Extreme Metal Lovers... Black Metal or Death Metal?

well, you know i listen to both a fair amount of both...and i do agree with you on your points against Black metal...however, for arguments sake I'll go with Black Metal (in reality, it depends on the day what i prefer)

first of all, If i want pure technical skill, death metal wins almost all the time...however, when i listen to the tech death bands like Necrophagist, Origin, Brain Drill, etc.....its almost mechanical in their sound. I can listen to BM bands and the atmosphere created in those songs gives it a personal touch to me. I guess that is the one advantage of BM, it has an atmosphere that death metal imo doesn't quite match up with. As far as your comment about heaviness, you are right, the death metal bands are heavier..with downtuned guitars and the deep gutteral growls rather than the higher screaches of BM. I know we have discussed drumming a fair bit...and you do have a point about BM drumming...especially that first wave of Norwegian bands, but i do think there is a ton of BM out there with offbeat patterns, time changes that you may like

i.e., Nagelfar http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Nj88Vjt1YQ&feature... (one of the best drumming intros i've heard)

or something more progressive like Nocte Obducta http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s733vGzxY-Q&feature...

Death Metal

Edge of Sanity - Sinner and The Sadness

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUQ9ueUbMeA

Black Metal

Dissection - NIghts Blood

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8c3L0bqUnao

and for "pure black metal"

Taake - Nattestid Ser Porten Vid Part VII (you may actually like the riff on this..reminds me of Motorbreath)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtBZfsQuJKE

anyways, to sum up, both have their pros/ cons, and both can be as varied as the other...just have to search :)

BA: can't really say with certainty, but i'd right now, Melodic Black Metal. They combine the skill of death metal with the atmosphere of black metal. Bands like Dissection, Sacramentum, Vinterland, etc...

***Music Man: great choice with Hecate Enthroned!!

I don't know that much about metal but it seems like a very good list. I'm glad to see that Never Say Die! is high up there as I think it's underrated. MQ2: 1. Volume 4 - Black Sabbath 2. Ride The Lightning - Metallica 3. Master Of Puppets - Metallica 4. Rust In Peace - Megadeth 5. Number Of The Beast - Iron Maiden 6. Sabotage - Black Sabbath 7. The Downward Spiral - Nine Inch Nails 8. Troublegum - Therapy? 9. Rage Against The Machine - Rage Against The Machine 10. Reign In Blood - Slayer MQ3: I've been meaning to make a similar list on RYM too but I can never decide on the order, it just keeps changing. Anyway, there's a lot of albums on your list that I haven't listened to yet but I love the majority of the one's that I have heard. Overall, I'd say it's a great list.

I tend to lean more towards Death metal, although I have been getting into Black metal more lately. I think I just like the deeper guttural growls better as well as the style of musicianship used in Death metal as others have said. Also the variety of subgenres.

MA: Too hard to name just one.

BA: My favorite genre fluctuates between Death, Doom, and Thrash.

@ John - You better hope nobody here finds out where you live, for by the time your body is found it would be so mangled, distorted and desecrated upon that not even the maggots will want you. If you want to redeem yourself at least have the decency to explain why extreme metal sucks and what genre you think is better. I guess that is kind of hard to do though, since extreme metal is the best genre out there and there is no reasoning you could give that would be true.

i remember i got into Death via all the 'old school' bands, Obituary, Death, Possessed, Morbid Angel etc and i was loving all that for a while. Then i thought i'd check out some Black metal... and this was before i had internet... so i just went out and randomly bought Darkthrone's 'A Blaze in the Northern Sky'... and to be honest i was totally disappointed, thought it was a load of rubbish.. "indistinct mush" as you say lol!

years later, and with access to downloads and youtube and y/a, i decided to give black metal a second chance, and i feel i hit the jackpot. i got it right this time and checked out bands like Emperor, Enslaved, Deathspell Omega, Axis of Perdition, Sigh etc... and basically discovered a new favourite genre... which went on to surpass my kinda 'lukewarm' love for DM!

Somehow, especially with the bands i've mentioned, i find more 'passion' in the music than DM... i love those old DM bands i've mentioned, but all that (drum)trigger happy, ultra tech, huffing and puffing i seem to hear everywhere nowadays doesn't interest me so much... whereas the more 'technical' BM has more 'elegance', passion or something, i'm not sure how to explain :s i know what you mean about the blastbeat overkill that is a lot of BM (...as is a lot of DM!), but i've found that if you get past that and dig a bit, you find some right gems... just check out the Emperor catalogue... awesome, uber talented showcase of sweet metal ;)

so yeah, although i do dig the Nile, Vader, Entombed, Grave's of this world... i do find myself spinning a lot more BM nowadays... i even dug out that Darkthrone album not long ago and lisened to it with kinda 'new ears' lol!, and i must admit i like it a lot more than i used to ha ha!

oh and as far as 'blackened death'... i think i need to check out more, i think it would be right up my street (when it comes to 'extreme metal' my focus tends to be on grind ;)... i think Cobalt fit under that tag no? awesome band :)

Hey, good to see you back man.

I'm more of a death metal guy, I enjoy some black metal, just overall I'd rather listen to Death than Mayhem. I think I like death metal a little more because I find that there is more of a variety, maybe I'm just not looking into black metal enough though, with death metal, there are so many sub-sub genres lol, technical death metal, melodic death, fusion death, etc. I like a lot of variety, so I lean towards DM on this one.

MA: Death

BA: Thrash Metal

Black Metal. Although I do like both. Black metal is just addictive... for lack of a better term. Some of my favorite black metal bands are Marduk, Mayhem, Burzum, Rotting Christ, Gorgoroth... Black metal is not just about the music, but a message behind the music... if you understand what I mean. I also like blackened death metal bands such as Behemoth and Belphegor that combine elements from both black and death metal.

Yeah I pretty much agree with you, I find the high pitched scream of black metal unbearable and the music is generallly lame and predictable. Admitedly I haven't really listened to much of it, I'm pretty much talking about Cradle of Filth here haha (are they black metal?), which is pretty awful I think. But death metal can be pretty bad too. The only real intense metal I listen to is Opeth, which is death, or progressive death or melodic death or something. Opeth is great. But I can't really listen to many other death metal bands. To much about the "metal" than the music, if that makes sense. Someone said something about doom metal, which can be very good if you get the right band. Pretty depressing though.

I am honestly not but a passing casual fan of either. Both genres have a lot of things I dislike. Death has a lot of grotesque violent imagery I truly don't care for. Black has way to much GRAHHHH SATAN GRAHHHH for me, plus crappy blastbeats.

MA:

Black...Blood Fire Death by Bathory

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZYa5-LWAYQ

Death....The Grand Conjuration by Opeth

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nPCtYnMzLA

BA: Classic Metal, Sabbath, Purple, Priest, Motorhead, Sir Lord Baltimore, Dust, etc. I am also huge on Power and Symphonic Metal.

Too be honest I like em both, I'm a big fan of Celtic Frost and they influenced a lot of the current black metal bands like Bohemoth, 1349, and Satyricon. As for Death Metal I prefer the technical style like Suffocation and Skinless, I'm not big on the blast beats but the way Mke Smith does it nobody beats him. :P

Celtic Frost: Ain Elohim

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwkD584OLAs

Suffocation: Effigy of The Forgotten

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OEdMFAH0dM

I Like Both.. But I love Death More than black,,

BA: I Like Most Metal Sub-Genres, But My Fav. Is Old School Thrash