All those in Canada who are new to online casinos may have many questions before they sign up and begin playing. The best starting point for them would be a trustworthy Canadian casino review site. Such sites offer all the resources needed to get started with online casinos in Canada. These websites also provide detailed reviews of the top Canadian online casinos, which are evaluated and rated by experts in online casino gaming. Casinos Jungle, for example, is a site that caters specifically to Canadian players. It offers valuable information on online casinos in Canada and promotes responsible gambling, in addition to featuring reviews of the best Canadian online casinos. The website also gives Canadian players the chance to try out some casino games for free.

Getting back to metal; this form of rock gained massive popularity during the 1980s and 1990s. Metal fans who like playing online casino games would surely love the slots based on heavy metal themes. So, here are some of the best online slots for fans of heavy metal music:

1. Testament

Fans of heavy metal consider Testament as one of the most influential bands in the thrash metal genre. This band was formed in 1983, but experienced many changes in lineup over the years. It was called ‘Legacy’ when it was first formed. Today, it has grown popular among the online casino gaming community with this exciting slot game. 

It has been developed by Play’n GO, one of the prominent gaming software providers. The scatter symbol in this game features the cover of Testament’s 2012 album titled Dark Roots of Earth. Bonus features in the game includes Rise Up Spins, Testament Spins, and Song Features. These features would be enticing enough for any player who is a heavy metal fan. This is easily one of the best heavy metal slots.

2. Annihilator

Annihilator is a Canadian thrash metal band founded by Jeff Waters and John Bates in 1984. This band had a great impact on the heavy metal music scene during those times. It went on to become one of the highest-selling Canadian thrash metal bands in history. 

Another fantastic slot game from Play’n GO, Annihilator has 5 reels and 10 paylines. It also features the some of the immensely popular songs of the band, such as Stonewell and Alison Hell. A heavy metal fan trying online gambling for the first time would be pleasantly surprised by this game. 

The Wild symbol features the image of Jeff Waters. It can be the substitute for all other symbols except Scatter and Bonus. The three bonus symbols in the game activates the ‘Fun Palace’ feature. Upon the activation of this feature, dolls hiding different prizes will have to be picked by the players. 

3. Twisted Sister

Glam metal fans would agree that the genre wouldn’t be what it is without this American heavy metal band. They’re best known for their humor-filled music videos, such as I Wanna Rock and We’re Not Gonna Take It. Play’n GO has created an online slot game using this band as a theme. 

Glam metal fans may never need a reason to try out this online casino game. It keeps them engaged with all those symbols featuring the members of the Twisted Sister band. While playing this game, they can also savor the band’s biggest hits. The game also has bonuses, such as Dad Gets Angry, Scream, and Unite.

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It was not until the late 1980s that it gained more attention in the media. Death metal bands began getting signed at a rapid rate by Combat, Roadrunner, and other niche record labels. This form of rock music has several fusion genres. Here are some of the popular ones: 

1. Blackened death metal

Also called ‘black death metal’, it fuses the elements of death metal and black metal. The origins of blackened death metal can be traced to the early 1990s. It was the period when several black metal bands had begun incorporating elements of death metal. 

This extreme sub-genre of heavy metal uses death growls, Satanic lyrics and imagery, tremolo picking, and blast beats. Bands of this genre usually employ corpse paint, which is a form of demonic black and white makeup. Lower range tunings of guitar and abrupt tempo changes are common in this genre.

2. Death-doom

Death-doom has slow tempos, and the depressive or pessimistic mood of doom metal. It also possesses the double kick drumming and growling vocals of death metal. This fusion genre of death metal emerged in the late-1980s and became considerably popular in the 1990s. 

Although its popularity began to decline in the 21st century, it evolved into the genres of funeral doom and Gothic metal. Funeral doom fuses death-doom with funeral dirge music. This results in a slow tempo and a greater focus on creating a mood of despair and emptiness. Mournful chants or growls are often played in the background.

3. Deathcore

Owing to its frequent use of breakdowns, Deathcore has received a lot of criticism from heavy metal music fans. This is a sub-genre of extreme metal, which combines metalcore and death metal. It features death metal guitar riffs, metalcore breakdowns, and blast beats. Although similar concepts existed in the 1990s, deathcore as a defined genre emerged in the early 2000s. 

It became popular in the mid-2000s within certain parts of the United States, such as Arizona and Coachella Valley. As it expanded, this extreme metal sub-genre saw the emergence of several bands, such as Suicide Silence and Whitechapel. During the following decade, deathcore bands started their experimentation with some of the other genres. 

4. Death ‘n’ roll

A sub-genre of death metal music, it includes elements inspired by hard rock to the overall sound. The term ‘Death ‘n’ roll is a blend of the words ‘death metal’ and ‘rock ‘n’ roll. Death ‘n’ roll combines the highly distorted de-tuned guitar riffing and growled vocals. It also incorporates certain elements that reminds one of the hard rock and heavy metal from the 1970s. 

The tag of ‘death ‘n’ roll’ was first associated with a Swedish death metal band called ‘Entombed’. However, there are some who associate this style of rock music with an earlier group known as ‘Furbowl’. The origins of this death metal music sub-genre can be traced back to the early 1990s. During those times, it was gradually becoming popular in Scandinavia.

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Despite such dramatic changes, its base elements have remained the same even to this day. With all the blast beats, down-tuned and distorted guitars, and growls, this genre of rock music continues to grow. Here we present some of the best death metal bands of all time:

1. Death

This band from the city of Orlando, Florida, is considered the one that pioneered the genre of death metal. With their debut album Scream Bloody Gore released in 1987, this band became extremely popular. The leading man of this band, Chuck Schuldiner, died at the age of 34 in 2001. However, he left behind a legacy that would inspire the future rock bands.

2. Entombed

This band from the Swedish capital, Stockholm, pioneered death ‘n’ roll, a sub-genre of death metal. They incorporated the influences of garage rock into their sound, which was the major highlight of their music. One of the best examples of this change can be found in the tracks of their studio album, Wolverine Blues. The bands ‘Trap Them’ and ‘Black Breath’ seems to be heavily inspired by the sounds used in this album. 

3. Decapitated

Waclaw ‘Vogg’ Kieltyka, the main songwriter and guitarist, and his drummer brother Witold ‘Vitek’ Kieltyka formed ‘Decapitated‘ in 1996. This death metal band from Poland continues to be among the most significant ones even in the 21st century. 

In November 2007, Vitek was killed in the crash of a tour bus. After spending a significant amount of time grieving over his brother’s death, Vogg reformed the band in 2009.

4. Autopsy

Autopsy was formed in California’s Bay Area and took death metal to its doomy depths. They also had great influence on bands of other genres, such as Gorefest, Entombed, and Deicide. Of particular influence on these bands was their second album, which was titled Mental Funeral.

5. Vader

This Polish death metal band was formed in 1983. However, their debut album ‘The Ultimate Incantation’ could only be released nine years later. Before settling on a death metal sound, they had tried different genres like thrash metal and speed metal. They had so much influence in this genre that they were once described as ‘the eagles of death metal’. 

6. Carcass

Liverpool-based ‘Carcass’ had their roots in grindcore, but moved on to death metal sound with Symphonies of Sickness. Released in 1989, this was their second album. Heartwork, their fourth album, was released in 1993. It caught the attention of Columbia/Sony. 

However, even before the release of their album, problems arose between them and the label. This ultimately led to the demise of this group. The band was later reformed in 2007.

7. Deicide

This band is believed to be the most notorious of all death metal bands. Most of their lyrics are full of anti-Christian messages. Deicide has been surrounded by controversies. Glen Benton, the frontman of this band, burned an inverted cross onto his forehead. He had claimed that he will commit suicide at 33 years of age. This was apparently his anti-Jesus statement.

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Apparently, musicians of Norwegian black metal were fed up with the entire death metal scene during those times. In the 1990s, death metal diversified into various sub-genres, which still have a large following. Here are some of the remarkable features of death metal music.

Instruments

Instrumentation in the death metal genre usually comprises a vocalist, a drummer, two guitarists, and a bass player. Occasionally, some bands have been known to change this standard setup with the inclusion of other instruments. One of the examples is the incorporation of electronic keyboards. 

Among the salient features of this genre are fast, heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars. They are played with tremolo picking and palm muting techniques. Another remarkable feature of this genre is the aggressive and powerful percussion. Abrupt tempo, key, and time signature changes are common in this genre. 

A varied song structure is included along with chromatic chord progressions. Under certain circumstances, melodic riffs and harmonies are incorporated for producing the desired effect. In the creation of melodic death metal, this incorporation was used extensively. 

Vocals

The vocals used in this heavy metal sub-genre are called death growls, snarls, or hoarse roars. Many often think that death growling is a form of screaming with the lowest vocal register. However, this vocal register or ‘vocal fry’ is, in fact, a form of overtone screaming. 

Growling is performed by experienced vocalists this way, but the ‘true’ death growling is created by a different technique. Thus, vocal fry screaming, ‘true’ death growls, and false chord screaming are the three major methods of vocalization used. These three methods of harsh vocalization are often mistaken for each other. 

Despite the criticism, death growls are used for presenting the aggressive lyrical content aesthetically. On certain occasions, high-pitched screaming is used in death metal. This can be heard in many songs of Deicide, Death, Cannibal Corpse, and other bands.

Lyrics

Death metal involves lyrical themes that may invoke slasher film-stylized violence. They may also involve topics like occultism, Satanism, mysticism, mythology, philosophy, politics, and nature. Although the violent topics are also explored in other genres, this particular genre can elaborate on the details. 

They include descriptions of extreme acts like psychopathy, blood and gore, mutilation, torture, exorcism, and cannibalism. Some have attributed this to the craving that some individuals have for the images of death and violence. Artists who have contributed to this genre have described death metal as an extreme form of art and entertainment. 

In defense of death metal, they associate it with the horror films of the motion picture industry. Many of the international activists still condemn the glamorization of violence in death metal lyrics without any awareness or social context. Many critics in the past were of the opinion that death metal would never go into the mainstream. According to them, the reasons for this were the gory lyrics and music.

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It makes use of distorted and low-tuned guitars, employing techniques like tremolo picking and palm muting. Time signature changes, atonality, abrupt tempo, and chromatic chord progressions are a part of this heavy metal sub-genre. This form of rock music gained popularity during the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Origins

A British extreme metal band from Newcastle called ‘Venom’ released their albums Black Metal and Welcome to Hell. With these albums, they crystallized the elements of what would later become thrash metal, black metal, and death metal. The extreme metal bands were inspired by their harsh vocals, dark and blistering sound, Satanic imagery, and macabre. 

In 1981, another highly influential band called ‘Slayer’ was formed. Although their acts were primarily thrash metal, their music seemed to have more violence. It appeared to be more violent than their contemporaries of thrash metal, such as Anthrax, Metallica, and Megadeth. Slayer won a cult following with their description of death, war, violence, and Satanism in their lyrics.

Development

Much of the fury and sound that later evolved into death metal was invented by Slayer’s album titled Hell Awaits. What really inspired the entire genre of death metal was their third album called Reign in Blood. During 1983, a band called ‘Possessed’ formed in the San Francisco Bay Area. 

They were largely inspired by the bands Motorhead, Venom, and Exodus. In their years of formation, they had released only two studio albums and one EP. Some of the journalists and musicians believed that they were the first death metal band. The acts of Possessed furthered the cause of death metal. 

Another influential metal band called ‘Death’ was formed in the city of Orlando in Florida around the same time. They released Death by Metal in 1984, which was their first demo. It was followed by several more releases. The name of this band spread far and wide with their tapes getting circulated through the tape trader world.

Popularity

Many of the death metal bands had been signed by record labels by 1989. These record companies wanted to cash in on the heavy metal sub-genre’s popularity. Among the most sought-after bands in this form of rock music were Deicide, Obituary, and Morbid Angel. The debut album of Morbid Angel titled Altars of Madness released in 1989. 

With this album, the band pushed death metal’s limits lyrically as well as musically. Death metal then spread to Sweden. The early 1990s saw the rise of melodic death metal with Dark Tranquillity, In Flames, and other Swedish bands. By the end of the decade, new sub-genres of death metal began evolving. The British band ‘Carcass’ and New York-based band called ‘Suffocation’ contributed immensely to this early movement. 

Roadrunner Records, Earache Records, and Relativity Records became the most important labels of the death metal genre. Several death metal record labels went on to achieve successes in other death metal genres throughout the 1990s.

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The music and lyrics of doom metal evoke a sense of an impending doom, dread, and despair. Bands like ‘Witchfinder General’ from England defined it as a distinct genre during the first half of the 1980s. Here are some of the prominent features of this sub-genre of heavy metal:

Instruments

The most common instruments used in doom metal are the bass guitar, electric guitar, and drum kit. Sometimes, keyboards are also used to produce the desired effect. The structures of doom metal remain rooted in the same scales as in blues. For using large amounts of distortion, the bassists and guitarists often tune down their instruments to low notes. 

This produces a thick or heavy tone of guitar, which is one of doom metal’s main characteristics. Thus, a loud wall of sound heavy with bass is created. Another defining feature in the instrumentation is a consistent focus on minor tonality and slow tempos. Repetitive rhythms are also employed often without much emphasis on musical structure and harmonic progression.

Lyrics

Lyrics play an important role in the doom metal genre. They are generally quite gloomy and filled with pessimism. The lyrical themes found in this heavy metal sub-genre include depression, fear, suffering, death, grief, anger, and dread. Some of the bands create lyrics in very personal and introspective ways.

Others use symbolism to convey their themes, which may be influenced by literature or occult. There are a few bands of doom metal who use religious themes. ‘Trouble’ were among the genre’s pioneering bands to first incorporate Christian imagery. Pagan and occult imagery have been used by a few others. 

Imagery about the Last Judgment to invoke dread or using crucifixes to symbolize death are some of the examples. Lyrics about drugs and drug addiction have also been written by some doom metal bands. This is commonly used by stoner doom bands to describe psychedelic or hallucinogenic events.

Vocals

Clean vocals are favored by the traditional vocalists of doom metal. These vocals are performed with a sense of desperation, pain, or despair. Generally, the high-tone wails of Ozzy Osbourne, Bobby Liebling, Frank Ferrara, and Zeep Parkes are imitated. By singing it in an operatic style, some epic doom vocalists often take it to the next level. 

Over the years, some of the pioneers of this heavy metal sub-genre left the style. Others created something completely new out of doom metal. Some bands in this genre, such as Anathema switched to the emotional and melancholic side of progressive rock. There were bands that continued creating some fabulous music in their new style.  

One of the best examples in this regard is Candlemass. This band tried different vocalists while going through several eras. They were successful in producing quality albums throughout the 1990s and 2000s. In the 2000s, many of the highly traditional doom bands and revivalists also appeared on the scene. The best examples of such bands would be Krux and Sorcerer.

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The lyrics and on-stage performances exuded machismo and aggression. Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, and Black Sabbath were three of heavy metal music’s immensely famous pioneers. They were all founded in the late 1960s. Later, many sub-genres of this form of music came into existence. Here are the some of heavy metal’s best sub-genres:

1. Avant-garde Metal

This sub-genre of heavy metal music is also known as ‘experimental metal’ and ‘avant-metal’. It is closely related to progressive metal. You can find influences of progressive rock and death metal in this form of rock music. The use of experimentation and innovative avant-garde elements are two of its prominent features. 

Avant-garde metal also features non-standard and unconventional sounds, vocal techniques, instruments, playing styles, and song structures. This form of music has enjoyed great popularity in cities like Los Angeles, Boston, San Francisco, Oslo, and Tokyo.

2. Death Metal

It is an extremely heavy metal sub-genre. Death metal emerged in the mid-1980s from the musical structure of early black metal and thrash metal. This form of rock music employs distorted and low-tuned guitars played with tremolo picking and palm muting techniques. It is also characterized by deep growling vocals with some aggressive and powerful drumming. 

Double kick and blast beat techniques are also employed in death metal. Some of the lyrical themes used in this form of rock music include political conflict, nature, religion, and philosophy. Over the years, death metal has diversified into different sub-genres, such as death-doom, deathcore, and death ‘n’ roll.

3. Glam Metal

The early form of this heavy metal sub-genre evolved in the 1970s from the glam rock movement. It is also known as ‘pop metal’ or ‘hair metal’. Glam metal is heavily influenced by the fashion and image of glam rock. It uses pop-influenced hooks and riffs of guitar. Some of the early glam metal bands include Bon Jovi, Twisted Sister, Ratt, and Quiet Riot. 

This sub-genre of heavy metal saw a decline in its popularity during the early 1990s. As a result, many of the successful bands were disbanded. This made their audiences move to other forms of popular rock music. Then, in the late 1990s, glam metal surfaced once again with several successful reunion tours of former bands.

4. Groove Metal

Yet another popular sub-genre of heavy metal music, groove metal came into existence during the early 1990s. It had great mainstream success in the 1990s, which continued well into the 2000s. Groove metal is inspired by traditional heavy metal and thrash metal. 

Some of its features include screaming, heavy guitar riffs, down-tuned guitars, and syncopated rhythms. The popularity of groove metal in the 1990s can be attributed to bands like Machine Head and White Zombie. Pantera, a heavy metal band from Texas, is considered to be the pioneer of this heavy metal sub-genre. 

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Their music greatly influenced the early heavy metal music and served as an inspiration for several doom metal bands. Black Sabbath and Pentagram composed this dark and heavy music in the early 1970s. They also gave some thrilling performances based on this music. It came to be known and referred to as ‘doom metal’ by critics, musicians, and fans in the 1980s.

Development

The doom metal bands from the 1970s greatly influenced the heavy metal sub-genre’s development in the years that followed. One of the fusion genres called stoner metal was pioneered by the band ‘Blue Cheer’. They used guitar feedback and loud amplifiers, which was apparent in their debut album, Vincebus Eruptum. 

A Welsh heavy metal band called ‘Budgie’ also produced songs that were among the loudest in those times. Although the lyrics lacked the pessimistic content, it stylistically influenced many different acts of doom metal. A Japanese band called Flower Travellin’ Band also had a great infuence on early doom metal. 

This came from two of their albums, Satori and Kirikyogen. An important forerunner to doom metal is believed to be the self-titled debut of Bang in 1971. Other groups instrumental in the popularity of doom metal were Necromandus, Iron Claw, Leaf Hound, and Sir Lord Baltimore. 

Popularity

Doom metal as a distinct genre was formed in the early and mid-1980s. This was the result of some great contributions made by the bands from the United States and England. The album Death Penalty released in 1982 marked the debut of Witchfinder General, the English pioneers of doom metal. Two of the American pioneers also released their debut albums in 1984. 

In the same year, an American band called Cirith Ungol released their second studio album titled King of the Dead. The album is regarded as an early influence on doom by many. The Swedish band Candlemass also proved to be highly influential with Epicus Doomicus Metallicus. It was released in 1986 and gave this heavy metal sub-genre its name. 

The emergence of ‘death-doom’

The origins of death-doom, which is also written as ‘death/doom’ goes back to the mid-1980s. During this period, the early progenitors began mixing traditional doom metal with the sounds of death metal. As a result, death-doom emerged as a genre in the late 1980s. 

It gained considerable popularity in the following decade. Early records by bands like Autopsy and Anathema in the 1990s included the most prominent elements of death-doom. The doom sound from the mid-1980s were combined with growling vocals, keyboards, violins, and female vocals. 

It also led to the rise of funeral doom, which is a genre combining death-doom with funeral dirge music. Funeral doom uses heavily distorted electric guitars and keyboards or synthesizers to create a ‘dreamy’ atmosphere.

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The doom metal vocals can range from clean and operatic to the more extreme death metal growls. The first doom metal band as well as the first metal band is believed to be Black Sabbath. They were an English rock band formed in 1968 in the city of Birmingham. Now, let’s take a look at some of the fusion genres of this heavy metal sub-genre.

1. Black-doom

This fusion genre of doom metal is also called blackened doom. In order to emphasize black metal’s harsh atmosphere, the black-doom bands use the slower pace of doom metal. They also maintain black metal’s Satanic ideology while melding it with doom metal’s moodier themes like depression and nihilism. 

Black-doom combines the thicker sound of doom metal with black metal’s heavily distorted guitar sound and shrieking vocals. The best examples of black-doom bands are Barathrum, Bethlehem, Dolorian, October Tide, Forgotten Tomb, and Shining.

2. Death-doom

In death-doom, slow tempos and pessimism of doom metal is combined with death metal’s growling vocals and double-kick drumming. It is influenced to a great extent by the early works of Celtic Frost and Hellhammer. 

This style of heavy metal music evolved during the late 1980s and gained considerable popularity in the 1990s. Death-doom was pioneered by bands like Winter, Novembers Doom, Anathema, Autopsy, and My Dying Bride.

3. Drone metal

Generally influenced by minimalist music, drone music, and noise music, drone metal is also called ‘drone doom’. It is defined to a great extent by sustained and repeated chords, drones, or notes in a piece of music. It lacks the presence of drums and vocals while the electric guitar is played with heavy feedback and reverb. 

Songs in this genre are often quite long without the inclusion of beat or rhythm in the traditional sense. Pioneered by the bands Boris, Earth, and Sunn O))), this style of heavy metal music emerged in the early 1990s.

4. Funeral doom

This is a fusion genre of doom metal that combines funeral dirge music with death-doom. A lot of emphasis is placed on evoking a sense of despair and emptiness with an extremely slow tempo. A ‘dreamlike’ atmosphere is created using keyboards or synthesizers. 

The electric guitars used in funeral doom are heavily distorted. Vocals are often in the background and contain mournful chants or growls. This form of heavy metal music was pioneered by the bands Esoteric, Thergothon, Mournful Congregation, Evoken, Skepticism, and Funeral.

5. Traditional doom

This fusion genre of doom metal was influenced by the heavy metal music of the 1970s and 1980s. Higher guitar tuning is commonly used by the traditional doom metal bands. Slow to mid-tempo songs are typically played by traditional doom bands with a thick and heavy sound. The electric bass follows the melody line. 

Keyboards are used at times, but they are not a primary instrument in traditional doom songs. This fusion genre of doom metal uses clean vocals with occasional scream or growl. Just like the other fusion genres of doom metal, the lyrics are dark and eerie. Witchcraft, Saint Vitus, and Reverend Bizarre are some of the bands specializing in traditional doom.

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