Textural applications of power chords in Scandinavian death metal

The purpose of this research is to explore a concretely analytical approach to power chords and harmonic structure in Scandinavian death metal. While often approached from sociological or anthropological perspectives, traditional music theory tends to be overlooked in the study of metal. While many harmonic progressions in death metal do err on the side of being more simplistic in nature, the textural changes and unexpected harmonic shifts help to create recognizable idioms of the genre. Using thorough harmonic and melodic analyses of Viking metal, melodic death metal and folk metal examples, conclusions can be drawn about the similarities and differences in power chord usage throughout them. There are also definite links between Western art music and death metal, most notably in harmonic function, form and manipulation of texture for a desired effect. Distinct emphasis on virtuosity and soloistic playing is also characteristic of death metal, which is where it diverts from similarities to Rock and other pop genres, despite their shared superficial harmonic simplicity. This project provides insight into how power chords in context are used to create the quintessential ‘metal’ sound and how the genre thrives off of subtle alterations to the listener’s expectations of traditional tonal harmony. Harmonic analyses focussing on the use of power chords and resultant textural changes show that consistent compositional idioms of metal can be isolated across Scandinavian subgenres and will ultimately provide a basis for further analytical research.