One my absolute favorite subgenres ever. Some really amazing music out there here’s just a few examples:
Any recommendations always welcome, love this shit.
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Ulcerate and Deathspell Omega (more on the black metal side) are the bands I always go to for the crazy technical riffs:
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Hope it’s okay if I include technical/progressive deathcore as well, let’s see what bands I remember:
Damn that was nostalgic as fuck.
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Some of my favorite recent ish releases :
Great neoclassical /hyper melodic tech
Peak tech brutal death
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Nocturnus - The Key
One of the very best death metal albums of all time. The songs are so incredibly well-written and innovative, but without completely leaving everything that old school death metal already was behind, and it’s obvious they put a lot of thought into making it.
Nocturnus AD - Paradox
Mike Browning played in Nocturnus for 5 years, and then left and formed After Death (which is incredible). Then he changed name to Nocturnus AD and released this insanely good album. It’s the natural follow-up to The Key. Brilliant album.
Timeghoul - 1992-1994 Discography
These guys never released an actual album, but stopped after two demos. Those demos are however two of the best death metal releases ever. Innovative, different and very unique.
Cryptic Shift - Visitations from Enceladus
Progressive death/thrash with clear inspiration from Nocturnus, Vektor, Voivod, Timeghoul, Atheist etc. They’ve managed to craft a very unique album. Superb stuff.
Hellwitch - Syzygial Miscreancy
Technical death/thrash from the early 90’s. Imagine Sadus and Atheist having a baby.
Chemical Breath - Fatal Exposure
More technical death/thrash, this time more in the vein of Death and Pestilence I guess.
Death - Human
Probably the most obvious one. Just a superb band all around, and this is by far the best out of their progressive albums.
Pestilence - Testimony of the Ancients
Up there with the best progressive death metal albums of all time. Truly fantastic!
Atheist - Piece of Time
This was Atheist’s most straight-forward album, but still a progressive one, and easily my favorite of theirs. The entire sound of the album is just insane. Wild stuff!
Blood Incantation - Starspawn
Progressive death metal very clearly inspired by Timeghoul.
Edge of Sanity - Crimson
Edge of Sanity’s true masterpiece if Crimson, a 40 minute long progressive death metal song.
Opeth - My Arms, Your Hearse
Opeth is one of those bands it seems like it’s trendy to hate, and that’s well and fair. But early Opeth were incredible, especially their first four albums. Melancholic and very nice.
Pan.Thy.Monium - Dawn of Dreams
This is Dan Swano (Edge of Sanity, Bloodbath etc) at his weirest. Progressive/avant-garde death metal. This album is straight-forward compared to what would come later, but still pretty weird for its time.
Carbonized - For the Security
This has to be one of the earliest progressive death metal bands, and it’s truly amazing. Very inspired by Voivod I’d say.
Akercocke - Words That Go Unspoken, Deeds That Go Undone
You won’t find many bands out there sounding like this. Earlier stuff leans more towards a blacker sound, but this is pretty much a progressive death metal album. Love the gothic undertones of it.
Lykathea Aflame - Elvenefris
Progressive and technical death metal. Sounds a lot like Nile, just less brutal and more melodic and with a bit more finesse.
Cryptopsy - Blasphemy Made Flesh
Cryptopsy is one of few brutal death metal acts I bother with, and the technical aspect of their music is why. Never wanky or tiresome, just very well put together.
Some of my favorites.
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Love seeing Lykathea Aflame still being mentioned. They dropped one album and just disappeared.
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Yeah. It was a bit weird. They changed their name in 02-03 or something and were working on new material for a planned release a few years later, but they could not find a fitting vocalist as far as I know. Then they announced something similar in 2010, but nothing since then as far as I know. It’s a shame really.
And a few I forgot earlier:
Morbus Chron - Sweven
It took me years to get into this album, but when I did it really got to me. This is a truly original, unique and fantastic depth with incredible songwriting and depth.
Sweven - The Eternal Resonance
When Morbus Chron disbanded in 2015, guitarist and vocalist Robert Andersson decided to build further on the sound from Sweven, and continued under a band named after Morbus Chron’s last release. This dive even deeper into the progressive side of Murbus Chron’s Sweven, and also dig deep into the psychedelic side of music (rock). Top notch!
Tribulation - The Formulas of Death
Tribulation started as a very traditional death metal, but with their second album The Formulas of Death they really changed the sound a lot diving into progressive music. And it sounds (and looks) like they were really influenced by Goblin on this album. The next album, The Children of the Night, is just as good as this, but it takes many steps away from the death metal roots, moving in a more melancholic release inspired more by gothic rock, black metal and heavy metal. Still death metal to be found on it, but it’s hard to call it a death metal album.
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I hadn’t heard this yet but I’m really diggin Inferi’s new album from last year.
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Realized I forgot this band and felt the need to mention them:
And here’s a couple more I remembered:
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Pretty epic Japanese Technical Brutal Death Metal. Absolutely sick!
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I just remembered to catch up on Cenotaph’s last album and holy cow… I absolutely recommend it to those looking for some absolutely crushing, relentless, technically proficient death metal. Especially on their last few albums they finally managed to match the production value to their skills.
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Really, really epic new band!
Very brutal.
Can’t believe it new Jfac.
