The difference, by ear
Both are growled or screamed, but black metal is a little slower: 160 to 280 bpm against 200 to 300. Songs run longer in black metal: usually 4 to 9 minutes, against 2½ to 4 minutes in brutal death metal. To hear the difference, play Suffocation next to Bathory. They share a root in heavy metal, and black metal came first, by nine years.
In figures
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.
Full page →Black metal
Where it sits
In short
Tremolo picking, blast beats, shrieked vocals and deliberately cold production. More an aesthetic than a technique - atmosphere matters more than clean sound.
How it sounds
- Tremolo picking on open fifth voicings, with vocals in the high register.
- Deliberately thin, cold production - the missing bass is an aesthetic choice, not an accident.
- Fast blast beats, drums often mixed back, atmosphere placed above technique.
Key acts
- Bathory
- Mayhem
- Darkthrone
- Emperor
Start here
The pickDarkthrone - A Blaze in the Northern Sky. The production is intentional, not a flaw.
Full page →