Melodic death metal (also referred to as melodeath) is a subgenre of death metal that employs highly melodic guitar riffs, often borrowing from traditional heavy metal (including New Wave of British Heavy Metal). The genre features the heaviness of death metal but with highly melodic or harmonized guitar riffs and solos, and often features high-pitched shrieked vocals (differing from traditional death metal) alongside the low-pitched growls commonly featured in traditional death metal. Pioneered by the English heavy metal band Carcass with their 1993 album Heartwork, melodic death metal developed further in Sweden (developed by bands like At the Gates, Dark Tranquillity, and In Flames) in the mid-1990s. The Swedish death metal scene did much to popularise the style, soon centering in the "Gothenburg metal" scene. At the Gates' Slaughter of the Soul, Dark Tranquillity's The Gallery, and In Flames' The Jester Race, all released in the mid-1990s, were highly influential albums in melodic death metal, with At the Gates and In Flames being the two most common influences on North American 2000s heavy metal bands. Many American heavy metal bands emulated At the Gates' sound, resulting in the usage of the phrase "At the Gates worship".
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, many melodic death metal bands emerged, including Children of Bodom, Arch Enemy, Amon Amarth, The Black Dahlia Murder, Insomnium, and Soilwork. In the 2000s decade, melodic death metal achieved popularity among heavy metal fans, starting with the release of In Flames' 2002 album Reroute to Remain, which showed a change to a more eclectic sound while retaining the band's melodic death metal sound. Many other melodic death metal bands quickly had chart success.
In the mid-2000s, melodic metalcore, a subgenre of metalcore that combines the genre with melodic death metal, achieved popularity with the chart success and sales success of bands like Killswitch Engage, All That Remains, and As I Lay Dying. Deathcore bands during this time period like Bring Me the Horizon and Through the Eyes of the Dead also were influenced by melodic death metal and achieved popularity.
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Melodicdeathmetal (also referred to as melodeath) is a subgenre of deathmetal that employs highly melodic guitar riffs, often borrowing from traditional...
blackened deathmetal territory with their sophomore album "Flesh Coffin". Melodic black-death (also known as blackened melodicdeathmetal or melodic blackened...
list of melodicdeathmetal bands. Melodicdeathmetal is a heavy metal music style that combines elements from the new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM)...
Swedish deathmetal is a deathmetal music scene developed in Sweden. Many Swedish deathmetal bands are associated with the melodicdeathmetal movement...
sign deathmetal bands at a rapid rate. Since then, deathmetal has diversified, spawning several subgenres. Melodicdeathmetal combines deathmetal elements...
Melodic metalcore is a fusion genre, incorporating elements of melodicdeathmetal and metalcore; it has a heavy emphasis on melodic instrumentation, distorted...
alternative metal and its subgenres are heavily downtuned, mid-paced "chug"-like guitar riffs. Alternative metal bands are also often characterized by melodic vocals...
there it gets really diverse, crossing the spectrum from melodicdeathmetal to progressive metal and everything in between." Sharpe-Young described bands...
list of bands described as playing melodic metalcore, a genre of music combining metalcore with melodicdeathmetal. 36 Crazyfists 7 Angels 7 Plagues A...
harder sound similar to speed metal; a later, more widespread and popular style based in Europe with a lighter, more melodic sound and frequent use of keyboards...
of thrash metal, incorporating elements of melodicdeathmetal. Thrash metal is directly responsible for the development of underground metal genres, such...
Arch Enemy is a Swedish melodicdeathmetal band, originally a supergroup from Halmstad, formed in 1995. Its members were in bands such as Carcass, Armageddon...
Technical deathmetal (also referred to as tech-death) is a musical subgenre of deathmetal with particular focus on challenging, demanding instrumental...
gothic/symphonic elements to melodicdeathmetal. Haggard's 2000 album, Awaking the Centuries, has been described as deathmetal–styled symphonic metal. Make Them Suffer...
1980s and early 1990s, Swedish death metal became notable and melodic forms of deathmetal were created. Deathmetal utilizes the speed and aggression of...
is a Swedish deathmetal band from Gothenburg, formed in 1990. The band was a major progenitor of Gothenburg-style melodicdeathmetal alongside In Flames...
Cypecore is a German melodicdeathmetal band from Mannheim. They were formed in 2007 and have released four independent studio albums. All of these were...
in 2007 mixing different styles of metal music genres including melodicdeathmetal, symphonic metal and power metal. The doujin project was formed in...
Amon Amarth (/əˈmɒn əˈmɑːrθ/) is a Swedish melodicdeathmetal band from Tumba, formed in 1992. The band takes its name from the Sindarin name of Mount...