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Grab your earplugs and crank the volume to eleven! Join us as we count down our picks for the heaviest, most dynamic, and definitive songs in death metal history! Our countdown features tracks from legends like Entombed, Death, Cannibal Corpse, Deicide, Morbid Angel, and more! Which death metal anthem rules your playlist? Let us know in the comments below!
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00:07Welcome to WatchMojo, and today, we're counting down our picks for the heaviest,
00:12most dynamic, and definitive examples of the death metal genre.
00:24Number 20. Vermin as Fix
00:34One of the greatest aspects of death metal, indeed of heavy metal itself, is the genre
00:39status as a universal language. Extreme forms of metal can be found from nearly every country
00:45in the world, with quite a few also enjoying expansive, fruitful scenes with an international
00:51influence. Death metal music from the Netherlands quickly became known for its tendency to employ
00:56doomy, dirge-laden soundscapes, such as those found within the tunes of Dutch legends as Fix.
01:10Vermin, which is taken from the group's pounding debut LP, The Rack, features both fast and slow
01:16sections which play off each other to great effect. This can be heard particularly well around the
01:22minute 15 mark, where Vermin sounds its own personal charge for death metal supremacy.
01:34Number 19. Dead Forever
01:37Unleashed
01:45The Swedish death metal scene is legendary at this point, with so many influential groups
01:51emerging from that country's fertile musical imagination. Unleashed always stood out from
01:56the pack, however, thanks to their focus upon myth and Viking legends. Dead Forever is taken from the
02:02group's debut album, Where No Life Dwells, and predates this lyrical focus by a small margin.
02:15In its place is a sturdy and muscular death metal sound that's riff-focused and anchored by Johnny
02:21Hedlund's Leonine roar at the microphone. This is Swedish death metal that's armed to the teeth with
02:27malicious intent, and the nerve to steamroll over your eardrums without remorse.
02:38Number 18. Into Everlasting Fire
02:50Consistency has always been key when it comes to New York's Immolation. This group, which started under the
02:56moniker of rigor mortis, has been delivering quality death metal mastery for over 40 years at this
03:02point. Into Everlasting Fire was the opening track to Immolation's debut full-length Dawn of Possession,
03:08an LP that could have easily been highlighted from first note to last on our list.
03:20The song embodies everything great and classic about American death metal, specifically from the New
03:26York area. With its twisted sense of melody and hair-raising lead guitar presence, Immolation is,
03:32said quite simply, one of the best to ever do it. And it was Into Everlasting Fire that blew minds
03:38away
03:39back in 91.
03:46Number 17. Extremely Rotten Flesh – Grave
03:57Groups like Entombed and Dismember have long dominated fan discussion amongst the Swedish death
04:03metal circle. But what about Grave? This outfit from Visby turned the underground upside down with a
04:09series of disgusting, in the best possible way of course, demos back in the late 80s, before their
04:16Into the Grave debut dropped for Century Media. Extremely Rotten Flesh, as a result, was recorded and
04:23workshopped for years prior to Grave's signing a label deal. It doesn't really matter which version you
04:35choose, however, because this jam is gonna puncture your guts every single time. Extremely Rotten Flesh
04:41isn't about subtlety or class. Instead, Grave simply wants to prove they're the heaviest Swedish death
04:48metal band… by a mile.
04:57Number 16. Entrantment of Evil – Incantation
05:08So yeah, does it really matter how much that entrantment isn't actually a real word when it
05:14comes to discussing the early work of Incantation? We don't particularly think so, not when considering
05:20how this Pennsylvania via New York and New Jersey Act have demolished audiences for over 30 years.
05:26Entrantment of Evil was another one of those demo songs that Incantation filtered through many different
05:32recording sessions, all while retaining its creative nucleus of unfettered, unholy death metal.
05:43It would be reductive to describe Incantation's sound solely in a it-goes-fast, then-slow dynamic.
05:51The arrangements here pay attention instead to counterpoint and structure,
05:55while always maintaining gargantuan heaviness at every turn.
06:05Number 15. In the Grip of Winter – Autopsy
06:16If the Great White Shark is nature's perfect killing machine, then let's refer to California's
06:22Autopsy as America's perfect death metal band. Fans could argue that this influential group have
06:28retained an unmatched discography over the years, yet those same die-hard fans might also argue that
06:33Mental Funeral from 1991 was Autopsy's utter masterpiece.
06:46In the Grip of Winter is just one example to that point. An atmospheric and groovy slice of underground
06:52death metal that still remains catchy AF and totally disgusting. Autopsy's doomy nature is evident from
06:59this track to be sure, but in the grip of Winter is also psychedelic in spots. A unique and memorable
07:05cut from one of USDM's most respected bands.
07:16Number 14. Disincarnated – Gore Guts
07:26Canadian metal has always retained a certain flavor all its own. From the thrash of Razor, Sacrifice,
07:34and Voivod to the more extreme realms of slaughter and Quebec's own Gore Guts. This technical and
07:41musically challenging act is one of the more commercially accepted on this list, having actually
07:46been nominated for a Juno award back in 2013. But we're not talking about 2013, we're looking at 1991,
07:54and Disincarnated. This track was a highlight of Gore Guts' demo period, and was re-recorded for the
08:07group's spectacular debut LP, Consider Dead. Disincarnated is a brutal and heavy, but also
08:13twistedly memorable and dark. A riff attack that's intelligent, yet unafraid to wade down in the muck.
08:26Number 13. Out of the Body – Pestilence
08:36Theirs has been a career with enough creative twists and turns to mirror a progressive and
08:41challenging discography. Yet it's Out of the Body that still serves as an anthem for the Dutch death
08:47metal legends in Pestilence, a call of defiance in the face of this group's founder, Patrick Mameli.
08:53The latter has steered Pestilence in some controversial directions over the years, but
08:58nearly everyone can agree that Out of the Body makes the most of Mameli's guitar prowess
09:03and Martin Van Drunen's iconic vocals. This is thrashing death metal with riffs that buzz around
09:16like the insects on that equally classic album cover. It's Pestilence at their frantic best,
09:22a song that's never been equaled in their discography, back then or now.
09:32Number 12. Arise – Sepultura
09:42We could've easily singled out any number of eras from the career of Brazil's Sepultura for this list.
09:49Their bestial Black Death origins were beyond important, as was the streamlining of their sounds
09:55on LPs like Schizophrenia or Beneath the Remains. One could argue that Arise is the perfect Sepultura
10:02song. However, a melting pot of fiery punk attitude, traditional metal musicianship,
10:08and extreme death aggression. Arise was also recorded in E-Standard tuning, yet remains as heavy and
10:19fearsome as anything released from the early 90s. We've admittedly spent a lot of time in 1991 during
10:26this list, but when the death metal is this good, can you really blame us?
10:37Number 11. Chopped in Half – Obituary
10:48It's virtually impossible to stand still whenever those opening notes to obituaries
10:54Chopped in Half reverberate in a pair of headphones, or concert hall. It's a feeling similar to that of
11:00another obit banger, Slowly We Rot. This premonition that the listener is about to be pummeled and
11:06beaten senseless, all while enjoying every minute. Yet, there's also a certain level of class to be
11:13mined from Chopped in Half, you know, after John Tardy has finished his gruesome, guttural vocals.
11:25The lead guitar of James Murphy is ridiculously accomplished and tasteful here, essentially
11:31back-ending Chopped in Half's vicious opening salvo with a satisfying epic coda.
11:43Number 10. Infecting the Crypts – Suffocation
11:52The adjective, brutal, gets tossed around often when it comes to the world of death metal. New York's
11:59suffocation, however, helped codify that term when it came to the US sound of the early 90s.
12:11Infecting the Crypts is taken from Suffo's first classic full-length Effigy of the Forgotten,
12:17having been recorded from the band's pummeling debut a year earlier. The song starts out blasting,
12:24before that lurching suffocation crawl kicks in around the one-minute mark.
12:35It's an example of death metal that's significantly more complex than the genre's first wave from the
12:42mid-to-late 80s, but not yet indicative of the tech moniker of contemporary acts.
12:53In other words, it hits that sweet spot that's nostalgic while also remaining a landmark for
13:00genre creativity. Number 9. Override of the Overture – Dismember
13:20The legacy of Sweden's death metal scene hearkens all the way back to the 1980s with outstanding demo
13:27efforts from the likes of Grave and Dismember.
13:36The latter's debut album, like an ever-flowing stream, exemplified Sweden's chainsaw guitar
13:42sound and stripped-down punk-rock-infused ethos. The melodic aspect present within Override of the
13:49Overture also speaks to the influence of Iron Maiden to the Dismember camp.
14:02Harmonized guitars would be something that would be heavily explored within the Swedish scene,
14:07although the overriding theme here on Override is still very much about aggression.
14:18That said, there's no denying this song's catchy riffing and epic anthemic atmosphere.
14:25Number 8. Blinded by Fear – At The Gates
14:36Hear that? That's the sound of America taking notes. Specifically, it was metalcore acts from the
14:42United States that decided to add breakdowns to the melodic death metal blueprint organized
14:47by At The Gates back in 1995. It's impossible to overstate just how revelatory Slaughter of the Soul
14:55was for this Swedish band. A group that emerged from their country's black and death metal scenes
15:07to take over the underground. Blinded by Fear strips down all of the overly complex riff arrangements
15:13that defined Early At The Gates material, replacing it with a more streamlined and direct approach.
15:26The end results were still fast and heavy, but now catchier and more infectious than before.
15:41Number 7. Heartwork Carcass
15:52Britain's Carcass is one of those few bands that's managed to influence multiple genres throughout its
15:58existence. The group's chaotic early years were formative to the grindcore and gore grind subgenres,
16:05thanks to songs like Corporal Jigsaw Quandary. Elsewhere, Carcass' 1993 masterpiece Heartwork
16:18would add further fuel to the fire of melodic death metal, thanks to the traditionally inspired lead
16:24work of ex-carnaged guitarist Mike Emmett. The title track of that album exposed the surgical
16:39steel of Carcass to more metalheads than ever before, even as others within the underground lamented the
16:45band's progression. Still, there was no stopping progress and Heartwork still kicks ass all these
16:58years later.
17:06Number 6. World Eater
17:08Bolt Thrower
17:18The sound of war and violence exists within the collective DNA of Britain's Bolt Thrower,
17:23resounding via every crushing riff. World Eater may feature one of the best of those riffs too.
17:37A simple yet oh-so-effective chug that's guaranteed to cause chaos. Actually, make that realm of chaos.
17:45The band's sophomore effort that saw Bolt Thrower dive into heavier realms from their anarcho-punk roots.
18:01The intro to World Eater lasts nearly half of the song's five-minute runtime,
18:06before Carl Willits' harrowing growl begins the first verse. From there, it's all blasting and
18:13strangulating solos before World Eater returns to that iconic intro section once again for the grand finale.
18:27Number 5. Chapel of Ghouls
18:30Morbid Angel
18:38Metal fans love debating which albums from the 1980s could be considered as the first death metal album. Was it
18:46Seven Churches by Possessed? Death's Scream Bloody Gore?
18:55Maybe Morbid Tales by Celtic Frost?
19:03The truth is that a lot of bands from a lot of different countries were having similar ideas
19:09around the same time, including Florida's Morbid Angel.
19:20The latter didn't predate mantas or death, of course, but their bleed for the devil demo from
19:261986 contained Chapel of Ghouls, a frenzied and chaotic slice of unholy metal.
19:39Morbid Angel would eventually cross over into the mainstream with songs like God of Emptiness,
19:44but Chapel of Ghouls proved the band's songwriting prowess even at this embryonic stage.
19:51Number 4. Dead by Dawn
19:53Deicide
19:54Can you remember the last time you were truly scared by an album? It may seem silly to some,
20:08but there was a genuine air of malevolence and evil surrounding those early efforts by Florida's
20:14deicide. This satanic death metal band sounded genuinely sincere in their desire to annihilate
20:25all in their path, and their self-titled debut was a towering statement of this intent.
20:38Dead by Dawn was inspired lyrically by Sam Raimi's classic horror film The Evil Dead,
20:44and executes this influence to near perfection. Glenn Benton's vocals sound possessed by the
20:50Necronomicon ex mortis itself, while the guitars of Eric and Brian Hoffman slice and dice the song to
20:57pieces.
21:04Number 3. Hammer Smashed Face
21:08Cannibal Corpse
21:16It's difficult to ascertain which song would wind up being the national anthem for an imaginary
21:22United States of death metal. What we do know is that Hammer Smashed Face by Cannibal Corpse
21:35would almost definitely be in the running. It's been one of the most consistently popular and
21:40enduring examples of the genre, even since it first debuted on the band's Tomb of the Mutilated LP from 1992.
21:54Virtually all the traces of Cannibal Corpse's thrash roots had been stripped away, pun intended,
21:59by this point, leaving behind a death metal sound that felt decayed and rotten to the core.
22:05Hammer Smashed Face is technical, but not unapproachable. Brutal, yet memorable. Simply said,
22:12it's a death metal classic.
22:19Number 2. Pull the plug, Death
22:28The consistent and varied discography of death means a lot of different things to a lot of different
22:34people. Chuck Schuldner's creative legacy reached melodic and progressive peaks with songs like
22:40Crystal Mountain. Although many death metal stalwarts also point to the uncompromising heaviness of Pull
22:54the Plug as an early highlight. Schuldner was a pioneer for this genre with both Death and its
22:59forebear, Mantis. And there's no denying the colossal smashing machine that is the opening riff to Pull the Plug.
23:15There's also the matter of that memorable chorus, a shout-alongable section with lyrics that proved,
23:21even at this early stage, the growth of Schuldner's vision.
23:25I know too. You're the one.
23:34Before we name our number one pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
23:39December Flower by In Flames. Featuring one of the best guitar solos ever put to tape.
23:51Spheres of Madness by Decapitated. A Groove to Kill For.
24:00Silent Empire by Vader. Poland's proudest death metal export.
24:11World Without God by Convulse. Doomy, gloomy, Finnish brilliance.
24:34Dead Heavy, Dead Evil, death metal. This was the iconic tagline utilized by Earache Records for their
24:43advertising of Left Hand Path by Entombed.
24:54It's fitting, too, since it was here where all the demos Entombed had recorded under the moniker
25:00of Nihilist came to a head. This truly was an apex of death metal's creative journey up to this point.
25:06A mountaintop, where Entombed songs such as this one and Sinner's Bleed from 1991 were
25:12changing the game.
25:20The influence of horror movies was also felt in a big way with the song's ending coda, an interpolation of
25:28the phantasm theme that may not have been expected at the time, but which now has gone down as a
25:34stroke of creative genius.
25:45What, to you, was the defining period for death metal? Sound off in the comments.
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