Your way in
Melodic death metal 1993
Iron Maiden-style guitar harmonies over screamed vocals. The Gothenburg scene later became the foundation of American metalcore.
- Heaviness
- 8
- Speed
- 8
- Melody
- 9
- Where from
- Gothenburg, Sweden
- Tempo
- 150-220 bpm
- Song length
- 3.5-5.5 min
- Written about
- Alienation, Winter and landscape, Myth, Mortality
- Vocals
- Growled or shrieked
Why this one
| You said | Melodic death metal | Match | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| A growl or a shriek When someone is singing, what should come out? | harsh | 100% | ×3 |
| As heavy as it gets How much weight do you want behind it? | 8 out of 10 | 80% | ×2 |
| A steady walk What pace? | 8 out of 10 | 70% | ×2 |
| The beginnings Does it matter when it was made? | 1993 | 4% | ×1 |
| Somewhere else entirely What should the words be about? | Alienation, Winter and landscape, Myth, Mortality | 100% | ×1 |
| Yes. A proper melody. Do you want a tune you could hum afterwards? | 9 out of 10 | 90% | ×1 |
| Weighted mean | 79% | ||
Ranked over all 150 genres in the encyclopedia, on the 6 answers you gave, weighted vocals 3, heaviness 2, pace 2, era 1, about 1, melody 1 out of 10. Melodic death metal leads the next by 4 points. Where two genres score the same the broader one wins, because a genre with subgenres under it is somewhere to carry on from and a leaf is a full stop.
Five records, in this order
- 1Start one step outside
Entombed, Left Hand Path 1990
Entombed - Left Hand Path. The first twenty seconds explain the entire Swedish sound.
- 2The one to put on first
At the Gates, Slaughter of the Soul 1995
At the Gates - Slaughter of the Soul. Thirty-four minutes that shaped two decades.
- 3Then
- 4Then
- 5Then
The first is the entry point for Death metal, one step outside, so the second record has something to be heard against. After it come Melodic death metal's essential records in the order the encyclopedia lists them. Every one of these has a page here with links out to somewhere it can be played.
If that is not it
-
Pagan / Viking black metal 76%
Black metal with Norse mythology and folk melodies. Bathory's later albums are the starting point.
4 steps from Melodic death metal, meeting it only at Heavy metal.
The way into Pagan / Viking black metal -
Celtic metal 74%
Irish melodies and traditional instruments over black or heavy metal.
4 steps from Melodic death metal, meeting it only at Heavy metal.
The way into Celtic metal
Not simply the second and third of the ranking: those are almost always near neighbours of the first, which is three names for one suggestion. An alternate has to sit at least 4 steps through the tree from the headline and from the other alternate, which is the same floor the "sounds like this, but isn't" panel uses.
What your answers ruled out
- A growl or a shriek put 78 genres at the bottom of that one question, among them Alternative rock, Blues rock, Doom metal. Worth 3 of 10.
- As heavy as it gets put 13 genres at the bottom of that one question, among them Rock and roll, Folk rock, Country rock. Worth 2 of 10.
- The beginnings put 67 genres at the bottom of that one question, among them Folk metal, Metalcore, Nu metal. Worth 1 of 10.
- Somewhere else entirely put 106 genres at the bottom of that one question, among them Punk rock, Hardcore punk, Alternative rock. Worth 1 of 10.
- Yes. A proper melody. put 12 genres at the bottom of that one question, among them Grindcore, Brutal death metal, Cybergrind. Worth 1 of 10.
Counted as genres scoring 20% or less on that answer alone. A recommendation that only shows what it chose is hiding half of what it did.