Melodic death metal (also referred to as melodeath) is a subgenre of death metal. Some bands have formed their own title, dubbed Gothenburg metal named for the region it originated in. Originally the genre combined the harmony style and groove melodies of heavy metal with the harsh thrashing sound and vocals of death metal. Later the genre evolved due to many different influences, a notable evolution in the genre being the addition of keyboards
Melodic death metal contains more melodic guitar riffs, melodic solos, and acoustic guitar work than death metal. It also contains more comprehensible lyrics with death growl vocals. The pioneers of melodic death metal include In Flames, Carcass, Dark Tranquillity and At the Gates. Sentenced is also sometimes credited as one of the first melodic death metal bands with their release of North from Here. Some melodic death metal bands from the Scandinavian region combine the genre with other metal genres such as viking metal (e.g. Amon Amarth), progressive metal (e.g. Into Eternity), power metal (e.g. Children of Bodom), symphonic metal (e.g. Eternal Tears of Sorrow), thrash metal (e.g. Slayer and to a lesser extent Arch Enemy), doom metal (e.g. Swallow the Sun) and folk metal (e.g.Eluveitie).
In the late 1990s, many melodic death metal bands changed their style of playing by adding more melodic elements; more melodic choruses and riffs and making more prominent use of keyboards. Also many melodic death metal bands moved away from the lyrical themes of death, gore, and murder common in other death metal groups.
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