Melodic Death Metal

Hello, metalheads! During the past few weeks we have been talking about mainstream heavy metal subgenres. This week, we are going to dig back into underground heavy metal territory and talk about a variation of death metal known as melodic death metal. There are plenty of variations of death metal, but melodic death metal is more fleshed out and distinguished than most other types of death metal. 

Musically speaking, melodic death metal has the melodic qualities of bands that were a part of the NWOBHM, but the aggression of traditional death metal acts. The harmonic guitar lines and fast riffing of melodic death metal came specifically from the NWOBHM. Death metal influences are apparent through the intense drumming and heavily distorted guitars that are signature qualities of melodic death metal. The vocals of melodic death metal consist of death growls, clean vocals and harsh screaming. Some bands have been known to mix all of these styles together, but most melodic death metal groups only choose one or two of these vocal styles to incorporate into their music.  

Melodic death metal was pioneered in England and Scandinavia during the 1990s. The most notable band in this genre to come from England was, without a doubt, Carcass. Carcass started off as a grindcore group, but its legendary 1993 album Heartwork saw the group musically evolve into a melodic death metal band. Carcass only released one more album after Heartwork before breaking up. One of Carcass’s guitarists, Michael Amott, formed the band Arch Enemy after Carcass’s demise and has continued to evolve Carcass’s melodic death metal style through Arch Enemy’s records. 

In Scandinavia, the most famous melodic death metal bands came from Gothenburg, Sweden. Gothenburg was the area of the world where melodic death metal really thrived and gained popularity. At the Gates’ Slaughter of the Soul, In Flames’ The Jester Race and Dark Tranquillity’s The Gallery were the three most important albums associated with this scene, and are the foundation from which Scandinavian melodic death metal developed.

In Flames is arguably the most successful melodic death metal band to come from Gothenburg. The group changed its style in the early 2000s to incorporate strong alternative metal influences, and has reached an international mainstream audience. Many longtime fans have accused the band of selling out  due to this stylistic change. 

At the Gates broke up after the release of Slaughter of the Soul. Since then, the group’s members have gone on to perform with other metal groups, most notably The Haunted, Nightrage, Cradle of Filth and Paradise Lost. At the Gates recently reformed and has been playing reunion shows for the past couple of years.

Dark Tranquillity continued its underground success after The Gallery was released and is still around today. Dark Tranquillity has always been considered the least popular of the three major Gothenburg bands. However, the group has a very loyal fanbase that keeps it going. Stylistically, Dark Traunqillity’s music has changed, but this change is viewed by melodic death metal fans as more of an evolution, unlike In Flames’ recent musical endeavors.  

Today, melodic death metal has become more internationally practiced and the US now has a thriving melodic death metal scene. Nevertheless, the most iconic melodic death metal bands are still the ones who pioneered the subgenre. 

Glam Metal

Now that we’ve talked about current heavy metal trends for the past few weeks, it’s time to take a step way back in time to talk about what very well might have been the most commercial form of heavy metal to ever exist. It’s time to discuss glam metal.

The most distinctive aspect of the glam metal subgenre is the image associated with it. Glam metal musicians usually have long, backcombed hair and very tight clothing. Denim and leather clothing are commonly worn, along with spandex and occasionally headbands. Makeup is common for male musicians in the glam metal scene, and they are rarely found without it. A picture of the glam metal band Mötley Crüe can be found below wearing stereotypical glam metal clothing. 

Musically speaking, glam metal is a hybrid of hard rock and heavy metal that also contains many punk and pop rock sensibilities. Glam metal is reliant on catchy guitar riffs and most songs usually contain a shredding guitar solo. Power ballads are also not uncommon in glam metal, with many of the subgenre's most successful songs being categorized as such. The lyrics of glam metal usually focus on love and sex, though other topics may be explored as well.

Glam metal’s origins can be traced back to bands of the 1970s such as Aerosmith, Kiss, Alice Cooper and The New York Dolls. It wasn’t until the 1980s when glam metal started to really take shape. Def Leppard’s High ‘n Dry, released in 1981, was arguably the first glam metal record. The band's follow-up album, Pyromania, gave this new style mainstream exposure, allowing a new wave of bands to take influence from them.

Major glam metal bands that formed following Def Leppard’s success were Mötley Crüe, Quiet Riot, W.A.S.P. and Ratt. Quiet Riot’s debut album, Metal Health, was the first metal record to reach number one on the Billboard music charts, and was proof that the subgenre was clearly reaching fans of mainstream rock. 

Of course, out of all of these bands in the first wave of glam metal, Mötley Crüe became the most successful. Shout at the Devil, Theatre of Pain, Girls, Girls, Girls and Dr. Feelgood would all become phenomenally successful records and establish them as a major rock act. 

In the mid-1980s, more glam metal bands began to form, establishing a second wave of the scene. Poison, Cinderella and Stryper were among this second wave, with Poison receiving the most success. Poison is particularly well-known for its first three albums, Look What the Cat Dragged In, Open Up and Say…Ahh! and Flesh & Blood.

In the late 1980s, glam metal took another huge step forward, gaining even more mainstream attention with Bon Jovi’s Slippery When Wet. Up until this point, glam metal appealed primarily to men, but Slippery When Wet was the first glam metal record to appeal to women, too. Slippery When Wet has sold over 28 million copies worldwide, and is without a doubt the most successful glam metal record of all time.

When the 1990s came around, glam metal experienced a sharp decline. Grunge took the mainstream spot of glam metal, and many famous glam metal acts either broke up or released a series of lackluster and unoriginal records. 

Since then, glam metal has seen a resurgence in the 2000s. Older bands such as Mötley Crüe, Poison and Bon Jovi have seen renewed popularity. Meanwhile, new glam metal acts have formed such as Black Veil Brides, The Darkness and Buckcherry. All of these new groups have brought new life to the subgenre, but glam metal will never be nearly as popular as it was in the 1980s. 

Djent

This week it’s time to talk about the most recently created subgenre of heavy metal, which is simply called djent. The word “djent” was coined by Fredrik Thordendal of Meshuggah, and is actually an onomatopoeia for a distinct guitar sound that he commonly uses in Meshuggah’s music. This sound is a distinctly distorted palm-muted guitar tone, and was made popular by Thordendal and Misha Mansoor from the band Periphery. Djent as a subgenre revolves around combining the aforementioned guitar tone with progressive metal music.

Meshuggah is often given credit for creating djent, and the band definitely shares similarities with other bands in the subgenre, but Meshuggah is notably and distinctly different from almost all of the other djent groups. Meshuggah is an extreme metal band at its core, whereas most other djent groups are more rooted in progressive metal and deathcore collectively. Meshuggah formed nearly two decades before any of the contemporary djent bands and released their genre-defying, legendary second album, Destroy Erase Improve, over ten years before anyone even began to think about capitalizing on their success. 

The albums that really started to get musicians thinking about taking greater influence from Meshuggah were Catch Thirtythree (released in 2005) and Obzen (released in 2008). These two experimental records achieved a great amount of success and attracted new legions of modern heavy metal fans. 

Among those heavy metal fans was Misha Mansoor of the band Periphery. Mansoor released solo tracks online around 2005, which attracted a very strong following. Mansoor’s tracks were more progressive than Meshuggah’s work and were praised for their very high production values. Mansoor eventually decided to form Periphery in order to release his material through a more concentrated outlet. 

Periphery’s music set the standards for all other djent bands by including incredibly technical virtuoso guitar solos, intricate progressive polyrhythms, computerized electronic sounds and the signature guitar tone of the djent subgenre. Periphery really capitalized on SiKTH’s progressive and technical insanity and combined it with Meshuggah’s extreme nature in order to create a completely unique musical style. Fans of Mansoor’s solo work immediately became immersed in Periphery’s debut self-titled album, and the group’s popularity greatly spread, encouraging the entire djent scene to form. Just this year, Periphery released their second album, Periphery II: This Time It's Personal, which has received much critical acclaim and can be streamed below.

After the release of Periphery’s debut record in 2010, many deathcore bands took interest in the group. Bands such as Born of Osiris, Veil of Maya and After the Burial completely switched styles, changing from being deathcore bands to djent bands. 

Meanwhile, there were still many new djent bands starting up. These bands included acts such as Animals As Leaders, The Contortionist, Tesseract and Vildhjarta. 

Djent has received a mixed reception among traditional heavy metal fans. Some praised the subgenre for its technicality and complexity. Meanwhile, others thought of the subgenre as a fad, and considered djent to just be a part of progressive metal. Many people also condemn the usage of the term “djent” due to the fact that the term describes a simple guitar tone. 

Nevertheless, the djent subgenre has created a large scene of loyal fans and it has become a movement that is very distinct in nature. It’s hard to deny that djent really has become its own metal subgenre, and it is currently one of the most popular mainstream subgenres of heavy metal.