Part V Page 2
During the last half of the Eighties, death metal would in turn churn out the most radical of its variations, grindcore, which would eventually become a separate musical identity in and of itself. Grindcore's most representative exponent is unquestionably Napalm Death, which virtually eliminated harmony and melody in albums such as Scum, Harmony Corrupted, and Utopia Banished. The subgenre seems to be the absolute frontier of heavy metal, as it thrives on deconstructing music and as such is probably its most radical form ever, that is, if it can be called music. Because of its nature, grindcore is usually just glanced upon by bands such as Scorn, while bands that originally formed part of the scene, such as Carcass, Godflesh, Treponem Pal, and Pitchshifter, have all chosen to move towards less radical musical directions.
Meanwhile, during the early Nineties, bands such as Tiamat, Therion, Sentenced, and Cemetary began moving away from their previous death metal sound in order to pursue diverse musical avenues, including progressive, doom, and classic metal. This in turn influenced other bands to create yet more diverse and musically complex death metal, which, along with the groundbreaking and NWOBHM-flavored Carcass album Heartwork, has been one of the main reasons behind the relatively recent New Wave of Swedish Death Metal. A movement started by At the Gates, Dark Tranquility, and In Flames, it mixes the strength and vocals of death metal with a considerably melodic approach that draws from the likes of Iron Maiden. The general style is in fact described as what would have happened if Iron Maiden had played death metal instead, and has become all the rage in the death metal scene; a result of catchier songwriting, an excellent execution on behalf of the musicians, and its overall sense of melody.
