Debate: who are the big four of death metal?

Death metal – does what it says on the tin, doesn’t it? Since it was first formulated by the likes of Death and Possessed in the mid-1980s, death metal has been terrorising the uninitiated with its graphic artwork, violent lyrics and sonic brutality. It’s also gone from local subculture to worldwide phenomenon.

With its first texts being Possessed’s Seven Churches, Death’s Scream Bloody Gore and Necrophagia’s Season Of The Dead – and its primary influences including Slayer, Sepultura, Venom and Motörhead – death metal first took off in the swamps of Florida and the snowy cityscapes of Sweden. Tape-trading networks soon turned it into a global scene, and by the mid-90s it had multiple offshoots: melodic death metal, technical death metal and blackened death metal, to name a few.

Because of this impressive spread, there are many bands to choose from when it comes to naming death metal’s top brass. Morbid Angel are one of the best-selling, their 1993 album Covenant having been released by major US label Giant and shipped upwards of 150,000 units. On the other hand, you also have such unsung pioneers as Cynic and Atheist, whose influence on future bands runs far further than their sales figures would suggest. At The Gates, based in Gothenburg, would break up only one year after making their magnum opus Slaughter Of The Soul, but their influence helped make superstars out of Trivium, Killswitch Engage and Lamb Of God, all of whom were serious fans.

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Cannibal Corpse are among the most brutal, Obituary the grooviest, and Carcass the catchiest – any ‘Big Four’ of the genre wouldn’t feel quite whole without these, but a line needs to be drawn somewhere. So, we’re turning to you, the readers. Below, we want you to sound off and tell us what your Mount Rushmore of death metal looks like. There are no wrong answers, so be nice down there, OK?