Death Metal
Death Metal at large is one of the major “mainstream” modes of Extreme Metal. It’s typically characterized by low-tuned, heavily distorted guitars, aggressive, thumping drumming (featuring double-kicks and blast-beats), deep growling vocals, abrupt and complex changes in tempo and time signature … As a genre, it is very broad, encompassing a great deal of diversity. Indeed, it has spawned several subgenres since its inception in the mid- to late-1980s, all with their own specific iconography.
Florida Death Metal
When it comes to Death Metal, the Florida Death Metal scene deserves some special attention. Here the bands that emerged in the late-1980s were not so much inspired by the Hardcore movement but rather built on the musical formula established by early-1980s Thrash Metal and the first wave of Black Metal bands. These Florida bands were also lyrically more inspired, expressly refined, dealing with more abstract concepts such as religion, enlightenment, and ecology.
In terms of logo design, it’s hard to pinpoint specific characteristics. Perhaps significantly, perhaps coincidentally, I’d say, on the whole, these logos tend to have a “tattoo-like,” “hellfirish” quality to them (think here of tribal flames with their scythe-like edges or 1950s-style hotrod flames).
Some Florida Death Metal bands to check out:
- Atheist
- Deicide
- Morbid Angel
Some Death Metal and adjacent (sub)genres to check out:
Reference(s):
[1] M. Phillipov. Ch. 6: The Pleasures of Horror. Death Metal and Music Criticism: Analysis at the Limits, p. 100, 2012. Here, the author cites N.J. Purcell. Death Metal Music: The Passion and Politics of a Subculture, pp. 172 and 185, 2003; M. Dickstein. The Aesthetics of Fright. In B.K. Grant, ed. Plans of Reason: Essays on the Horror Film, 1984; and K.F.B. Fletcher and O. Umurhan, ed. Introduction: Where Metal and Classics Meet. Classical Antiquity in Heavy Metal, (2020).
Take me back to the sample overview.