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brutal death metal

Brutal Death Metal

United States · 1990s
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Description

Brutal death metal is an especially extreme branch of death metal that emphasizes overwhelming intensity, dense riffing, and relentlessly aggressive rhythm.

Hallmarks include very low-tuned, percussive guitars; rapid-fire tremolo picking; slam-oriented breakdowns; constant blast beats and gravity blasts; and ultra-guttural vocals that range from cavernous growls to “pig squeals.” Lyrical themes are typically visceral and graphic, drawing on horror and gore. Production often favors a tight, punchy drum sound (frequently with triggered kicks), thick multi-tracked guitars, and a bass tone that locks to the drums for maximal impact.

Compared to traditional death metal, brutal death metal prioritizes extremity, physicality, and riff density over melody, and often integrates grindcore’s speed and brevity with hardcore-influenced breakdown weight.

History
Origins (late 1980s–early 1990s)

Brutal death metal coalesced in the early 1990s in the United States, particularly around the New York and Florida scenes. Building on the speed and extremity of grindcore and the weight of death metal, bands like Suffocation pushed the style toward denser riffing, guttural vocals, and heavier breakdowns (later dubbed “slams”). Suffocation’s Effigy of the Forgotten (1991) and Internal Bleeding’s early demos/works helped define the NYDM blueprint.

Mid-1990s Expansion

The style spread rapidly through both U.S. and international undergrounds. Cannibal Corpse’s increasingly brutal approach (e.g., The Bleeding, 1994) popularized ultra-guttural vocals and graphic themes; Cryptopsy (Canada) escalated technical intensity with Blasphemy Made Flesh (1994) and None So Vile (1996). On the U.S. West Coast, Deeds of Flesh (Trading Pieces, 1996; Inbreeding the Anthropophagi, 1998) refined speed-focused riff mazes. Dying Fetus fused grindcore’s urgency with breakdown heft, while Devourment (Molesting the Decapitated, 1999) codified the ultra-heavy slam variant.

2000s Globalization and Substyles

In the 2000s, brutal death metal became a global phenomenon. Scenes flourished in Europe (e.g., Germany’s Defeated Sanity), Russia (Abominable Putridity), Southeast Asia (notably Indonesia’s prolific BDM community), and Latin America. Production grew tighter and more percussive (clicky, triggered kicks; surgical guitar tracking), while songwriting bifurcated between hyper-technical brutality and slam-centric groove.

2010s–present

The style remains vibrant through specialized labels, festivals, and online communities. Modern bands toggle among three poles—speed/technicality, groove/slam, and hybrid brutality—while maintaining the genre’s core: down-tuned, riff-dense, relentlessly physical extreme metal.

How to make a track in this genre
Instrumentation and Tuning
•   Guitars: Use 6–8 strings tuned very low (B standard, A standard, or drop tunings like Drop A/Drop G). Aim for tight, percussive palm-mutes with high-gain amps or modern amp sims; use noise gates for clarity. •   Bass: Follow kick patterns closely; use a slightly overdriven tone to cut through thick guitars. Consider a pick for precision. •   Drums: Prioritize endurance and precision. Incorporate constant blasts (traditional, alternating, and gravity blasts), double-kick runs at high BPM, and half-time slam sections.
Rhythm, Tempo, and Groove
•   Verses often sit at 200–260 BPM with blasts; slams drop to 60–90 BPM half-time for impact. •   Alternate blast passages with chugging, palm-muted slam riffs. Sync the bass and kick to accent chugs and stops.
Harmony, Riff Writing, and Texture
•   Use chromaticism, tritones, diminished shapes, and dissonant intervals. Riffs are riff-motifs rather than linear melodies. •   Combine tremolo-picked lines, chug patterns, pinch harmonics, and abrupt rhythmic shifts. Keep transitions tight and riff-dense.
Vocals and Lyrics
•   Employ ultra-low gutturals, tunnel throats, occasional highs, or pig squeals where stylistically appropriate. •   Themes typically focus on gore/horror; if you choose alternative topics, keep the delivery ferocious and uncompromising.
Structure and Arranging
•   Build around a cycle of blast-driven violence and slam payoffs. Short, intense songs (2–4 minutes) are common. •   Layer double-tracked (or quad-tracked) guitars; keep bass centered; use tight editing on drums.
Production Tips
•   Use triggered or sample-reinforced kicks for consistent click; keep snare cutting but not harsh. •   Scoop some mids on guitars for weight, but retain enough midrange to keep riffs intelligible. Multiband compression on the low end helps keep the mix controlled during slams.
Practice and Performance
•   Drummers: condition for blasts and stamina; practice with a metronome at performance tempos. •   Guitarists/Bassists: drill tight alternate picking and palm-mute control; rehearse with drums to lock chugs and stops. •   Vocalists: prioritize safe technique for sustained gutturals; hydrate and warm up properly.
Main artists
Influenced by
Death Metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal defined by heavily distorted, low‑tuned guitars, rapid and complex riffing, blast beat drumming, and harsh guttural vocals. Its harmonic language favors chromaticism, dissonance, and tremolo-picked lines that create an ominous, abrasive atmosphere. Lyrically, death metal often explores dark or transgressive themes—mortality, mythology, anti-religion, psychological horror, and the macabre—sometimes with philosophical or social commentary. Production ranges from raw and cavernous to hyper-precise and technical, reflecting the genre’s many regional scenes and substyles. From the mid‑1980s Florida scene (Tampa) and parallel developments in the US, UK, and Sweden, death metal evolved into numerous branches including brutal death metal, technical death metal, melodic death metal, and death‑doom, each emphasizing different aspects of speed, complexity, melody, or heaviness.
Grindcore
Grindcore is an extreme fusion of hardcore punk and metal characterized by blisteringly fast tempos, blast-beat drumming, heavily distorted guitars, and harsh, screamed or growled vocals. Songs are often extremely short—sometimes mere seconds—favoring intensity over conventional structure. The style ranges from politically charged and socially conscious lyrics to grotesque, gore-soaked imagery (especially in substyles like goregrind). Production can be raw and abrasive or tightly modern, but the aesthetic consistently emphasizes sonic extremity, density, and cathartic impact.
Deathgrind
Deathgrind is a fusion of death metal and grindcore that pairs dense, downtuned riffing and guttural vocals with the whiplash speed, brevity, and blast-beat intensity of grind. Songs are often short and explosive, built around tremolo-picked and chromatic riffs, sudden stops, and lurching tempo shifts. Vocals typically alternate between deep growls and high-pitched screams, while drums rely on relentless blast beats, gravity blasts, and rapid double-kick patterns. The style balances death metal’s weight and technicality with grindcore’s punk immediacy and abrasion. Lyrical themes vary widely: socio-political critique and anti-authoritarian messages (a grindcore inheritance), visceral and medical-gore imagery (shared with goregrind), and, in some bands, environmental or misanthropic commentary. Production ranges from raw and overdriven early recordings to modern, tightly edited, high-gain mixes with precise drum triggering.
Thrash Metal
Thrash metal is a fast, aggressive, and riff‑driven style of metal characterized by high-tempo, palm‑muted downpicking; tightly synchronized rhythm sections; and abrasive, shouted or barked vocals. Songs typically sit in the 180–220+ BPM range, with rapid alternate picking, chugging power‑chord riffs, and precise double‑bass drumming. Harmonically, thrash favors minor tonalities, chromatic movement, tritone tension, and modal flavors such as Phrygian and Aeolian. Structures are riff-centric and often feature brisk tempo changes, sharp stops/starts, and technically demanding solos that draw on pentatonic, natural/harmonic minor, and modal runs. Lyrically, thrash is frequently anti‑authoritarian and socio‑political, addressing war, corruption, media manipulation, and personal alienation. Compared to speed metal, thrash is more percussive, staccato, and palm‑mute heavy; compared to death metal, vocals are generally less guttural and the riffing slightly less dissonant, but the intensity and precision remain core to the style.
Goregrind
Goregrind is an extreme offshoot of grindcore distinguished by ultra-guttural, often pitch-shifted vocals, relentless blast beats, and brief, abrasive songs that emphasize grotesque, medical, and anatomical themes. Its guitar tone is typically down-tuned and heavily saturated, with simple, chromatic riffs delivered at very high tempos, while the bass often mirrors the guitars for added weight. Lyrically and visually, the genre leans into forensic, pathological, and splatter aesthetics, frequently using clinical jargon and shocking artwork as a form of transgressive satire. Production ranges from deliberately lo-fi, tape-traded rawness to modern, crushing clarity, but the core aesthetic remains claustrophobic, noisy, and visceral.
Hardcore Punk
Hardcore punk is a faster, louder, and more abrasive offshoot of late-1970s punk rock. Songs are typically short (often under two minutes), propelled by rapid tempos, aggressive down‑stroked guitar riffs, and shouted or barked vocals. The style prioritizes raw energy over technical ornamentation: power‑chord harmony, minimal guitar solos, and tightly locked rhythm sections dominate. Lyrically, hardcore punk is intensely direct—often political, anti‑authoritarian, and socially critical—reflecting a DIY ethic that values independent labels, self‑organized shows, and community‑run spaces. The genre coalesced in U.S. scenes such as Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., New York, and Boston, and soon spread internationally. Its velocity, attitude, and grassroots infrastructure profoundly shaped underground music and paved the way for numerous metal, punk, and alternative subgenres.
Old School Death Metal
Old school death metal (OSDM) is the formative, raw strain of death metal that took shape in the mid-to-late 1980s. It emphasizes downtuned, palm-muted riffing, tremolo-picked lines, and thunderous drums that shift between blast beats, skank beats, and mid-tempo stomps. Vocals are guttural and cavernous, projecting themes of mortality, horror, occultism, and decay. Production is intentionally unvarnished: guitars are thick and abrasive, drums are natural and roomy, and mixes privilege heaviness and atmosphere over precision. US bands typically favored tight, chug-heavy riff chains and chromatic menace, while the Swedish branch popularized the infamous “buzzsaw” guitar tone driven by the Boss HM-2 pedal. Song structures often unfold as riff-suites rather than strict verse–chorus forms, creating an inexorable, subterranean momentum.
Technical Death Metal
Technical death metal (often shortened to tech-death) is a virtuosic, hyper-detailed branch of death metal characterized by complex song structures, rapid-fire tempo changes, and high-performance musicianship. It fuses the extremity and heaviness of death metal with the rhythmic sophistication of progressive metal and the harmonic vocabulary of jazz fusion. Signature elements include odd and shifting time signatures, polyrhythms, dissonant and chromatic harmony, through-composed or non-repeating structures, and intricate contrapuntal interplay between guitars and bass (often fretless). Drumming emphasizes precision blast beats, rapid double-kick patterns, metric modulation, and constant subdivision changes. Vocals are primarily deep growls or harsh screams, while lyrics frequently explore science, philosophy, metaphysics, and cosmology alongside the genre’s traditional dark themes. Production tends to favor clarity and separation to make dense arrangements intelligible, with tight, gated guitars, articulate bass presence, and drum sounds that capture transient detail. The result is aggressive, cerebral, and often breathtakingly technical music that rewards close listening.
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