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Heavy Metal Thunder Melodic Death Metal

Genres Heavy Metal Speed Metal Thrash Metal Death Metal Melodic Death Metal

Melodic Death Metal

The growl stays, but the guitars are allowed to sing. Usually the way in for anyone who was certain they disliked death metal.

Active years
1991 – present
Origin
Sweden (Gothenburg)
Family
Death Metal
Bands here
17

Start here

Four records in order of how easy they are to get into — which is not the same as best first.

  1. Slaughter of the Soul At the Gates, 1995 The landmark

    Thirty-four minutes, no wasted bars, and the record every metalcore band spent the next decade copying. Tomas Lindberg screams at one pitch throughout while the guitars do all the melodic work.

    Listen to Slaughter of the Soul

  2. Tales from the Thousand Lakes Amorphis, 1994

    Death metal with Finnish folk melody and a Hammond organ. Gentler than the Gothenburg records and the easiest way in.

    Listen to Tales from the Thousand Lakes

  3. The Gallery Dark Tranquillity, 1995

    The most melodic of the three Gothenburg bands, and the one whose guitar harmonies got copied most.

    Listen to The Gallery

  4. The Jester Race In Flames, 1996

    The record that turned a local sound into an export. Acoustic passages, twin leads, and a template a thousand bands used.

    Listen to The Jester Race

What it sounds like

The growl stays and the guitars are let off the leash. Two guitars playing harmonised melodic lines — the same idea as the NWOBHM twin lead, twenty years later and much faster — over death metal drumming, with a harsh vocal on top. Acoustic passages and quiet interludes are common, which is unheard of in death metal proper. The result is a genre that is genuinely beautiful in places and still unmistakably extreme, and it is why this is where most people who "don't like death metal" turn out to like death metal. The key difference from the Florida bands is tuning: these guitars are high enough to hold a tune, so the melody survives.

  • Heaviness 4 out of 5
  • Speed 4 out of 5
  • Aggression 4 out of 5
  • Technicality 4 out of 5
  • Darkness 3 out of 5
  • Melody 4 out of 5

Where the name came from

A descriptive compound acknowledging the genre's unusual fusion of death metal's heaviness with Scandinavian melodic sensibility. Also widely called 'Gothenburg metal' after its geographic birthplace. Journalist and fan communities settled on 'melodic death metal' as the standard term through the mid-1990s.

The bands

Hear these first

  • At the Gates Sweden
  • In Flames Sweden
  • Dark Tranquillity Sweden
  • Arch Enemy Sweden
  • Amorphis Finland

And 12 more

  • Carcass UK
  • Soilwork Sweden
  • Insomnium Finland
  • Children of Bodom Finland
  • Hypocrisy Sweden
  • Be'lakor Australia
  • Omnium Gatherum Finland
  • Sentenced Finland
  • Septicflesh Greece
  • Ravencult Greece
  • Remnants of the Fallen South Korea
  • Advent of Bedlam Costa Rica

Where it happened

Counting this genre and everything descended from it.

  • Gothenburg Gothenburg Melodic Death Metal 5 bands
  • Finland Finnish Metal — Folk, Symphonic & Extreme 4 bands

If you liked this

Closest in sound outside this family, leaning towards the similar or the gentler rather than straight into the deep end.