Lancashire Loud's Top 10 Death Metal Tracks

Take a look below to see the team’s top tracks, in no particular order, or listen via the Spotify link here.

Cannibal Corpse - “Hammer Smashed Face”

Opening our top ten tracks is “Hammer Smashed Face” by Cannibal Corpse. This song opens the band’s 1992 album, Tomb of the Mutilated. It’s one of the most recognisable songs on the album and helped turn the band into one of the biggest names in death metal.

The sheer brutality of this song is also associated with the most unlikely movie.

1994’s Ace Ventura: Pet Detective features both the band and the song. Jim Carrey was reportedly a genuine fan of the band and requested that they make an appearance.

Entombed - “Left Hand Path”

“Left Hand Path” is the title track from Entombed’s 1990 debut album. The album was recorded at Sunlight Studio in Stockholm. At over six minutes long, “Left Hand Path” has room to evolve, with slower sections and a strong atmosphere. It serves as a clear example of why their debut record is still one of the top-rated death metal albums to this day.

Bloodbath - “Eaten”

“Eaten” is from Bloodbath’s 2004 album, Nightmares Made Flesh. The Swedish supergroup brought together members of Opeth, Edge of Sanity, Hypocrisy, and Katatonia. As one of Bloodbath’s most iconic and recognisable tracks, it certainly deserved a spot on Lancashire Loud’s death metal playlist.

Bolt Thrower - “The Killchain”

Bolt Thrower’s 2005 album, Those Once Loyal, marked the return of vocalist Karl Willetts. The album was their eighth studio release and helped to blaze a new path for the band. Their music has always been built on weight and groove, and “The Killchain” captures that very well. It has one of the most memorable guitar riffs in the band’s catalogue, with an unbeatable sense of momentum throughout.

200 Stab Wounds - “Hands of Eternity”

“Hands of Eternity” opens 200 Stab Wounds’ second album, Manual Manic Procedures. It was released in 2024, making it the most recent song on this list. The Cleveland band has become one of the most prominent names in the new wave of American death metal, bringing old-school heaviness together with more modern production.

200 Stab Wounds have toured relentlessly in recent years, accompanying Cattle Decapitation and Dark Funeral. 

Obituary - “Chopped in Half”

Cause of Death is a landmark album for Obituary. Released in 1990, it features the iconic song “Chopped in Half”. The band rose through the Florida death metal movement and instantly had a sound that was distinguishable from the rest.

Deicide - “Once Upon the Cross”

Although it was a tough choice not to include “Lunatic of God’s Creation”, this song is the one that ended up making our top ten. “Once Upon the Cross” comes in at three and a half minutes, but in that short time, it certainly packs a punch.

Death - “Pull the Plug”

“Pull the Plug” appears on Death’s 1988 album, Leprosy. Led by Chuck Schuldiner, Death played a fundamental role in the overall development of the genre. Their later albums helped to push things forward into more progressive and technical territory.

Morbid Angel - “Immortal Rites”

No top ten death metal list would be complete without Morbid Angel. “Immortal Rites” opens their 1989 debut album, Altars of Madness. The record would go on to be a defining release for the band and helped to push the genre towards more technicality and speed.

Crypta - “From the Ashes”

“From the Ashes” is from Crypta’s 2021 debut album, Echoes of the Soul. The Brazilian band formed in 2019 and features former Nervosa members Fernanda Lira and Luana Dametto.

Crypta are blazing a new path for death metal. They are not only an all-female band, but they also take heavy inspiration from the genre’s early foundations. 

Concluding Lancashire Loud’s Top 10 Death Metal Tracks

These ten songs demonstrate how much ground death metal has covered since the late 1980s. Death and Morbid Angel helped establish its foundations, while Cannibal Corpse, Obituary and Deicide pushed its brutality in different directions.

More recently, 200 Stab Wounds and Crypta have introduced the genre to a new generation without abandoning the heaviness that made death metal so undeniable in the first place.

Although we wanted to include bands such as Suffocation, Nile, Cryptopsy and Decapitated, we tried to focus on death metal rather than technical death metal. 

Check out some of our other playlists on the Lancashire Loud site, which include Loud Power, Loud Black, Loud Metalcore and Loud Melodeath.