Over the past few years, death metal has been going through incredible growth and evolution, to the point that today’s scene finds itself in a new golden age.
We are living in a time when the classic death metal bands of the ’80s are not only continuing to release amazing records, but we also have younger and more underground bands putting out some of the most hard-hitting and impressive works of death metal to be heard in years.
There is so much amazing death metal coming out, but today, we specifically want to cover the 10 albums that have come out in recent years that show how strongly the genre is thriving.
Homicidal Ecstasy – Sanguisugabogg
We cannot get enough of Sanguisugabogg – hell, George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher has even thanked the band for “keeping death metal alive.” The band’s newest album, Homicidal Ecstasy, is a fucking banger; it’s not only technically intriguing in the various stylized directions the band takes their compositions in, but it’s also just so fucking heavy. Really, really, really heavy (and gross-sounding af). For folks just discovering death metal today, Sanguisugabogg’s Homicidal Ecstasy is one of the first records you ought to show them.
Hidden History of the Human Race – Blood Incantation
When it comes to the more psychedelic realm of death metal, Blood Incantation is one of the best in the game. While already a super talented technical death metal act, the band rocked the metal community’s socks off with the release of their second LP, Hidden History of the Human Race. The atmosphere throughout the album is both thrilling and trippy – one moment you’ll be slamming your head back and forth, and then the next you’ll be zoning out and attempting to make contact with aliens. With this one record alone, Blood Incantation more than proves themselves to be masters of the craft.
Glacial Domination – Frozen Soul
One comparison made about Frozen Soul is that they are like a modern-day Bolt Thrower, which is pretty fucking cool. While the band’s first album is great, 2023’s Glacial Domination is a thrillingly crushing death metal experience through and through. Produced by Trivium‘s Matt Heafy, the record is a tour de force of unrelenting riffs, icy vibes, and menacing speedy aggression. Frozen Soul has easily cemented itself as one of the best modern death metal bands working today.
Netherheaven – Revocation
Equally as ferocious, though a tad more thrashy, is Boston, Massachusetts’ very own Revocation. While the band has been around for quite a while and has released several kick-ass records, 2022’s Netherheaven is their most savage-sounding and technically captivating work to date. From beginning to end, frontman Dave Davidson and company provide fans with a buffet of thrashing death metal that supplies round after round of moshing adrenaline.
Abscess Time – Pyrrhon
Another brilliant display of technical death metal comes in the form of Pyrrhon’s Abscess Time. This record is pure chaotic metallic jazz, offering a sonic adventure that is both captivating and maddening. When you listen to any given song from Abscess Time, it’s overwhelming to pick up on every little technical element that is being implemented. When you hear how drastically the atmosphere shifts or how the tone of the rhythm unravels as the tempo darts to various speeds, you’ll question how any regular human being could create such music.
It’s Time… To Rise From The Grave – Undeath
When it comes to the many modern death metal bands who have been inspired by hardcore, Undeath is absolutely one of the most exciting to hear. While playing to the beat down and rhythmic aggression of hardcore, Undeath dresses up that playing in the sonic grime and repulsive tone of death metal. The band’s latest studio album It’s Time… To Rise From The Grave is an excellent example of this kind of artistry, and serves as a bridge to invite the hardcore crowd into death metal, and vice versa.
All That Was Promised – Hath
All That Was Promised is an incredible work of melodic, epic, and ominous death metal. On their second studio record, Hath provides audiences with a hauntingly mesmerizing work; the instrumental arrangements of each song come together to create a death metal experience that feels adventurous. While embracing a core menacing aura that permeates throughout the record, each song on All That Was Promised comes with its own unique touch of tension and thrill. If you were somehow unaware of Hath prior to this moment, then you ought to keep an eye on them moving forward.
Slave To The Scalpel – 200 Stab Wounds
If you are in the mood for a modern death metal band that has more of a “classic” vibe to them (e.g. old school Cannibal Corpse, Autopsy), look no further than 200 Stab Wounds. While the band has a new album on the way, we can’t get over how disgustingly heavy (and sounding) 2021’s Slave To The Scalpel is. From the band’s blisteringly intense instrumentation to their gruesome and unnerving horror lyricism, 200 Stab Wounds is pure death metal.
Stare Into Death and Be Still – Ulcerate
When it comes to death metal albums that provide a grandiose sense of heaviness, Ulcerate’s 2020 album Stare Into Death and Be Still is extremity at its finest. Through their superb talents, Ulcerate creates music not only overwhelming with intense atmospheres but also provides an array of technical variations, allowing each song to display its own unique brand of intensity. Stare Into Death and Be Still is by far the band’s most chaotically captivating record to date and a prime example of the excellence coming out of the modern death metal scene.
劇變 (Jubian) – Ripped To Shreds
Unrelenting for every minute of its runtime, Ripped To Shreds’ 劇變 (Jubian) is a truly awesome work of death metal. Through their technical prowess as musicians, Ripped To Shreds delivers an album that unleashes wave after wave of forward-driving anger – instrumentally thrashing, clashing, and tearing away through each song. 劇變 (Jubian) is not just a fantastic death metal album, but also demonstrates why Ripped To Shreds is a band to absolutely keep an eye on.