Technical death metal (also referred to as tech-death) is a musical subgenre of

death metal Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep growling vocals; aggressive, powerful drumming, feat ...

that began and developed in the early- to mid-1990s, with particular focus on challenging, demanding instrumental skill and complex songwriting. Technical experimentation in death metal began in the late 1980s and early 1990s by four bands that are often grouped together as "technical death metal's Big Four" –

Death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

, Pestilence,

Atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

, and Cynic – as well as

Nocturnus Nocturnus, currently Nocturnus AD, is an American death metal band formed in Tampa, Florida, in 1987 by the drummer/vocalist Mike Browning (formerly of Morbid Angel). They were known for their science-fiction themed lyrics and use of keyboards, ...

; all but Pestilence being part of the

Florida death metal Florida death metal is a regional scene and stylistic subdivision of death metal. Some of the most significantly pioneering and best-selling death metal acts emerged in Florida, especially in the Tampa Bay area. As a result, Tampa is unofficially ...

scene. Some of the distinct features of this genre include dynamic song structures, complex and atypical rhythmic structures, abundant use of diminished

chords Chord may refer to: * Chord (music), an aggregate of musical pitches sounded simultaneously ** Guitar chord a chord played on a guitar, which has a particular tuning * Chord (geometry), a line segment joining two points on a curve * Chord (as ...

and

arpeggio A broken chord is a chord broken into a sequence of notes. A broken chord may repeat some of the notes from the chord and span one or more octaves. An arpeggio () is a type of broken chord, in which the notes that compose a chord are played ...

s, frequent employment of odd time

chord progression In a musical composition, a chord progression or harmonic progression (informally chord changes, used as a plural) is a succession of chords. Chord progressions are the foundation of harmony in Western musical tradition from the common practice ...

s, and constant use of

string skipping String skipping is a guitar-playing technique that is used mainly for solos and complex riffs in rock and heavy metal songs. Explanation of technique String skipping is a method of achieving a guitar sound that is different from more traditiona ...

on the guitars.

Bass line Bassline (also known as a bass line or bass part) is the term used in many styles of music, such as blues, jazz, funk, dub and electronic, traditional, or classical music for the low-pitched instrumental part or line played (in jazz and some f ...

s are usually complex, and the drums are extremely fast-paced with abundant use of

blast beat A blast beat is a type of drum beat that originated in hardcore punk and grindcore, and is often associated with certain styles of extreme metal, namely black metal and death metal,Adam MacGregor, ''PCP Torpedo'' by Agoraphobic Nosebleed rev ...

s and other extreme drumming techniques. The technical death metal genre has also been influenced by mostly

jazz fusion Jazz fusion (also known as fusion and progressive jazz) is a music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and jazz improvisation, improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric guitars, ...

, as well as

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...

and progressive/technical-inspired heavy metal bands like Death,

Megadeth Megadeth is an American thrash metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1983 by vocalist/guitarist Dave Mustaine. Known for their technically complex guitar work and musicianship, Megadeth is one of the "big four" of American thrash metal along wit ...

Slayer Slayer was an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California. The band was formed in 1981 by guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, drummer Dave Lombardo and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. Slayer's fast and aggressive musical style ...

, Voivod,

Kreator Kreator is a German thrash metal band from Essen, formed in 1982. Their current lineup consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Miland "Mille" Petrozza, drummer Jürgen "Ventor" Reil, lead guitarist Sami Yli-Sirniö, and bassist Frédér ...

, Dark Angel,

Coroner A coroner is a government or judicial official who is empowered to conduct or order an inquest into Manner of death, the manner or cause of death, and to investigate or confirm the identity of an unknown person who has been found dead within th ...

Sadus Sadus is an American thrash metal band from Antioch, California, active from 1985 to 2015, and reunited in 2017. Originally a quartet, the band's sound fuses thrash metal with death metal, featuring highly technical musicianship. They are kno ...

, and

Watchtower A watchtower or watch tower is a type of fortification used in many parts of the world. It differs from a regular tower in that its primary use is military and from a turret in that it is usually a freestanding structure. Its main purpose is to ...

, the latter of whose second album ''

Control and Resistance ''Control and Resistance'' is the second and final album by progressive metal band Watchtower, released in 1989. This was the band's last album before disbanding in 1993 while working on its never-released third album ''Mathematics'', and their fi ...

'' (1989) is often considered to be one of the sources of inspiration for the genre. The 1990 album '' The Key'' by

has been cited as the first progressive death metal album. One of the key works that cemented the subgenre was

's debut album ''

Piece of Time ''Piece of Time'' is the debut album by American technical death metal band Atheist (band), Atheist, recorded in 1988 but not released officially until 1990. This was because the label that Atheist had initially signed with, Mean Machine Records ...

'', also released in 1990, which took death metal into a more intricate level while incorporating influences ranging from

progressive metal Progressive metal (sometimes shortened to prog metal) is a broad :Fusion music genres, fusion music genre melding heavy metal music, heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified electric guitar, guitar-driven s ...

. In 1991, New York death metal group

Suffocation Asphyxia or asphyxiation is a condition of deficient supply of oxygen to the body which arises from abnormal breathing. Asphyxia causes generalized hypoxia, which affects primarily the tissues and organs. There are many circumstances that can i ...

released their debut album ''

Effigy of the Forgotten ''Effigy of the Forgotten'' is the debut full-length album by New York City, New York-based death metal band Suffocation (band), Suffocation, released in 1991. The cover artwork was created by Dan Seagrave. Several of the tracks had appeared on e ...

'', which focused on pairing speed and brutality with a "sophisticated" sense of songwriting. Atheist's second album ''

Unquestionable Presence ''Unquestionable Presence'' is the second album by the death metal band Atheist. It was released in 1991 and added a new sound by using jazz-like harmonies, subtle Latin rhythms and unusual time signatures. Content It is considered a landmark a ...

'', Pestilence's third album ''

Testimony of the Ancients ''Testimony of the Ancients'' is the third album by the Dutch death metal band Pestilence, released in 1991 on Roadrunner Records. This was their first release with a new lineup, with Tony Choy replacing Martin van Drunen on bass, while guitari ...

'', and Death's fourth album ''

Human Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, ...

'' were all released the same year, defining the path for death metal's newly found intricateness and having proved to be especially influential on later 1990s and 2000s technical death metal bands.

Notes

{{Extreme metal Death metal Extreme metal

See also

Notes