Melodic death metal

Melodic death metal (also referred to as melodeath) is a subgenre of death metal that employs highly melodic guitar riffs and solos, often borrowing from traditional heavy metal, combined with low-pitched growls or aggressive screams and the heavily distorted guitars of traditional death metal. Pioneered by the English band Carcass with their 1993 album Heartwork, melodic death metal was developed further by Swedish bands like At the Gates, Dark Tranquillity, and In Flames in the mid-1990s. The Swedish death metal scene did much to popularise the style, soon centering in the "Gothenburg metal" scene. At the Gates' Slaughter of the Soul, Dark Tranquillity's The Gallery, and In Flames' The Jester Race, all released in the mid-1990s, were highly influential albums in melodic death metal, with At the Gates and In Flames being the two most common influences on North American 2000s heavy metal bands.