The difference, by ear
Both are growled or screamed, but black metal is faster: 160 to 280 bpm against 120 to 220. Songs run longer in black metal: usually 4 to 9 minutes, against 3 to 5 minutes in deathcore. To hear the difference, play Job for a Cowboy next to Bathory. They share a root in heavy metal, and black metal came first, by 22 years.
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 →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 →