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Technical death metal, or tech death for short, is a term used to describe bands in the subgenre death metal. As death metal bands began further exploring the genre, they experimented with a variety of song structures, tempos, and playing techniques from other genres to create music that changed the style. As a result of such experimentation, such as the works of Cynic and Cryptopsy, the subform of tech death established itself as a complex and varied musical style.

A general explanation of technical death metal is that it incorporates a variety of influences from other genres of music to compose music that is thought to be unexpected, difficult to play and difficult to comprehend. Songs tend to be written without distinct choruses, with varied or layered time signatures, and sometimes dissonant or atonal guitar riffs. Frequently the result is the appearance of chaos followed or surrounded by a thick groove.

The experimentation of death metal bands started in the late 1980s and early 1990s in some parts of Morbid Angel, Suffocation, Monstrosity, and Vital Remains albums.

The subform had its forefather in the early 90's when Atheist's debut album Piece of Time and The Key by Nocturnus came out (Both in 1990). Other early technical death albums are Considered Dead (1991) by Gorguts, Nespithe (1993) by Demilich and Focus (1993) by Cynic. While Cynic became recognised for their technicality, it wasn't fully understood until the mid 1990s when other bands created music that furthered what were then the borders of death metal. By Cryptopsy's 1996 release of None So Vile, it was thought that certain bands were creating music that was too varied and technical to be generalized as standard death metal.

While there are many bands that would cite either band as an influence, some bands are considered technical death metal simply because they defy categorization as standard death metal.

Bands currently heralded as present-day icons for technical death metal include Nile, Decapitated, Spawn of Possession, Psycroptic, Anata, Martyr and Necrophagist.

Some bands of this genre include:

• Aghora
• Alarum
• Aletheian
• Anata
• Arsis
• Atheist (death metal; jazz/fusion elements)
• Behemoth
• Beneath the Massacre
• Capharnaum (death metal)
• The Concubine (Metalcore)
• Confessor (technical doom metal)
• Coprofago (jazz/Fusion elements)
• Cynic (jazz/fusion elements)
• Cryptopsy
• Darkane
• Death (death/progressive metal)
• Decapitated
• Demilich
• Devolved
• Dungortheb
• Ephel Duath(jazz/fusion elements)
• Epicedium
• Foreign Objects
• Gorguts
• Gorod
• Human Remains
• Idol Depraved
• Imperator
• In-Quest
• Lethargy (progressive thrash metal)
• Lost Soul
• Lykathea Aflame
• Martyr
• Massacra
• Necrophagist
• Negativa
• Neuraxis
• Nile
• Nocturnus (sci-fi tech Death/Thrash)
• Pestilence (band)
• Polluted Inheritance
• Psycroptic
• Quo Vadis
• Spawn of Possession (brutal death metal)
• Suffocation (brutal death metal)
• Sympathy
• The Faceless
• Theory in Practice
• Visceral Bleeding
• !T.O.O.H!

• Technical metal
• Mathcore
• Math rock
• Progressive metal