem.htm|publisher=[[About.com]]|date=February 19, 2009|access-date=February 14, 2014|url-status=unfit|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140221221406/http://heavymetal.about.com/od/interviews/a/postmortem.htm|archive-date=February 21, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Marquard|first=Bryan|title=John McCarthy, at 40; was lead singer for local thrash rocker Post Mortem|url=http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/obituaries/articles/2009/02/08/john_mccarthy_at_40_was_lead_singer_for_local_thrash_rockers_post_mortem/?page=full|access-date=February 14, 2014|newspaper=[[The Boston Globe]]|date=February 8, 2009|archive-date=February 23, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140223090810/http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/obituaries/articles/2009/02/08/john_mccarthy_at_40_was_lead_singer_for_local_thrash_rockers_post_mortem/?page=full|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Growing popularity (late 1980s to late 1990s)===
By 1989, many bands had been signed by eager record labels wanting to cash in on the subgenre, including Florida's [[Obituary (band)|Obituary]], [[Morbid Angel]] and [[Deicide (band)|Deicide]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Sullivan|first=Andy|title=Death metal, the sound of Tampa, won't be heard at Republican convention|url=https://news.yahoo.com/death-metal-sound-tampa-wont-heard-republican-convention-113030167.html|agency=Reuters|publisher=Yahoo News|access-date=August 25, 2012|date=August 25, 2012|quote=When they convene in Tampa to nominate Mitt Romney for president next week, Republicans will not hear a note from the city's most notable musical exports: death-metal bands such as Deicide and Obituary.|archive-date=August 29, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120829044633/http://news.yahoo.com/death-metal-sound-tampa-wont-heard-republican-convention-113030167.html|url-status=live}}</ref> This collective of death metal bands hailing from Florida are often labeled as "[[Florida death metal]]". Morbid Angel pushed the genre's limits both musically and lyrically, with the release of their debut album ''[[Altars of Madness]]'' in 1989.{{sfn|Purcell|2003|p=18}}<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://decibelmagazine.com/hall-of-fame/2015/3/19/morbid-angel-altars-of-madness|title=Morbid Angel - "Altars of Madness"|work=Decibel Magazine|access-date=May 1, 2017|archive-date=November 25, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151125195403/http://decibelmagazine.com/hall-of-fame/2015/3/19/morbid-angel-altars-of-madness|url-status=live}}</ref> The album "redefined what it meant to be heavy while influencing an upcoming class of brutal death metal."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://loudwire.com/morbid-angel-altars-of-madness-best-debut-metal-albums/|title=No. 4: Morbid Angel, 'Altars of Madness' – Best Debut Metal Albums|website=Loudwire|date=June 6, 2013|access-date=May 1, 2017|archive-date=July 9, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230709185325/https://loudwire.com/morbid-angel-altars-of-madness-best-debut-metal-albums/|url-status=live}}</ref> According to Jason Birchmeier of [[AllMusic]], "[[Venom (band)|Venom]] and [[Slayer]] redefined the extent to which a metal band could align itself with all things evil during the beginning of the decade, but Morbid Angel made these two groups sound like [[children's music]]."<ref>{{Citation |title=Altars of Madness - Morbid Angel {{!}} Album {{!}} AllMusic |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/altars-of-madness-mw0000311214 |access-date=2025-01-09 |language=en}}</ref>

Following the original death metal innovators, new subgenres began to develop the end of the decade, such as [[melodic death metal]]. Death released their fourth album ''[[Human (Death album)|Human]]'' in 1991, which has become a hallmark in [[technical death metal]]. Death's founder Schuldiner helped push the boundaries of the genre with uncompromising speed and technical virtuosity, combining intricate rhythm guitar work with complex arrangements and emotive guitar solos.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.emptywords.org/|title=Welcome to Empty Words|website=www.emptywords.org|access-date=September 5, 2007|archive-date=April 6, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100406010555/http://www.emptywords.org/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Earache Records, [[Relativity Records]] and Roadrunner Records became the genre's most important labels,<ref>'Death Metal Special: Dealers in Death' ''Terrorizer #151''</ref> with Earache releasing albums by Carcass, Napalm Death, Morbid Angel, and Entombed, and Roadrunner releasing albums by Obituary, and [[Pestilence (band)|Pestilence]]. Although these labels had not been death metal labels, they initially became the genre's flagship labels at the beginning of the 1990s. In addition to these, other labels formed as well, such as [[Nuclear Blast]], [[Century Media Records|Century Media]], and [[Peaceville]]. Many of these labels would go on to achieve successes in other genres of metal throughout the 1990s.

In September 1990, Death's manager [[Eric Greif]] held one of the first North American death metal festivals, ''Day of Death'', in [[Milwaukee]] suburb [[Waukesha, Wisconsin]], and featured 26 bands including Autopsy, [[Broken Hope]], Hellwitch, Obliveon, Revenant, Viogression, Immolation, [[Atheist (band)|Atheist]], and [[Cynic (band)|Cynic]].<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20100325022446/http://www.officialatheist.com/index.php?item=biography ''Biography'', Official Atheist site]}}. Retrieved December 10, 2008</ref>

[[File:Jungle_Rot_performing_in_Chula_Vista,_CA_on_Mayhem_Fest_2015.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Death metal band [[Jungle Rot]]]]

Death metal's popularity achieved its initial peak during 1992–1993, with some bands such as Morbid Angel and Cannibal Corpse enjoying mild commercial success. However, the genre as a whole never broke into the mainstream. The genre's mounting popularity may have been partly responsible for a strong rivalry between [[Early Norwegian black metal scene|Norwegian black metal]] and [[Swedish death metal]] scenes. [[Fenriz]] of [[Darkthrone]] has noted that Norwegian black metal musicians were "fed up with the whole death metal scene" at the time. Death metal diversified in the 1990s, spawning a rich variety of subgenres that still have a large "underground" following at the present.<ref>{{cite video|first=Bill|last=Zebyb|year=2007|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZd13-dSrAc| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120414005145/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZd13-dSrAc&gl=US&hl=en| archive-date=2012-04-14|title=Black Metal: A Documentary|medium=motion picture}}</ref>

===Later history (2000–present)===
In the 2000s, a number of bands in the [[hardcore punk]] scene, including [[Black Breath (band)|Black Breath]] and [[Trap Them]] began to incorporate elements of death metal into their sound.<ref name="Schafer, 2018">{{cite web |last1=Schafer |first1=Joseph |title=In 2018, Death Metal Reigned Supreme |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/in-2018-death-metal-reigned-supreme/ |website=[[Vice Media]] |date=December 31, 2018 |access-date=24 October 2024}}</ref> This was followed by a wave of bands expanding upon the death-doom style of [[Incantation (American band)|Incantation]] while incorporating elements of [[ambient music]], including [[Dead Congregation]] and [[Necros Christos]].<ref name="Schafer, 2018" />

In the 2010s, a movement of bands reviving the sound of original 1980s death metal emerged, termed the "New Wave of Old School Death Metal".<ref>{{cite web |title=BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO OLD SCHOOL DEATH METAL |date=February 19, 2015 |url=https://toiletovhell.com/beginners-guide-to-old-school-death-metal/ |access-date=24 October 2024}}</ref> One of the earliest groups in this wave was [[Horrendous]], who formed in 2009,<ref>{{cite web |title=A History of North American Death Metal in 30 Albums |date=August 17, 2020 |url=https://www.treblezine.com/a-history-of-north-american-death-metal-in-30-albums/ |access-date=24 October 2024}}</ref> who along with [[Tomb Mold]] took a progressive take the genre.<ref name="Schafer, 2018" /> Tomb Mold, Necrot, Undergang and [[Blood Incantation]] were some of the earliest bands to gain traction in the 2010s, with the [[COVID-19 pandemic]] amplifying the amount of attention drawn to the movement, through [[Cryptic Shift]], Slimelord and Vaticinal Rites.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Deller |first1=Alex |title=The Young Upstarts of UK Death Metal |url=https://daily.bandcamp.com/scene-report/uk-death-metal-scene-report |website=[[Bandcamp Daily]] |date=January 11, 2022 |access-date=24 October 2024}}</ref> In a 2022 article by ''[[MetalSucks]]'' writer Christopher Krovatin stated "Right now, as a music journalist, all I hear about is death metal."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Rhombus |first1=Emperor |title=Poll: Which Band in the New Wave of Death Metal Is Your Favorite? |url=https://www.metalsucks.net/2022/06/30/poll-which-of-the-new-wave-of-death-metal-bands-is-your-favorite/ |website=[[MetalSucks]] |date=June 30, 2022 |access-date=24 October 2024}}</ref> In the UK, this movement became the "New Wave of British Death Metal", fronted by Mortuary Spawn, Vacuous and Celestial Sanctuary, this name being coined by Tom Cronin, of Celestial Sanctuary, in order to separate these hardcore-indebted bands from the country's prior movements. The earliest bands in this wave were Cruciamentum and Grave Miasma.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Frankel |first1=Eddy |title=What the hell is the New Wave of British Death Metal? |url=https://www.timeout.com/uk/arts-and-culture/what-is-the-new-wave-of-british-death-metal |website=[[Time Out Group]] |access-date=24 October 2024}}</ref>

A large part of the New Wave of Old School Death Metal was death metal bands who originated from the hardcore scene, some of which merge elements of hardcore into their style. [[Xibalba (band)|Xibalba]] and Fuming Mouth were two of the earliest groups, with the wave being solidified by [[Gatecreeper]], 200 Stab Wounds, Creeping Death,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Breiham |first1=Tom |title=Hardcore And Death Metal: Two Great Tastes That Taste Great Together |url=https://www.stereogum.com/2199510/hardcore-and-death-metal-two-great-tastes-that-taste-great-together/columns/let-the-roundup-begin/ |website=[[Stereogum]] |date=September 15, 2022 |access-date=24 October 2024 |archive-date=November 30, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241130095715/https://www.stereogum.com/2199510/hardcore-and-death-metal-two-great-tastes-that-taste-great-together/columns/let-the-roundup-begin/ |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Sanguisugabogg]] and Kruelty.<ref>{{cite web |title=Kruelty – "Untopia" |date=March 15, 2023 |url=https://everythingisnoise.net/reviews/kruelty-untopia/ |access-date=24 October 2024}}</ref> [[Venom Prison]] came from this scene and gained particular attention for their confrontation of what ''[[Kerrang!]]'' called death metal's "misogyny problem", by instead writing "rape-revenge narrative[s]".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Zorgdrager |first1=Bradley |title=How Brutal Death Metal Is Confronting Its Misogyny Problem |url=https://www.kerrang.com/how-brutal-death-metal-is-confronting-its-misogyny-problem |website=[[Kerrang!]] |date=August 29, 2019 |access-date=24 October 2024 |archive-date=October 14, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241014012202/https://www.kerrang.com/how-brutal-death-metal-is-confronting-its-misogyny-problem |url-status=live }}</ref> Their lead vocalist Larissa Stupar was described by the publication as "metal's most important - and uncompromising - voice".<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Morton |first1=Luke |title=Venom Prison the Remarkable Story of the Rise and Rise of Metal's Most Important - and Uncompromising - Voice |journal=[[Kerrang!]] |date=27 May 2019}}</ref>