With keyboards or if someone caught wind of something maybe Gregorian chant. Something like Septicflesh or anything with dark atmosphere

Aabsinthe are my favorite atmospheric DM band. Good stuff.

Nocturnus!

THIS!! The Key is an epic album.

Listen to Soul Capture 1562 by God Dethroned, it's a really epic slow-paced death metal (with a dash of black/melodic) song. Really listen to the lyrics, they tell a story (yea you can understand the growls), and it really draws you in. Epic riffs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jL40wwr4Rg

for me slovakia is the place with some of the best atmospheric dm ever written.
bands like depresy, phantasma or lunatic gods made some great releases over the years.

For something a bit newer, try out Lykathea Aflame from the Czech Republic. Pretty blasty but it's got quite a lush atmosphere.

Great band, but too progressive to be darkly atmospheric.


I instead vote for NIHILI LOCUS.
Especially their demo and their CD. That band has reformed nowadays and seems they do not want anyone to recall their work on the CD, but is is incredible.

I strongly second Nihili Locus. Amazing band.

ULCERATE, Gorguts, also 3rd Nocturnus

+1000000

Immortalis

Incredibly dark and atmospheric. Keys aren't a seminal part of the music, but their only album has enough of them to conjure up the most evil of interludes. It's a varied album in some way, but death metal with a fine touch of sinister atmosphere.

Highly, highly recommended.

Yes! I've got their original demo and 7". Still need the cd...

Vital Remains "Let Us Pray" has a very doomy death feel, keyboards are minimal but add to the atmosphere.

Cauldron Black Ram's "Skullduggery", liner note say recorded in a fuckin' cave, and for good reason.

I'm sure you've heard and Nile by now...

Mithras.

Forever Advancing Legion, heard the other albums weren't as pleasing. Picture morbid angel and build upon it more modern, less thrashy, atmosphere, and other things I can't really explain. Great great album.

Darkness Eternal-Misanthropic Annihilation
one of the dudes from The Chasm, excellent stuff. Dark death metal with the atmosphere of black metal. Love this album, reeeeeaaaallly good.

Nile-In Their Darkened Shrines.
Powerful and crushing, claustrophobic and heavy as hell, this album is amazing. Huge wall of sound and evil atmosphere, get it!

Portal (Aus)-Outre
Creepy and very thick sounding, Portal are one of the most innovative death metal bands out there. A great Lovecraftian vibe and horrifying sound, check it out!
All I can think of for now, happy hunting!

God Macabre "The Winterlong" is pretty dark. Old school swedish death metal. Quality stuff.

check out The Monolith Deathcult- Trivmvirate

They don't have keyboards, but for atmoshperic death metal I would advise you check out Demilich's "Nespithe" album, it is hard to explain, but something about it is very otherworldly. Otherwise I would go with Pestilence's "Testimony of the Ancients" which I find to be exactly how progressive death metal should be! And I also hugely support the Nocturnus recommendations, especially for "The Key"

Dark Legion - Eternity Of Nothing
Molested - Blod-Draum
Depravity - Silence Of The Centuries
Damnation (Pol) - Reborn... & Rebel Souls
Gorement - My Ending Quest

Dark Legion is technical, but certainly not plain wankery, they use their technique to create atmosphere. Depravity resembles Demigod, yet they are more minimalistic and more atmospheric. Damnation falls to the Immolation/Incantation brand of death metal. Gorement and Molested are must-hear for any death metal fan, they manage create atmosphere not many bands can match.

Seconding Depresy, they don't get enough acclaim.

Seconding the Demilich (although possibly a bit too riffy), Portal (even though I'm not the biggest fan of 'em), and especially Ulcerate.

Ulcerate is just fucking amazing.

Their earlier stuff is still great, but I consider Everything Is Fire to be the best death metal album of the year, hands down. No keyboards or Gregorian chant as in the OP, but it's got an atmosphere reminiscent of Hell slowly boiling up to the surface of Earth: ominous, unstoppable, and oppressively scorching.

Therion's Symphony Masses has quite a bit of atmosphere.

I haven't heard their second full length (Worlds Beyond the Veil) but I would say Behind the Shadows Lies Madness is almost as good as Forever Advancing... Legions. The Morbid Angel pointer is a good one, with plenty (a bit too many for my taste actually) atmospheric/ambient interludes.

I would also like to add Rune to the general atmospheric death (death/doom) recs. Great, very weird band.

what about behemoth's here and beyond

Also go for The Chasm themselves.

Hmm...Maybe give Pan.Thy.Monium a shot.