The difference, by ear
Brutal death metal has the same vocal range and no breakdown culture, and its structures are far less predictable.
Both are growled or screamed, but brutal death metal is much faster: 200 to 300 bpm against 120 to 220. To hear the difference, play Job for a Cowboy next to Suffocation. Both grew out of death metal, brutal death metal first and deathcore thirteen years after. United States appears in the origins of both.
In figures
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 →Brutal death metal
Where it sits
Heavy metal › Death metal › Brutal death metal
In short
Built for density and weight: dissonant riffing, low guttural vocals and crushing breakdowns.
How it sounds
- Very low tunings and dissonant riffs with dense construction.
- Deep guttural vocals, often entirely unintelligible, sometimes with pig squeals.
- Sustained blast beats and gravity blasts alternating with slow breakdowns.
Key acts
- Suffocation
- Deeds of Flesh
- Devourment
Start here
The pickSuffocation - Effigy of the Forgotten. The genre's absolute reference point.
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