Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 29.03.2009 at 20:55

Written by Deadmeat on 29.03.2009 at 20:18

Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 06.08.2008 at 22:09


Dark Tranquillity - The Gallery
Dark Tranquillity - The Mind's I
These are the ONLY two DT albums that are actually melodic death metal the rest ISN'T

what style are the rest (especialy their last two releases) supposed to be?

I would call them Gothenburg. Cause there isn't the lightest hint of death metal left in them any more.

i really want your opinion here. what is the main difference for you between Gothenburg and melodic death? also the last 2 of DT have blastbeats, if find them nel death. but why not?

Written by Deadmeat on 29.03.2009 at 20:58

Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 29.03.2009 at 20:55

Written by Deadmeat on 29.03.2009 at 20:18

Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 06.08.2008 at 22:09


Dark Tranquillity - The Gallery
Dark Tranquillity - The Mind's I
These are the ONLY two DT albums that are actually melodic death metal the rest ISN'T

what style are the rest (especialy their last two releases) supposed to be?

I would call them Gothenburg. Cause there isn't the lightest hint of death metal left in them any more.

i really want your opinion here. what is the main difference for you between Gothenburg and melodic death? also the last 2 of DT have blastbeats, if find them nel death. but why not?

There is more to death metal than blastbeats. The song structures aren't death metal, most of the tuning isn't. It actually is more like a speeded up version of Iron Maiden at times with grunt.
For me the main difference between melodic death metal and Gothenburg is the fact that Melodic Death Metal is a melodic version of Death metal whereas Gothenburg isn't. Listen to Arch Enemy with with Angela, In Flames (old) no death metal there either, all souped up version of Iron Maiden (to put it very bluntly of course)

Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 29.03.2009 at 21:02



There is more to death metal than blastbeats. The song structures aren't death metal, most of the tuning isn't. It actually is more like a speeded up version of Iron Maiden at times with grunt.
For me the main difference between melodic death metal and Gothenburg is the fact that Melodic Death Metal is a melodic version of Death metal whereas Gothenburg isn't. Listen to Arch Enemy with with Angela, In Flames (old) no death metal there either, all souped up version of Iron Maiden (to put it very bluntly of course)

all right I got your point and i find it right. but IMO character and fiction are much more brutal than In Flames and etc...

1. Amon Amarth - With Oden on Our Side
This is one of those albums that I almost always listen to in its entirety. It works so well as a single musical entity. Johan Hegg's vocals are at their best on this one. "Valhall Awaits Me" is one of the best album openers I have encountered. If that song doesn't make you want to grab an axe and slam it into someone's skull, you don't have an ounce of viking blood in you.

2. Amon Amarth - Versus the World
I can never understand how this album gets so overlooked. "Down the Slopes of Death," "Across the Rainbow Bridge," "Death in Fire," "Thousand Years of Oppression" ... So many great songs on this one. Musically it is probably their most varied. One of my favourite albums of any genre.

3. The Absence - From Your Grave
One day these guys are going to get some serious attention from the metal world. I know melodeath isn't everyone's favourite genre, but these guys from Florida are making some of its best albums. This is their debut and is a little stronger than their second album Riders of the Plague. I especially like the title track and "Necropolis."

4. Amorphis - Tales from the Thousand Lakes
I wasn't familiar with Amorphis until I heard Ensiferum's cover of "Into Hiding." I liked their cover, so I had to track down the original, and I am so glad that I did. This is such a fantastic album and aonther one that I tend to listen to in its entirety simply because of the way it flows. Though I'm not enamoured with their later more progressive work, Amorphis's first couple albums are great.

5. Amon Amarth - Twilight of the Thunder God
What can I say, these guys are my favourite band these days. This spot is really a toss up between Twilight and Once Sent from the Golden Hall, especially the new remaster with cleaned up production. The treble isn't so noisy. Amon Amarth have found a way to spread their musical wings without abandoning the sound they've become known for.

Along with folk and black metal, melodeath is one of my favorite metal genres, and it deserves a specific top.
To me, Gothenburg is a subgenre of melodeath, so I included many Gothenburg bands in my top 10. In no particular order:

Dark Tranquillity - Fiction
DT is the first Gothenburg band I have listened to, and I thought it was fucking brutal, since it was also one of the first extreme metal bands I heard. But I came to discover a very smooth and deep band (well, for melodeath...). Fiction is one of those albums you listen to every once in a while and never get disappointed with. Songs like Terminus and Focus Shift are great Gothenburg tracks, while Miserys Crown and The Mundane and the Magick are amongst the combo's most gothic-influenced songs.

Hypocrisy - Virus
Even though I hate their lyrics (I'm gonna kill you, I'm gonna kill you, I'm gonna kill you...), Hypocrisy are a very talented band and Virus is, well, maybe a teensy bit teenager, but it's cool stuff with awesome riffs and bloody brutality. Best songs are War-Path and Blooddrenched.

Arch Enemy - Rise of the Tyrant
I know every Arch Enemy fan drools over Wages of Sin, but I never listened to it entirely, so I'll go for Rise of the Tyrant, because it's one of the albums I listened to the most in my life AND because it's much better than Doomsday Machine. Vocally, Angela managed to put more emotion in her voice and it sounds more natural this way. The Day You Died is probably the most emotional song of the album. My favorite is the title track, though. The Last Enemy is great, too.

Mors Principium Est - The Unborn
I really like the sound of this band, it clearly has roots in Extreme Power, but is still much akin to Gothenburg. Many tracks on The Unborn have similarities with early Norther. The title track is very good, as well as Altered State Consciousness.

Scar Symmetry - Holographic Universe
My choice for MS Awards 2008 in Gothenbrug/Melodeath category. I think everyone knows that album. And if you don't, well, just give it a spin, it's a real masterpiece. Almost ever track is perfect.

Eluveitie - Slania
Yes, it's a folk album, but it's a Gothenburg/Folk album, right? A month ago, I couldn't understand why everybody loves that band, but I gave them a serious listen lately and Slania instantly became one of my favorite albums ever. Some of the tracks are not Gothenburg at all, but others, like Bloodstained Ground, are much more brutal. My favs are Slanias Song, Inis Mona and Primordial Breath.

Kataklysm - Prevail
Kat is no melodeath. That's what I would have said a few years ago. But their last two albums proved to be much more melodic than previous ones and their last album, revail, is definitely melodeath. The best tracks on this album are Prevail, Chains of Power and Breathe to Dominate.

Into Eternity - The Scattering of Ashes
Nobody knows what's Into Eternity's genre, but I know one of their many labels is melodeath, so... The Scattering Of Ashes is one of my favorite albums ever, mainly because every song is good on it. The Power-like riffs are awesome, the vocals are perfect, the drumming is brutal and the whole thing is new and powerful. Highlights are Severe Emotional Distress, Timeless Winter, Out, Pain Through Breathing, etc...

Well, this looks like a top 8, but I don't want to mention albums I don't really like just to have a pretty top 10, so that will do...