Masterpieces of death metal. Recommended popular songs.

Wire Rope StrangleVomit Remnants

Vomit Remnants – Wire Rope Strangle (Official Song) [Album Premiere]

A legendary brutal death metal band that Japan proudly presents to the world! Formed way back in 1997, they released a full-length album in 1999 but disbanded in 2001.

Although they were sporadically active afterward, they fully rebooted in 2015, and in 2017 they dropped their first new album in about 18 years, Hyper Groove Brutality.

The track featured here is a ferocious number from that album.

True to the album’s title, it showcases overwhelming brutality, a crushingly heavy groove, and low-end guttural vocals.

While incorporating modern elements like metalcore and deathcore, the song exudes the commanding presence of a reigning champion.

Even if you’ve only been into overseas death metal bands, be sure to check them out!

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AkroasisOBSCURA

OBSCURA – “Akroasis” (Official Music Video)

Among technical death metal bands from Germany that debuted in the 2000s and beyond, Obscura stands out with exceptional name recognition and popularity.

Centered around Steffen Kummerer—vocalist and guitarist, and the band’s only original member—every lineup has featured musicians with outstanding technical prowess.

Their past releases are all of consistently high quality, and this time I’d like to introduce the title track from their fourth album, Akróasis, released in 2016.

Rooted in progressive death metal yet rich with melodic phrases, the song’s sinuous fretless bass lines create a distinctive groove, yielding a masterpiece that delivers Obscura’s unique “beauty of brutality,” shaped by influences from jazz, fusion, and progressive rock.

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District Of MiseryOceano

Oceano – District Of Misery (Official Video)

Deathcore is a new musical genre that fuses so-called post-2000 metalcore with traditional death metal, presenting a heavy sound with ferocious breakdowns and extreme elements like dissonance and noise.

Within the deathcore scene—which quickly became a mainstream force in the extreme metal world—Oceano from Illinois, USA, is one of the most highly regarded bands.

Centered around the unimaginably intense death growls of their massive Black vocalist, Adam Warren, their ominous, heavy sound unfolds with dynamic contrast, offering a different appeal from speed-oriented, classic death metal.

District Of Misery, included on their debut album Depths, is a standout track that clearly captures the fresh potential of their early days.

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Omnipresent PerceptionBEYOND CREATION

BEYOND CREATION – Omnipresent Perception (OFFICIAL) Video

They are a progressive/technical death metal band from Quebec, Canada, armed with staggering technique.

Beyond their insanely proficient musicianship, you can feel the band’s high potential in their song structures, which unfold with complexity as they experiment with various approaches while weaving in modern grooves.

This track from their self-released debut album, Omnipresent Perception, is a stunner that hurls dazzling technical exchanges, ferocious brutality, and an assertive fretless bass right at you.

The quality is incredible—hard to believe it’s self-produced—and it still sounds amazing today.

If you’re into bands like Obscura, this is a must-check act!

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AbandonFALLUJAH

FALLUJAH – Abandon (OFFICIAL VIDEO)

Formed in 2007 by high school classmates, Fallujah is particularly highly regarded among bands with progressive elements that showcase technical death metal and complex song structures from the 2010s onward.

Honing their innate performance skills, they incorporated atmospheric elements that emphasize spatial sound over superficial heaviness, elevating their style into an experimental and innovative form of technical progressive death.

This approach earned them acclaim among discerning music fans in Japan as well.

Their third album, Dreamless, released in 2016, is a masterpiece whose quality can be said to represent a pinnacle of their unique sonic world.

In addition to the brutality rooted in death metal, the track Abandon—employing ambient developments and female vocals—creates a mysterious beauty.

Give it a listen and experience their distinctive worldview.

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DeathexplosionThe Crown

The Crown – Deathexplosion

Among the subgenres derived from death metal, there’s one called “deathrash,” which fuses elements of thrash metal and death metal.

Think of it as a sound where thrashy riffs and a breakneck drive are infused with the savagery inherited from death metal.

Anyway, let me introduce The Crown, one of the most famous bands in the deathrash scene with many fans.

Hailing from Sweden, they have a long career that began with their debut album in 1995; they once disbanded but later reunited, and they’re still active heavyweights in the 2020s.

“Deathexplosion,” a track from their classic 2000 release Deathrace King, is an absolutely killer song that packs their explosive deathrash sound into one track.

The rock ’n’ roll flavor and the melodic guitar solo are tastefully done, too!

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My ApocalypseArch Enemy

ARCH ENEMY – My Apocalypse (OFFICIAL VIDEO)

In their early days, Arch Enemy was a typical death metal band, but when I heard they were bringing in a female vocalist for their fourth album, I wondered if they were going to turn into an ordinary hard rock band.

However, once the lid was lifted, Angela’s death growls were on par with, if not tougher than, any man’s.