Death 'n' roll

Death 'n' roll
Stylistic origins	Death metal, rock and roll
Cultural origins	Early 1990s in Scandinavia
Typical instruments	Electric guitar – Bass guitar – Drums – Vocals
Mainstream popularity	Low

Death 'n' roll is a term used to describe the sound of death metal bands which incorporate rock and roll inspiration elements to its overall sound. The term is a portmanteau of death metal and rock 'n' roll. The achieved effect is that of death metal's trademark combination of growled vocals and highly distorted detuned guitar riffing with elements reminiscent of 1970s hard rock and heavy metal.^[1][2] Notable examples include Entombed, Six Feet Under, and Gorefest.

History

Origins

While "death 'n' roll" tag was first associated with Entombed,^[3] Daniel Ekeroth associates the style with a previous group called Furbowl.^[4] After Entombed's breakthrough release, Wolverine Blues, the band became associated with what the music press dubbed as "death 'n' roll",^[5] a label which has followed Entombed's career ever since.^[6][7][8][9]

Another noteworthy death 'n' roll release is Soul Survivor, Gorefest's 1996 effort. This album showed more than a passing nod to classic rock.^[10] Proof of that influence was the club tour organized by the band that same year, where Gorefest played songs by AC/DC, Black Sabbath and Deep Purple.^[11] Gorefest broke up after their last 1990s album, Chapter 13, which continued the trend started in Soul Survivor^[10] (Gorefest reformed seven years later).^[12] Two of its members currently play in Live & Dangerous, a Thin Lizzy tribute band from the Netherlands.^[13]

Debate

Confronted with the "death 'n' roll" label in interviews, the death metal acts it usually is attached to react with skepticism. Entombed's LG Petrov made the following statement, regarding this issue: "We see it as Entombed music, if people see that as death 'n' roll so be it. We just laugh, death 'n' roll, why not? When we write songs, we aren't thinking it has to be a particular style."^[7]

When questioned about their mixture of death metal and rock 'n' roll, Gorefest's Frank Harthoorn replied: "Strange, everyone has always mentioned this Death N' Roll thing. To me it's just Metal, plain and simple. I don't believe our influences are different from other bands."^[14][15]

Notes

1. ^ Cosmo Lee. "Stylus magazine review". www.stylusmagazine.com. http://www.stylusmagazine.com/reviews/phazm/antebellum-death-n-roll.htm. Retrieved 2008-07-18. "“Death ’n’ roll” arose with Entombed’s 1993 album Wolverine Blues ... Wolverine Blues was like ’70s hard rock tuned down and run through massive distortion and death growls." 
2. ^ Huey, Steve. "((( Gorefest > Biography )))". www.allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p39113/biography. Retrieved 2008-02-15. "Erase, was released in 1994 and found the band moving subtly toward more traditional forms of metal, partly through its sure sense of groove. That approach crystallized on 1996's Soul Survivor, which combined death metal with the elegant power and accessibility of '70s British metal." 
3. ^ Tobin, Dan (1999). Album notes for Wolverine Blues by Entombed, p. 8 [CD booklet]. Nottingham, United Kingdom: Earache Records.
4. ^ Ekeroth, 2008, p. 264.
5. ^ Tobin, Dan (1996). Album notes for Entombed by Entombed, p. 4 [CD booklet]. New York, NY: Earache Records.
6. ^ Birchmeier, Jason. "((( Entombed > Biography )))". allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p12881/biography. Retrieved 2008-02-15. 
7. ^ ^{a b} "Entombed Interview". WELCOME TO THE CHAOS. http://metalchaos.co.uk/Entombed%20Interview.htm. Retrieved 2008-02-14. 
8. ^ Bowar, Chad. "Entombed Interview: A Conversation With Vocalist L.G. Petrov". About.com: Heavy Metal. http://heavymetal.about.com/od/interviews/a/entombedintervi.htm. Retrieved 2008-02-20. 
9. ^ "ENTOMBED: Unique, Detailed Biography". MusicMight. http://www.musicmight.com/linkto/artist/{2A678E53-94A2-4A7F-9E9D-C68DFB2. Retrieved 2008-05-26. 
10. ^ ^{a b} Huey, Steve. "((( Gorefest > Biography )))". allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p39113/biography. Retrieved 2008-02-15. 
11. ^ Paul the Postman (September 2007). "Interview with GOREFEST :: Maelstrom :: Issue No 58". Maelstrom Zine. http://www.maelstrom.nu/ezine/interview_iss58_249.php. Retrieved 2008-02-13. 
12. ^ "GOREFEST: Unique, Detailed Biography". MusicMight. http://www.musicmight.com/linkto/artist/{9BEB9DCC-47D6-4D90-99B2-173982F. Retrieved 2008-05-26. 
13. ^ "GOREFEST Members' THIN LIZZY Tribute Band; Photos Available". BLABBERMOUTH.NET. 2007-05-14. http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=72481. Retrieved 2008-02-13. 
14. ^ Mira, Fabio Desiderato de (March 2006). "Gorefest". Secrets of the Moon zine. Archived from the original on 2009-10-26. http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://www.geocities.com/secretsentrevistas/entrevistagorefest1.html&date=2009-10-26+02:15:47. Retrieved 2008-03-04. 
15. ^ Following Wikipedia protocol, here's the original quote, untranslated: "Estranho, todo mundo sempre tem mencionado essa coisa de Death N' Roll. Para mim, isso é apenas Metal, claro e simples. Eu não acredito que nossas influências sejam diferentes de outras bandas."

References

• Ekeroth, Daniel (2008). Swedish Death Metal. Chapter 9: "The Dead Live On ..." Bazillion Points Books. ISBN 978-0-9796163-1-0
• Entombed (1993). Wolverine Blues. [CD]. Nottingham, UK: Earache Records Ltd. Remastered & Limited Edition, 1999.
• Entombed (1997). Entombed. [CD]. New York, NY: Earache Records (USA).