Top Ten Death Metal Subgenres

This list includes all the metal genres derived from death metal, even if they are fusion genres.
The Top Ten
1 Melodic Death Metal

This is the most accessible Death Metal subgenre and may open the door to other Death Metal subgenres. Amon Amarth was the band that made me a death metal fan because they helped me overcome the barrier of the death growls.
Children of Bodom are great. Also Arch Enemy, Insomnium, and more.

First melodic death metal songs I liked were In Flames songs but the band that made me fan of melodic death metal was Amon Amarth. Then I came interested in other great bands as Arch Enemy and Scar Symmetry.

Best of death metal hands down.

2 Technical Death Metal

Technical death metal is absolutely amazing. It makes an already amazing genre so much better. With bands like Death, Fleshgod Apocalypse, Beyond Creation, Necrophagist, Archespire, Nile, Suffocation, Dying Fetus, Spawn of Possession, Decapitated, Origin, and Obscura, technical death metal is by far the best death metal subgenre.

Currently it's the #1 metal subgenre for me - some of my fave metal bands are namely from this subgenre: Nile, Obscura, Cryptopsy, Brain Drill, Gorguts, Necrophagist, Beyond Creation, and more.
If you wanna hear some exceptional musicianship (insane drumming, a lot of sweep picking, fretless bass playing, etc), this is the right subgenre to check out. But I have to admit it's one of the heaviest and most complex Death Metal subgenres so it isn't easily accessible.

Insane subgenre! Hour of Penance and Origin are the first two that come to mind.

This is the classic mixing of Death Metal, Progressive Rock & Jazz.

3 Old School Death Metal

Although I prefer technical death metal, I'm voting for this because it deserves to #2. Also OSTDM is absolutely amazing.

This and death doom deserve to be higher!

4 Progressive Death Metal
5 Brutal Death Metal

Reason why death metal is still alive.

6 Blackened Death Metal
7 Death/Doom
8 Deathcore

Technically not metal (more of a hardcore punk subgenre), but I think it has some contribution. There are a couple of songs that I do enjoy.

I voted for deathcore. Now I'm just gonna wait for all the elitists to start rolling in, giving my comment a thumbs down because I'm so "emo and ruined metal."

Some deathcore is not bad. My favorite deathcore band is Make Me A Donut. They do a good job without all the gore.

9 Symphonic Death Metal

This one is not a specific subgenre of Death Metal, but bands like Nightfall, Septic Flesh etc. Created this genre by mixing symphony materials into Death Metal.

This is not a particular genre, but some bands like Nightfall, Septic Flesh etc. Combined symphonic elements with Death Metal and this subgenre was created.

10 Brutal Technical Death Metal

Nile and Suffocation would fall under this category (Brutal-Tech), Atheist and Gorguts are Fusion-Tech while Cynic and Death are Prog-Tech.

Brutal vocals, sweep picking and blast beats galore.

The Contenders
11 Deathgrind

Obviously the best subgenre. Brutal Death metal comes close, but the heaviness and brutality of death metal combined with the intensity of grindcore is utterly amazing.

Heaviest music genre ever.

12 Slam Death Metal
13 Death 'n' Roll
14 Death/Thrash

The quick intensity of thrash combined with the brutality and darkness of death metal

15 Christian Death Metal

Immortal Souls and Becoming the Archetype are worth checking out.

Not a music genre - just group of Death Metal bands who use Christian lyrics

16 Industrial Death Metal
17 Avant-Garde Metal
18 Grindcore

The perfect synthesis of Hardcore Punk and death metal.

19 Blackened Melodic Death Metal

Dark, brutal, melodic and powerful.

Bands include Naglfar and Dissection.
Dark, brutal and melodic!

20 Pornogrind

This isn't a music subgenre - it's goregrind/grindcore with specific lyrics. Not even sure these bands are metal.

21 Goregrind
22 Thrash Metal Thrash Metal is a Heavy Metal subgenre developed during the early 1980s and an early precursor of Extreme Metal. Thrash Metal features a faster and more aggressive guitar work than Traditional Metal with shredding and double-bass drums and can range from melodic singing to loud shouts. The English band, Venom is credited for laying the groundwork for Thrash Metal with their debut album "Welcome to Hell" in 1981. However, the subgenre would peak its influences in the United States with Metallica, Slayer, Anthrax and Megadeth, whose influence would categorize them as the "Big Four" of Thrash.

Best subgenre in my humble opinion. Vader rules!

23 Funeral Doom
24 Dissonant Death Metal
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