Death metal is one of the heaviest and most extreme subgenres of metal, which took shape in the mid-1980s, largely developing the achievements of thrash metal. Its sound is deliberately powerful, dark, and aggressive.
Characteristic features of the genre are guttural, low “growling” vocals, a heavily down-tuned tuning of heavily distorted guitars, ultra-fast “blast beats” on the drums, and complex, often shifting rhythmic structures. The lyrical themes are usually dark — death, philosophical reflection, social criticism, fantasy. Despite its apparent “unfriendliness,” death metal demands high technical mastery from its musicians and often leans toward complex, almost progressive compositions. It has spawned numerous offshoots and remains an influential part of the world metal scene with a devoted audience around the globe.
