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Compare

Two genres, side by side. The ratings are editorial judgements on a ten-point scale, not measurements. Where they come out level, the difference is in the prose underneath them.

First genre

Teutonic thrash1984

Second genre

Death metal1985

Head to headTeutonic thrash vs Death metal
Teutonic thrash: heaviness 9, melody 4, speed 9. Death metal: heaviness 10, melody 4, speed 9.Heaviness9 / 10Melody4 / 4Speed9 / 9
Each corner is a ten-point rating. The further out, the higher.

The difference, by ear

Death metal is what this became: the vocals, the chromatic riffing and the refusal of melody are all already here in 1986.

Death metal is growled or screamed where Teutonic thrash is shouted, and a little slower: 120 to 260 bpm against 190 to 260. To hear the difference, play Kreator next to Death. They share a root in heavy metal, and Teutonic thrash came first, by a year.

Put together from each genre's vocals, tempo, song length, key acts and place in the tree.

In figures

Heaviness
Teutonic thrash9
Death metal10
+1
Speed
Teutonic thrash9
Death metal9
level
Melody
Teutonic thrash4
Death metal4
level

Teutonic thrash

1984 · Germany

Where it sits

Heavy metal › Thrash metal › Teutonic thrash

In short

The German version: dirtier, faster and much closer to what would become death and black metal.

How it sounds

  • Dirtier production with sharper guitars and distorted bass.
  • Vocals closer to a snarl than a shout - a direct step toward death metal.
  • More constant and more brutal tempos, with fewer melodic passages.

Key acts

  • Kreator
  • Sodom
  • Destruction
  • Tankard

Start here

The pickKreator - Pleasure to Kill. The point where thrash becomes death metal without announcing it.

Full page →

Death metal

1985 · Florida / Sweden · 10 subgenres

Where it sits

Heavy metal › Death metal

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 →