Metal Reviews

The discussion in the classics thread had me wondering: which brand of American death metal does everyone prefer? Feel free to add more bands from each scene to the discussion: what follows is just a bare bones list.

Florida: Death, Morbid Angel, Obituary, Decide

New York: Immolation, Incantation, Suffocation

florida

you just can't match Death, Obituary, and Morbid Angel. All too awesome.

not to mention Atheist, Deicide, Hellwitch, etc...

If there's at least something Florida does right, it's Death Metal.

I have nothing against the Florida death metal scene, without Death and the bands from Florida death metal would be very different than it is today. However, I have always believed NYDM to be far more powerful than the Floridian scene. Atheist and Cynic withstanding the material of Immolation, Morpheus Descends, Internal Bleeding and the mighty Suffocation, puts Deicide, Brutality, Malevolent Creation, Cannibal Corpse, and Obituary to shame. I am willing to give way a little bit to the influence of Morbid Angel however, as without Altars of Madness I don't see how Suffocation would have invented their unique sound. It's a close call in quite a few ways especially technicality, yet that withstanding in terms of influence on modern death metal, I think it makes for an interesting discussion

Who the fuck could top Atheist and Death? This whole bashing of Death or rather just simply not recognizing how awesome they are is bullshit. I don't love every album but damn they have eight solid albums without a drop in overall quality.

Pretty much how I feel. Florida for me.

As much as I love Suffocation, I don't see how Florida doesn't win this hands-down. Morbid Angel. Death. Obituary. Deicide. Atheist. Seriously, 5-1, that's a complete and utter bollocking.

That. And Cynic.

I can't vote on this one. It's a tie for me. I like each brand of DM for different reasons.

Yeah but Focus isn't anything amazing when compared to classic Immolation or Suffocation. Anyways.

Cynic only became the best band in the world once they'd stopped playing death metal.

NY has Mortician, so obviously NY... wait, hang on, that's not right...

Are you trying to get people not to vote for NYDM? Listing Mortician is a pretty good way to convince people not to vote for Floridian dm

Mortician is pretty awful. How would listing them make people NOT vote for Florida Death Metal?

Just my little joke, yo

Who else voted for New York? I know Steve did, and he gave his opinion (thanks Steve), I hope the other person will too.

I voted for Florida, mainly for Death, Morbid Angel, and Atheist; however, I always liked the doomy brand of dm that Incantation brought. Diabolical Conquest, particularly with that 16+ min beast at the end of the album, was a very satisfying listen.

I've stated before that Florida is where I've been born and raised and the local DM is my pride. I'm glad to see that Florida has won in a landslide.

This mentality is something I can understand, and if I lived in Florida I'd probably feel the same way especially with names like Morbid Angel and Atheist.

Since we're on the subject of technicality I'd like to make a few points, though the mentions of Cynic and Atheist already make grim prospects for NYDM. For those who've heard Here in After, Dawn of Possession, Pierced from Within, and Effigy of the Forgotten the level of technicality in NYDM is equal if not superior to the other Florida Acts. Granted Owens and Rusay from earlier Cannibal Corpse are far from musical slouches, as Butchered at Birth is alive or rather dead with tempo changes in the songs. The same could be said for Deicide as the breakneck tempo on Legion isn't completely dissimilar from Piece of time, it's just comparing them to Suffocation makes Benton and the gang look pretty paltry. To make the case for Atheist and Cynic is a rather east one, though I'm more akin to the incredible feats of Piece of time and Unquestionable presence. Immolation matches the gang on a lot of levels, with the exception that the thrash base in Here in After and Dawn of Possession is gone and the riffing is meant to be somewhat a wall of sound. Atheist however, are far more resemblant to thrash though, which makes for a more difficult analysis. As Suffocation and Immolation are a bit more modern sounding, and the level of technicality is a bit different than their Floridian counterparts.

Same for me. My love for Immolation almost overshadows the fact that Florida is home to a ridiculous amount of classic death metal acts.

florida by a mile you just can't beat spiritual healing, human, dead by dawn, altars of madness , covenant , traced in air , focus and slowly we rot