Florida death metal
The scene coalesced in the mid-1980s through early 1990s around the output of bands such as Death, Nasty Savage, Deicide, Monstrosity, Morbid Angel, Atheist, Obituary, and others.
[5] Obituary and Malevolent Creation introduced groove to the genre, while the song "Imperial Doom" by Monstrosity inspired the more complex technical direction the scene would take.
[5] Chris Barnes of Cannibal Corpse, which re-located from Buffalo, New York to Tampa in 1990,[6] and Glen Benton of Deicide also influenced the development of the death growl.
Generally, guitar tunings are not dropped as low as in other death metal styles, and the playing is considered by many to be tighter, clearer, and more precise.
[8] Similar is Morbid Angel's "Maze of Torment" (1989), which alternates between "muscular, 'headbanging' riffs" and extended blast beats, off-balancing the rhythm's center.
The intensity of the riffing often results in the vocals and instruments mixing into a singular blocks of sound, making it difficult for listeners to anticipate sectional transitions.
The riff stays on each tremolo-picked section for a couple beats, creating a rather static feeling, particularly so when combined with fast double-bass drum and snare that accents the power chords and dyads.
Very typical riffs from that era are melodic major thirds based on A–C♯ and G♯–B♯ intervals which are split by a short sixteenth-note burst on the sixth string.
For instance, on the albums Spiritual Healing (1990) and Human (1991), Death, under the direction of its sole consistent member, Chuck Schuldiner, began playing more melodic guitar lines and increasingly complex tempo changes as well as more refined songwriting and lyrics.
[10] Human, in particular, showcased jazz-influenced guitar work and polyrhythmic drumming, courtesy of respective Cynic members Paul Masvidal and Sean Reinart.
Kelly Shaefer of Atheist recalls when he once encountered the members of Morbid Angel backstage "sitting around a chalice, cutting themselves and bleeding into the cup.
"[4] The band Deicide, formed under the name Amon in 1987, would fill mannequins and buckets with rotten organs acquired from local butchers and then spill the contents into the audience.
[20] Tom Morris, co-owner of Morrisound, states that his studio attempted to emulate the production values of fellow Metal Blade bands Metallica and Slayer.
[21] Nasty Savage formed in 1982 in Brandon, Florida, a town in the Tampa Bay Area, and quickly attracted attention for its gruesome shock rock.
[21] Among the fans and frequent concert attendees of Nasty Savage were Chuck Schuldiner, Rick Rozz, and Kam Lee, who, in 1983 in Altamonte Springs in Greater Orlando, founded a band called the Mantas.
[26] Rozz and Lee helped form the band Massacre, only to rejoin Death when Schuldinger moved back to Florida in time to record Leprosy, which was released in 1988.
"[34] Vocalist David Vincent took influence from Schuldiner and the emerging English grindcore scene for his snarled vocal delivery, and lyrically Morbid Angel took the Satanic themes of previous groups such as Slayer and Venom to new, greater extremes.
[35] The two other former members agreed to re-locate from California to Florida, and Terrorizer re-formed to record World Downfall, with Morbid Angel's David Vincent filling in as a bass guitarist.
Human saw Death continue its development of a technical and progressive style, abandoned the previous themes of zombies and gore in favor of more philosophical and political lyrics, and featured the talents of Paul Masvidal and Sean Reinart of the then-unsigned Cynic.
The band decide to continue with the recording for their next album and dedicate it to their lost band-mate, for whom Tony Choy filled in to complete the needed bass work.
[52] Encouraged by the financial success of Covenant, other major labels such as Columbia Records picked up numerous death metal bands.
[54] During the recording of Vile, the band's original vocalist, Chris Barnes, left to form a side project, Six Feet Under, which produced a groovier and catchier style deemed less extreme than his previous death metal work.
[55] In 1995, Hibernus Mortis formed in Miami and for years was the only death metal band representing South Florida (Cynic having already disbanded).
Deicide released Once Upon the Cross in 1995 and Serpents of the Light in 1997, but then encountered trouble with Roadrunner Records as the label had become apathetic to the death metal genre.
[48] Enduring the decline of death metal in the mid- and late-1990s and the dissolution of many bands, Morbid Angel, Cannibal Corpse, Deicide, and Obituary have remained central to the scene, and Monstrosity and Malevolent Creation have released powerful albums.
[38] That same year, Nielsen Soundscan reported that Cannibal Corpse, Deicide, Morbid Angel, Six Feet Under, Obituary, and Death collectively had sold over five-million albums.
In 2016, vocalist John Tardy launched the Florida Metal Fest, with a debut lineup including Obituary, Corrosion of Conformity, Deicide, Malevolent Creation, and seven other bands.
[36] The newer projects Grave Ascension and Vacuous Depths have been noted, respectively, by the media outlets WUSF and Creative Loafing (Tampa).
Morbid Angel and Cannibal Corpse are possibly the most emulated bands in the scene and are major influences on Deeds of Flesh, Deranged, and Severe Torture, as well as many others.
[74] In the early years of the scene, the group was considered one of the most shocking for its transgression of propriety and taste in its depiction of torture, murder, and mutilation, often in highly sexual and misogynistic terms.
