The difference, by ear
Deathcore plays death metal riffs and then stops dead for a breakdown at half tempo. Death metal proper almost never gives you that release.
Both are growled or screamed, but deathcore is a little slower: 120 to 220 bpm against 120 to 260. To hear the difference, play Death next to Job for a Cowboy. Deathcore grew out of death metal, nineteen years later.
In figures
Death metal
Where it sits
In short
Guttural vocals, low tunings, blast beats and tremolo picking. Thrash pushed past the limit of legibility, with two founding schools: Florida and Stockholm.
How it sounds
- Guttural growls produced from the diaphragm, with controlled vocal distortion.
- Tremolo picking on down-tuned guitars (D, C, B) and blast beats past 200 bpm.
- Structures without a classic chorus; riffs succeed one another instead of repeating symmetrically.
Key acts
- Death
- Morbid Angel
- Cannibal Corpse
- Entombed
Start here
The pickEntombed - Left Hand Path. The first twenty seconds explain the entire Swedish sound.
Full page →Deathcore
Where it sits
Heavy metal › Death metal › Deathcore
In short
Death metal plus metalcore breakdowns: low riffs, two vocal registers and a slow moment where the room erupts.
How it sounds
- Death metal riffs alternating with metalcore breakdowns at half tempo.
- Seven- and eight-string guitars, tuned very low, with precise digital production.
- Three vocal registers: guttural growl, high scream and, more recently, clean singing.
Key acts
- Job for a Cowboy
- Suicide Silence
- Whitechapel
- Lorna Shore
Start here
The pickWhitechapel - This Is Exile. Three guitarists, all tuned as low as they will go.
Full page →