I would like to begin this long post with the following;

I realized my style of personality was different from most people I know, so I thought I could write it down so others could identify. That way I would know I am not the only one.

Some background:
20 years of old, male student as social worker and a "metalhead".

I have put the "metalhead" in brackets for a simple reason.
Metal can be so sophisticated and brutal at the same time, that most people don't understand where it is comming from. No, I do not claim to be a know-it-all or a stuck up pretentious bastard that comes proclaiming this and that about whatknot. Bear with me, i'm just here to comment on the fact that being "metal" doesn't mean being "that kind of guy".
You see, for me, metal is a beautifull and brutal, aggressive and pure.

Melodic Death Metal has been in my life for a long time now, (sure I listen to other genre's and I know putting a label on a band is sometimes just a stupid thing to do) but I have discovered something awry.
Nobody knows, or cares, what the fuck it is.

Again, I do not come claiming "you all suck", i'm a very friendly guy and mean to make a post about who is a bitch and "lets all start pointing fingers at eachother, especially the poster!".
No, not at all.

To give an example:
You have these Arch Enemy fans taht dress up all pure DEATH METAL style (army boots, flacktarn, .... the works)
You have In Flames fans, secretly adoring Tokio Hotel or whatever shite "band" there is. (But don't get me started on In Flames and their integrity...)
You even have people who have the NERVE to say "who" when you mention Gates of Ishtar.

I believe, and I also think that you must understand that this is the mere opinion of a fan, that Melodic Death Metal is something far different then Death Metal. As Americans would say, it is a whole different ball game.
The fans of Melodic Death should not follow the trends of Death Metal, because they think you are Death... (I mean honestly, spikes?)
No.

The music is much more sophisticated then that. I admit, I bang my head at concerts. But that is beside the point.

To return to Arch Enemy, they delivered their message clearly to me in their music. To make a nice cliché'd remark 'Let The Revolution Begin', but it is the simple truth. To praise Arch Enemy again in that area again, my point on the fashion is proven by them aswell.
A good nod in their direction. I think that "look" is perfect for the genre.

To come to an end in this rant of fashion and musical preferences/differences, I think I must also say that, ofcourse, I know it does not matter what you wear. That does not make you metal! But I do not have the same acknowledgement as most people have. You have your Goths, your Death and your traditional heavy metal followers (you jeans jackets with the patches...)

Melodic Death Metal is a thing far different then Death Metal. Even the Death Metal fans agree on it.

A seperate style for Melodic Death. What is it? Where is it?

So after reading that post, I'm sort of in the area of "o_O." Could you explain a little more clearly what you're saying/asking/posting?

Troll

Idiot.

What I mean to simultaniously ask and propose, is the style of a person who is Melodic Death so that we can separate from the Death Metal. Don't know how that explains it... Maybe I just live in my own little world where it all makes sense.

I adore melodic death metal, it had been my favorite genre for a while - I still like it a lot but many different genres came into my playlist now.
I don't understand your frustration, opinions vary - you can't expect everyone to appreciate or respect bands that you like, ranting about it will only make it worse. Ignore it and move on, that's what I do.

EDIT: Hmm, style? Is this about fashion?

Are you basically just saying that people confuse death metal with melodic death metal because of the similar genre names, although the genres themselves are entirely different from each other? At least that's kind of how I'm interpreting it.

oh no I am not frustrated. I too have a different playlist that does not enclude Melodic Death. I appreciate other styles. But Melodic Death is just something more special to me.

And fashion, well I did include it in my "rant" yes.

Basically what Entilzha says is kind of correct. People confuse the two genre's although they are something different. In some way i'm wanting to know how to "make that go away". How to stand out from the others.

i think he's saying that if one takes the popular conception of the stereotypical metaller (who listens to predominantly death metal for example) as being angry, nihilistic, gloomy, etc. then what should the stereotypical image of a melodic death metaller be given that said music is generally more emotional, listenable, even catchy and therefore a far less angry and nihilistic genre that other forms of metal

or am i way off? i love playing 'what the hell is the op on about' its fun

Oh, I see the problem. I might have the same feelings as the OP, if the only dm I listened to or thought other death metallers listened to is Arch Enemy.

You'll find that most people here do not consider many melodic death bands to be death metal. In fact, there are a great many people who would just about fight to the death to have it renamed so as not to include "death metal" in it.

not quite sure what the topic is about, but I'll go ahead and say that I LOVE melodeath and consider it my favorite genre of metal. Although I am a huge fan of regular death, black, and thrash metal, and love all metal dearly (sounds kind of ironic, doesn't it?), it really grinds my gears when I read or hear people talking shit about melodeath, saying it's not 'true metal' or that it's 'pussy metal' or whatever. I have a hard time understanding how people can say this, when there are just as many reasons to hate other genres. None of the clearly defined metal genres can be compared, and it is unfair to throw melodeath under the bus just because the instrumental aspect of it isn't as "brutal" or "raw" or "kvlt" or whatever. That is all.

Nobody is saying melodeath isn't brutal, raw or kvlt enough. Most just dislike it because the Gothenburg scene was stagnant, made up of a giant circle jerk of bands rehashing the same stuff over and over.

Of course, there are some very brilliant melodic death bands, such as Amon Amarth, At the Gates, Arsis, Quo Vadis and Gates of Ishtar.

Very well put. That's along the lines of what I was trying to get out. Thank you for effectively clarifying my position.

Yeah but that's so damn vague. Rehashing the the same stuff? That's in every scene in every era and generation. That's no kind of justification.

You could argue the Gothenburg was more of a niche genre such as gothic metal or industrial metal in which it doesn't have a giant fanbase of the genre. It seems like a genre where fans tend to stumble upon bands in the genre every now and then but rarely actively search for bands in that respective genre/subgenre.

EDIT: "Genre" overuse, haha.

Melodic Death Metal is only called Melodic "Death Metal" because of the way the vocals are normally sung. Like in Amon Amarths songs the vocals are pretty harsh and can easily convey a message of anger, victory or sorrow. Death Metal reinforces those emotions with heavy guitar riffs and such, but Melodic Death Metal is fast paced and rapidly changing in its guitar but is not as harsh as the riffs in Death Metal. Death Metals lyrics are normally about anger and such, and in Melodic Death Metal bands they may be set in differant times, or worlds, but the lyrics have the same influence .

While there are many who argue that Melodic Death Metal should not be put closely to Death Metal, they really should, because they are both similar in the way they are sung and the lyrical themes.

Let me clear a few things up here. Melodeath and Melodic Death Metal are two different subgenres. Melodeath is not firmly rooted in death metal, and is often just power metal with harsh vocals. Melodeath does not incorporate standard death metal riffing, but rather focuses on purely melody. Some examples of Melodeath bands are Kalmah, COB, In Flames, Arch Enemy, etc.
Melodic death metal is first and foremost death metal but with melody added to it. The standard death metal riffing is there but with a touch of melody. Some examples are Crown of Thorns, A Mind Confused, Intestine Baalism, At the Gates(TRITSIO only), Amorphis(early), etc.

The hatred towards melodeath is justified. The gothenburg sound that is almost synonymous with melodeath is becoming poppier and poppier by the second. True MDM, on the other hand, is not a "pussy" genre of metal. Some really high quality records have come out of it including The Red in the Sky is Ours and The Karelian Isthmus.

How is "With Fear I Kiss the Burning Darkness" not Melodic Death Metal where as "The Red in the Sky is Ours" is? if anything it's just as firmly rooted but with almost more of a Stockholm guitar sound ala Dismember.

I have a strong feeling you just made that up.

Gothenberg is shit, real Melodic Death Metal is just Death Metal with melodic riffs

I think you made that up too, but it is a good point. However, I disagree with the fact that melodeath and melodic death metal are not two separate genres, but rather the same genre with a wide range of variation between them. Raw black metal and Pagan BM are two different styles, but are each black metal nonetheless. The bands that you classified as 'melodeath' are exactly what you later described them as, which was "power metal with harsh vocals". These aforementioned bands, particularly CoB, find themselves in the same situation as your argument; CoB may be a little different than traditional power metal bands such as Blind Guardian or Stratovarius, but it is still power metal, albeit with harsh vocals. Therefore, I really do not believe that melodeath and melodic death metal are specific subgenres because there are no clearly defined factors that differentiate the two. Until there are some distinct guidelines set to separate the two, I am going to adhere to my beliefs that the only true subgenre of melodic death metal is Gothenburg.

No, not at all. Maybe on this forum its not commonly accepted, but several other metal forums all acknowledge them as two separate genres.

It becomes quite clear if you listen to a band like Kalmah and then listen to a band like Crown of Thorns. Different sound, but, according to you, under the same genre of metal. One can argue that bands under the umbrella of a certain genre are allowed to sound completely differenent and thats true, but I like to keep them separate for organization sake. Arguing about subgenres of metal is really pointless anyway, it doesn't matter. If going by the rule that melodeath=mdm, then I would just say certain bands in this genre suck and other don't. I like melodic death metal bands that keep their roots in death metal but add tinges of melody.

link please? I'm not trying to discredit your arguments or anything, but this whole melodeath as a subgenre thing is totally blowing my mind

This is an interesting conjecture. I agree that some Gothenburg material is becoming increasingly less metal (recent In Flames), but when Dark Tranquillity releases something like Fiction, it's hard to say that the traditional gothenburg scene as a whole is going in the same direction. I also agree that arguing about subgenre differences is very pointless and goes nowhere. Thus, I'm sticking with my impression of MDM/melodeath to be guitars with melodies that are played in various ways with varying aggressiveness, harsh vocals, demanding/impressive instrumental writing, and a heaviness that makes it metal and headbang-worthy. Since this criteria is so variable, the subgenre is inherently broad and able to produce both very impressive and horribly embarassing material.

...melodeath with caution.

Well I can't find super informative posts about it but look at V5's post on this page:
http://www.ultimatemetal.com/forum/gene ... tal-2.html
If you go onto the page after that one, there is also a discussion there about it. I belong to that forum and I guess you'll just have to take my word for it that most the members find a difference. I really don't feel like finding any more cause it doesn't really contribute anything. Believe what you would like.

Just because you just happened to discuss it on another forum, doesn't mean that it's fact. I'm all about classification, but I'm still pretty sure somebody decided to just start saying that for the hell of it.

Seriously, there are just different styles of melodic death metal/melodeath. Some, like the Gothenburg scene, flaunt a lot of the NWoBHM influences and is more upbeat, and poppy (In Flames, etc) - and some is more like straight up death metal, with a splash of melody in it (The Crown, etc). Some even fuse power metal with death metal, and thus bands liek Kalmah, Children of Bodom and Norther are around. Other bands, like Amon Amarth, Dissection, God Dethroned and the like, use their black metal influences (in particular, tremolo picking) and fuse that with death metal to make a very melodic sound. And there's many other styles besides those.

There's 31 flavours motherfuckers. Taste the rainbow, already.

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