Blackened death metal

Blackened death metal (also known as black death metal) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal that fuses elements of black metal and death metal. The genre emerged in early 1990s when black metal bands began incorporating elements of death metal and vice versa. The genre typically employs death growls, tremolo picking, blast beats, and Satanic lyrics and imagery. Bands of the genre typically employ corpse paint, which was adapted from black metal. The genre is commonly death metal that incorporates musical, lyrical or ideological elements of black metal, such as an increased use of tremolo picking, anti-Christian or Satanic lyrical themes and chord progressions similar to those used in black metal. Blackened death metal bands are also more likely to wear corpse paint and suits of armour, than bands from other styles of death metal. Lower range guitar tunings, death growls and abrupt tempo changes are common in the genre. Some blackened death metal bands, such as Goatwhore and Angelcorpse, even take significant influence from thrash metal. Both black metal and death metal evolved out of the same crop of early extreme metal bands such as Dark Angel, Possessed, Kreator, Sodom, Venom, Celtic Frost and Bathory, leading to common elements between the genres being in place. Early death metal groups possessing certain elements in common with black metal include early Sepultura, Morbid Angel, and Deicide. John McEntee, guitarist and vocalist of death metal band Incantation, has noted that he and his band draw influence from black metal. Seminal black metal band Darkthrone began playing death metal before evolving into the style they would primarily become known for. Blasphemy crossed death metal and black metal on their debut album Fallen Angel of Doom, giving way to the development of war metal. Dissection evolved out of the Gothenburg melodic death metal scene, embracing black metal influences into their music and helping create melodic black-death thanks to their 1993 album The Somberlain.