Top 10 Best Death Metal Bands

My number one favorite death metal band, which has brought so much to the genre.

They basically invented death metal and were the band that first got me into it.

Chuck is pretty much my biggest idol ever. I almost cried when I learned of his death. Just think about the possibilities had he still been alive. I bet Control Denied would've been only one of many epic side projects and experiments.

Also, I consider his voice to be in a whole category by itself. To be honest, I'm having a hard time enjoying growls. Chuck's delivery is more of a scream, and it's hard to appreciate generic Death Metal vocals after hearing Chuck's insane vocal sound. You know what? I bet that throat bled, which almost makes it all the more impressive and beautiful, poetic even. That's true "art."

This is the band that introduced me to death metal, even though I wasn't interested at the time.

Their lyrics are often criticized for being too brutal, but that's what makes them so good.

Even if you don't like their music, you've got to understand that their hatedom is awful.

"We don't sing about politics. We don't sing about religion. All our songs are short stories that, if anyone would so choose, they could convert into a horror movie. Really, that's all it is. We like gruesome, scary movies, and we want the lyrics to be like that. Yeah, it's about killing people, but it's not promoting it at all. Basically, these are fictional stories, and that's it. And anyone who gets upset about it is ridiculous." - George Fisher, lead vocalist

It doesn't matter that Death or Possessed would be considered the first-ever death metal band. Their rank should not be bumped up due to that. What matters is how good the band is, and Morbid Angel wins for me.

Morbid Angel should be at least #2. They have made this genre. Actually, Death was the first true death metal band, but MA's contribution cannot be ignored.

Morbid Angel is so much better than Children Of Bodom. They're not bad, but Morbid, along with Death, brought Death Metal to its highest level, not Cannibal Corpse.

Although an undeniably great band, they're not death metal in the purest form, especially if you take into consideration their 21st-century album releases. Overall, they were an extreme prog metal band akin to Edge of Sanity.

If you only judge their first three records, then they fit into the Death/Black Metal category.

Orchid: Prog Metal/Melo Black/Dark Folk
Morningrise: Prog Death/Prog Rock/Dark Folk
My Arms, Your Hearse: Prog Black/Prog Rock - It's probably their darkest, atmospheric, and second least accessible album after Orchid
Still Life: Prog Metal. Deliverance: Prog Death

Prog metal is common in every one of their albums.

This was the extreme metal band that really spoke to me. Alongside Kreator and Godflesh, they made up my personal big three in 1990. I can still listen to all three bands now.

I won't argue if Carcass is the best death metal band, since I don't like most death metal. They are one of the greatest metal bands, period.

One of the most versatile Death metal bands. Jeff Walker's vocals are truly among the best in the business, and Bill Steer can pull off some amazing riffs and solos. Everybody in this band is a great musician, and they really put their skills to good use. Carcass can be brutal, melodic, and very technical at the same time.

This band was on the forefront of both grindcore and melodic death metal - and that is truly an accomplishment. Also, they are not dumb jackasses like some others and are actually cool people.

Genre classics (chronologically):
- Vomited Anal Tract
- Exhume to Consume
- Embryonic Necropsy and Devourment
- Corporal Jigsore Quandary
- Incarnated Solvent Abuse
- Buried Dreams
- Heartwork
- Tomorrow Belongs To Nobody
- Cadaver Pouch Conveyor System

All of their albums are very distinct and different from each other, yet it's easy to tell it's still Carcass. Classic Carcass.

I am not a death metal fan, yet I ironically find myself enjoying this band quite recently. I like their balance between aggression and melody, and their vocalist's growls are actually quite natural for the band's content, which is a pretty good thing. That, and the fact that this band is accessible enough, is a bonus point too.

They're overall a kickass band I could go back to.

Any band that can create beautiful, sweeping melodies followed by powerful grinding riffs like Amon Amarth deserves to be in the top five. The atmosphere created by the tales of Norse gods and Viking warriors is unparalleled. Easily my favorite band!

Karl Sanders and Dallas Toler-Wade form one of the best guitar duos of all music genres. Combined with Kollias' inconceivable drumming technique and speed, as well as their interest and unquestionable knowledge in Egyptian lore and mythology, Nile is one of the greatest metal bands of all time and quite frankly the best death metal act. Their live performances and their studio recordings are some of the best I've ever seen in terms of quality, musically as well as overall performances.

One of my top three favorite death metal bands, along with Death and Cannibal Corpse. They deserve to be in the top five for never really straying from that early '90s death metal sound.

There are very few death metal bands whose sound a non-death metal fanatic could distinguish from the herd within seconds. Obituary is one of them.

They may be a one-trick pony, but it's a darn good trick.

Also, they sound better live than they do on their records, which is really saying something in this age of live mediocrity.

Finally, unlike most death metal bands, Obituary makes music that is hooky, catchy, approachable, and focuses on solid grooves instead of speed and technicality for the sake of speed and technicality.

I absolutely love this band. I first fell in love with them when I came across some Clone Hero charts for Hatecrew Deathroll, and I loved the whole album after giving it a listen. I then moved on to Follow The Reaper and Hatebreeder. Every album is a gem but in a different way. None of them are quite like one another, although there is a similar sound between FTR and HB.

I also love the first album. I would say that their first four are definitely my tops. Overall, great sound and I loved every bit of what they produced in the 23 years of running. RIP Alexi, and rock on to all of you. Have a great day.

Deicide holds the record for having the second and third best-selling death metal albums. Deicide, along with bands like Death and Morbid Angel, is very definitive in terms of their genre. Glen Benton is really a death metal legend and has the most brutal and fast vocals in death metal. I don't get how these overrated melodic bands like In Flames, Children of Bodom, and Amon Amarth are above the legendary Deicide and Morbid Angel.

In my opinion, Deicide made one of the best death metal sounds. Unlike Nile or Cannibal Corpse, even if their songs are brutal as hell, they don't get boring due to the excessive amount of machine-gun blast beats. They have a unique sound of their own and have been around for a very long while. Also, their lyrical content is amazing. I can't believe someone actually voted Children of Bodom higher than them, Carcass, or Behemoth. We're surrounded by scene boys?

Even though Behemoth is not originally a death metal band, they have a great atmosphere in their music and also have death metal influence in their songs. Also, their lyrics are very dark and morbid, powerful, and strong.

Behemoth is one of the best bands I've ever heard. I admit I put Amon Amarth above them, but these guys don't mess around. 50% history, 50% Satan, 100% brutal. I saw them once, and it was equivalent to warfare. I rate this band 10/10.

Why so low? The lyrics, combined with the attention to detail of the riffs, overall atmosphere - come on! Behemoth is just so much better than Children of Bodom. Behemoth is black metal, not death metal, but whatever.

My mom managed these totally deranged kids back in the '80s, and they were definitely pioneers of Death Metal. They're still around, but Jeff, the singer, is the only original member. Mike Torrao was Possessed, and if it wasn't for him, there would be no music and no Possessed.

Seven Churches was released two years after Scream Bloody Gore. They coined the term death metal. It should be #2, in my opinion.

They either need to be #1 or tied with Death for #1. They coined the phrase "death metal" with the song of the same name.

Out of all the death metal bands I'm hearing these days, Gojira gives me that brutal death feeling. Gojira is fresh, super heavy, and the best for me!

Proves that French people can still be awesome... Gojira has awesome music with a lot of subtleties that are lost in most death metal. Listen to the songs Esoteric Surgery, Flying Whales, or Wolf Down the Earth.

Gojira is thriving in the metal industry today. Have you listened to the L'Enfant Sauvage album? Stuff like that gives hope for the future of metal in this pop-corrupted industry.

I mean, come on. The music by Cattle Decapitation is utterly amazing. They blend the intensity of grindcore and the brutality of death metal, then add in melody (as of late)! One thing that keeps people away from this band is their lyrics, but those people are utterly mistaken. If everyone thought like them, The Anthropocene Extinction wouldn't be a reality.

And of course, there is Travis Ryan, delivering his controlled burps and nasty gutturals into the mic, along with nasty shrieks and melodic screams. Their guitars and bass deliver an awesome sonic attack of technicality and brutality, and their drummer blast beats his way to stardom. Long live the kings of metal!

How is Necrophagist so low? This band's intricate riffs and beats are technically (pun intended) the best I have ever heard. The vocals are nice, the instrumentals are amazing, and no band has ever done or been able to do what they did. We do need that new album, though...

Necrophagist is amazing! I wish they would release new material a little faster, but you can't rush perfection!

My latest discovery, Necrophagist, is one of the coolest tech-death bands I've heard. Easily one of my new favorites.

Why are Entombed not in the top 5? They practically invented Swedish death metal, first as Nihilist, then as Entombed. There is something so unique, raw, and brutal about their style of death metal. Listen to Left Hand Path and Clandestine... you'll see why.

17?! Seriously?! These guys literally INVENTED the iconic Swedish Death Metal sound. They at least need to be in the top 5, or in the very least, top 10.

"Left Hand Path" is to Death Metal what The Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" is to pop music. This iconic band should definitely be top 5.

I've listened to death metal for years, and believe me, this band is a monster. I have never heard such brutality and witnessed such talent. In my opinion, they dominate this genre. Mikael mutilated, Peter devoured, and Nick grinded. They are the perfect death metal band - not growling unrecognizably like brutal death metal bands, and not growling too weakly. This is and always will be my favorite band.

Death metal supergroup! What's not to like? These guys can duplicate any school of the genre. They manage to bring out the best parts of all the classic scenes, whether it's Florida or Sweden. Their latest (last?) album, "Fathomless Mastery," is possibly the greatest death metal album to date.

This band had an incredibly unique sound and approach to death metal, both musically and lyrically, yet they don't have a lot of influence, which is quite sad. They are also one of the few bands that never released a bad album.

My two favorites from this band are Realm of Chaos and Those Once Loyal.

I think that Bolt Thrower produces some of the best death metal, and all of their albums are very consistent.

Have you heard Killchain? What a riff. Bolt Thrower should be in the top ten just for the album Those Once Loyal. Awesome stuff.

Lyrically, they aren't death metal at all. Death metal has themes about murder, dead bodies, necrophilia, and just about anything morbid. But vocally, during the Max Cavalera era, they sounded like death metal.

I'm not so sure about now, though, because I've personally never listened to it. I love the Cavalera era too much.

Sepultura practically created death metal. Max Cavalera has one of the best death growls there is and is a pioneer of the vocal style. Beneath the Remains and Arise are two of the greatest death metal albums ever.

This band has easily been my favorite band I have ever seen live, as well as one of the most insane bands I've heard musically. They're up there with bands like Anaal Nathrakh, Dragged Into Sunlight, and Strapping Young Lad in terms of chaos and sheer ferocity.

The Loathe riff might especially be one of their most insane. Really, Whisper Supremacy (while not as good as None So Vile) is absolutely nuts and might be their most chaotic album instrumentally. That, or Once Was Not. That album is wild, but it doesn't exactly grab me.

All in all, definitely top 10 - top 5 material.

23? Easily top 10 worthy. They're probably the only old-school death metal band that is still making quality music today. Severed Survival and Mental Funeral are two of the greatest death metal albums of all time, and they're still pumping out classics with Macabre Eternal, The Headless Ritual, and Tourniquets, Hacksaws and Graves.

Easily top 10 material. Enjoy the riffs and vocals very much.

Why are these guys so low? They literally made one of the heaviest albums of 1988! Severed Survival, which is an absolute banger of an album!

Atheist is cool, but they are barely death metal. In my eyes, they are more of a thrash metal band with some death metal elements thrown in.

One of the most technical bands ever. Unquestionable Presence is easily one of the best death metal albums of all time.

These guys deserve the top 20 at least. I can't believe they're ranked so low here.

I would vote Opeth for this rank for sure, but after seeing Vader so low on the list - it's a shame that such a band is not in the top 5, or at least the top 10. They are probably the only group in existence with the ability to make a Slayer song sound even more brutal.

Most of their songs are masterpieces of brutality and perfection.

Vader should be on every "top x death metal bands" list. Piotr's vocals are so unique. If you think you have heard a fast song, listen to "Decapitated Saints" off the "Morbid Reich" album.

I'm ashamed that as of the moment I'm typing this, they are in the thirties. This band should be no lower than 9.

So it is written.

Meshuggah should be number one on this list because they take jazz music and put it in their own deathly way, which sounds really good!

They're legends. I can't believe they're so low on this list.

Can't believe they're not on here already.