death metal

American  

noun

1. a type of speed metal music featuring violent or Satanic imagery.

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death metal British  

noun

1. 1. a type of heavy-metal music characterized by extreme speed and lyrics dealing with violence, satanism, etc

   2. ( as modifier )

      a death-metal band

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Etymology

Origin of death metal

First recorded in 1985–1990

Example Sentences

Tap in a few text descriptors—male blues vocal, 80s synth pop with dark romance, death metal with accordion—and out comes an AI produced song within a matter of minutes.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 28, 2026

“You don’t want to rock down the highway to death metal at 90 decibels with a nervous dog in the car,” she says.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 25, 2026

We’re all just very grateful to the fans who keep coming out, keep buying our albums and shirts, and supporting bands like us and keeping death metal music alive.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 3, 2025

A death metal band doesn’t really have hits in the way other kinds of music might, because there’s no singles chart for death metal, for example.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 3, 2025

He was really into death metal, so he usually came to school dressed head to toe in black.

From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi