IMO Slayer & Death have had the biggest influence on the 90's to today's extreme metal formula. You can't listen to any death metal,grindcore or black metal with out hearing elements of Death or Slayer such as time signatures & chromatic progressions. Though Obituary & Deicide & Obituary helped add some more brutal elements. You can tell what extreme metal bands were influenced by Death & Testament. Their solo actually have some thing to do with the notes of a song & are in the correct key of the song. Not just float over mixture of cats fighting & all out Noodle Fest solos like with Obituary & Slayer. You know they sound bad azz but have nothing to do with the song.

slayer deicide death testament they just speak to u

metal has always been my therapy speacialy my guitar but i am another one who has had metal get me through the dark times of mylife

i like what u said about music being religion cause i feel the same as you in that aspect

Most extreme forms of metal & hardcore punk use the mechanized rhythm formula which are based around jazz percussion & time signatures. That is why you'll hear multiple time changes & less melody. Mainly because most extreme metal & hardcore punk don't give notes time to breath. Now most classic rock or traditional metal are rooted in blues time signatures which leaves more room for notes to breath thus more room for melody.

Death Metal is meant to sound disgusted and warped or primitive and brutal not sweet or slick. Actually in music it is called spoken word. I don't get caught up in the religious views of bands because I don't care one way or the other. Music is my religion. But there are allot of brutal bands both in the satanic,christian, and none believer camps.

You actually think those other bands sound good,compared to
Whitechapel???Satanists don't sing,they just talk!Its called
"Tongues."Just like Xristians who have the gift...

I've noticed, if Death Metal doesn't use some melody,it souds
disgusted,or warped...It all flat and bmmm etc...Only the drums
if chosen correctly,makes the whole song!

Death,Obituary,Wedding Party,Pantokrator...

Learning some of Whitechapel's music on guitar and bass is what got me liking them. Their sh!t is abrasive & aggressive with some melodic changes here and their. I like their mix of brutal death metal,technical chromatic grindcore, & hardcore breakdowns elements. Wanting to play some thing is what draws me to most of the music I listen too. METAL FOREVER Right On METAL is my religion.

Great taste...Dimmu Borgir and Behemoth. But whitechapel? C'mon man you can do better...there all scream and no talent! And to what DonnyDoom said I agree Metal has also been there for me during dark times of my life! METAL FOREVER!

Metal is a acquired taste. I've lost half my family to cancer in that past two years. Four of them past away in my house. But death is a natural part of life. Metal has helped me get through allot of dark times in my life both with drugs & other problems. I traded getting high on drugs for getting high on playing metal on my guitar. Metal also helps my get through my problems with anger & depression.

I never heard of any of those bands. So I cannot comment on it. I was never really into heavy metal. Sorry also, they all have names of death in them. I lost to many people in my life.

Carcass is one of my all time favorite death metal bands. Bill Steer is a band ass guitarist. Malevolent Creation & Dying Fetus can be brutal. Most people don't know about Vader. I love their elements of old school death metal. I'll check out Epicedium. Immolation are another band that plays good twisted old school death metal.

How bout:

Carcass
Malevolent Creation
Dying Fetus
Immolation
Vader
also check out Epicedium (my good friends)from CA not Germany!