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Melodic death metal, occasionally called "Melodeath", is a notable subgenre of Death Metal that is characterised by Iron Maiden-styled guitar melodies and a generally higher-pitched growl, though low-pitched ones are occasionally used.
Depending on your perspective, melodeath was created by the British band Carcass; however, it's unclear whether they were truly the first. Whatever your stance, everyone can agree that the style was popularised by three bands from Gothenburg, Sweden: In Flames, At the Gates, and Dark Tranquillity. The success of these three bands resulted in a number of mainly Scandinavian bands that took on the style.
Melodeath is seen as a less underground style than standard Death Metal; its lyrics generally do not focus on gore, although there are exceptions. Melodeath was also a huge influence on many Metalcore bands. When fused together, they become Melodic Metalcore
Bands classified as melodic death metal include:
- The Absence
- The Agonist (A female-fronted example like Arch Enemy, though they tend to mix it up with clean vocals. Crosses over with metalcore.)
- All That Remains ( Originally; they later mixed this with Metalcore)
- Amon Amarth
- Amorphis (They have gradually morphed into some form of "Progressive Folk Metal", although melodeath elements can still be heard from time to time)
- Arch Enemy (Notable for - eventually - having a female singer doing growling vocals.)
- Arsis (Also qualifies as Tech Death)
- At the Gates (Trope Codifier)
- Barren Earth (Formed from members of several other Melodeath bands. Fuses Melodeath with Progressive Metal.)
- The first track off of their first full-length release includes a flute solo.
- Before the Dawn
- The Black Dahlia Murder (They are often considered a Deathcore band due to their fanbase, but have little in common music-wise with the genre and are a lot closer to At the Gates than they are to Suicide Silence.)
- Blood Stain Child (Fused melodeath with Trance.)
- Carcass (Later; possibly the Trope Maker.)
- Children of Bodom (Fused melodeath with Power Metal.)
- Dark Lunacy
- Dark Tranquillity (Trope Codifier)
- Deadlock
- Dethklok
- Disarmonia Mundi
- Dismember
- Dissection (On Reinkaos.)
- Eluveitie (Fused melodeath with Celtic metal.)
- Ensiferum (Mixed with Power Metal, Folk Metal and Viking Metal.)
- Eternal Tears of Sorrow
- Eucharist
- Ex Deo (mixed with Symphonic Black Metal)
- Exist Trace (mostly their earlier releases)
- Falchion
- God Dethroned (later/latest albums)
- God Forbid (A melodeath/metalcore crossover, with a strong thrash influence to boot.)
- The Haunted (With a strong influence from both Thrash Metal and Groove Metal.)
- Hypocrisy (Since 1994; arguably the weirdest and heaviest of the lot.)
- In Flames (Trope Codifier) (they leaned toward Alternative Metal in their later albums, but still kept many elements of this genre)
- Insomnium (Also contains strong influence from Progressive Death Metal and Doom Metal.)
- Kalmah
- Kataklysm (their latest stuff)
- Mercenary (Mixed with Power Metal and, to a certain degree, Progressive Metal.)
- myGRAIN
- Norther
- Paths Of Possession (notable for featuring George Corpsegrinder Fisher from Cannibal Corpse.)
- Quo Vadis
- Raintime (Mixes Melodeath with Power Metal.)
- Scar Symmetry (Another melodeath/power metal fusion. There's a bit of Progressive Metal, too)
- Shadows Fall (only their first two albums (if you count their actual first album as an album); they have since shifted to a fusion of Thrash Metal and Metalcore.)
- The Showdown (Mixes with Metalcore, Groove Metal, and Southern Rock)
- Silent Descent (Another trance-fusion melodeath band alongside Blood Stain Child.)
- Soilwork (mixed with Alternative Metal)
- Sonic Syndicate (Though it's sometimes debated whether SS is melodic death metal or metalcore. Or both.)
- Solution .45 (Another group formed by members of other bands, includes Ex-Scar Symmetry vocalist Christian Älvestam.)
- Suidakra (Originally Black Metal; Mixed with Celtic Metal)
- Swallow the Sun (Mixed with Doom Metal.)
- Wings In Motion