DEATH METAL THEN VS. NOW feat. TheSuffocater! Old School vs. Modern Death Metal (2022) Riff Battle

In this very special installment of the Then Vs. Now series, I am joined by the riff battle legend himself TheSuffocater! I could think of noone better to represent the Old School Death Metal side of this battle.
When it first emerged, the extreme nature and violent or even overtly Satanic imagery of death metal was truly shocking: nothing like it had been heard before. While some of the shock value may have dulled over time, bands have continued to push the limits to try and create the heaviest music possible, with no concern for mainstream acceptance. Have they succeeded? Or was old school death metal the best? As always, you be the judge and let us know in the comments!
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#DeathMetal #Guitar #Riffs

[@TheSuffocater]

Hey Thomas , thanks for having me as the Old School guy :) You are a hell of a guitarist !

[@kirisutegomen12]

The man, the legend 🤘🏼

[@ThomasHogue]

It was an honor! One of my inspirations for the riff battle format, very exciting to have you on a video 🤘

[@northstarz1125]

Ur both amazing my brothers in metal!!!

[@souliss]

This was a shower thought of mine about two weeks ago so thank you! Also... stay out of my shower please... disgusting...

[@Ronnie_GT1000]

You're certainly one of my favorite metal youtube guitarists out there man! Keep it up, and I like your collection of guitars too!

[@osamabinlaggin69]

Love how it doesn’t matter whether the metal is old or new, the warlock is timeless.

[@phantomechelon3628]

Still the most metal guitar ever made IMO.

[@paws-h8p]

just had mine customized tooooo . me is most proud 😸

[@Keepitsavage21]

As long as you don’t buy a cheap pawn shop made in China model you’re good.

[@GabAssbreaker]

Old School Death Metal is the best music ever made, modern Death Metal is amazing in its own right but the old, vintage Death Metal sound is the thing i love the most. Props to both players, you guys rocks!

[@malteadotas4]

I agree. The technicality of modern Death Metal is incredible, but it's also less memorable IMO. I enjoy both but those old school riffs get me going every time.

[@MegaDuanra]

Indeed

[@GabAssbreaker]

@@malteadotas4 yeah its hard sometimes to recognize what band you are listening nowadays (soo many great bands in these days), yet i always can tell appart Suffocation from Incantation, and Incantation from Immolation despite how similar the bands names are, just for how iconic Is the music of any of those bands

[@malteadotas4]

@@GabAssbreaker exactly! and the sound.Each band is very unique, they are so recognizable. \m/

[@kylepardueish]

​@@malteadotas4 there's basically no such thing as tech death anymore. All death metal is pretty technical now

[@timothyjewell9642]

Seeing "old school" being applied to albums that came out when I was a teenager (I'm 33 now), like Bolt Thrower "Those Once Loyal", is such a trip. Old school will never not mean bands like Death, Morbid Angel, Suffocation, etc. \m/

[@cobgod1415]

Those Once Loyal definitely isn't an old school album considering it came out in 2005, but it was probably included because Bolt Thrower are an old school band who released their first album in 1988

[@timothyjewell9642]

True that! I mean, 2005 was 19 years ago, though. To a kid just getting into metal, that probably DOES seem pretty old school - it’d be like me listening to “Reign In Blood” in 2005 and thinking that it was old school (which it definitely felt like at the time)

[@VeritabIlIti]

Is no one gonna talk about how amazing that Archspire bit was? Such precision, and definitely at full tempo! 😂 keep up the good work, lads

[@Knocker420]

That was a f**kin sick collab! Awesome tracks and awesome shreds from Thomas Hogue and TheSuffocater! Let's keep this going, guys. Please!!

[@ThomasHogue]

Indeed! I have done some of these before but not in awhile. Any bands you are thinking of?

[@bloody-fire]

this is really unexpected but so amazing collab! you really should do more videos together, cause this one is the fire!

[@redinthesky1]

Great riff battle ! As impressive as Archspire is, (and I absolutely love their brand of Tech) there is no denying the infectious joy of 90s Deicide (Legion is king)

[@cannibal666]

🤘👹 HELL YEAH DECIDE💥

[@davesiddons8921]

Legion is death metal perfection, 29 minutes without a second wasted on fluff

[@moonlightequilibrium]

i usually lean towards modern death metal, but deicide has to be one of the best bands, period.

[@phantomechelon3628]

For me it was remembering how much I love Obituary, Bolt Thrower and Death. But I guess we all have our favourites.

[@HaasiAustria]

Legion is one of the best metal albums ever! Deicide never came back to it's quality, but it's ok. Better they have one ever hammer album and a few good, than more good and no killer like Legion.

[@zandig666]

They all slay !!!!!!! But i like my '80s death metal damn !!!!! It took heavy metal my favorite time period farther Cheers !! Sounds killer

[@BalashToth]

Awesome video. For me that Bolt Thrower riff slayed everything 😍 fucking menacing.

[@driftthekaliyuga7502]

Been listening to death metal for 25 years and I love it all. Lots of new bands with old school chops too these days. Shit, even cassettes are coming back.

[@boot_912]

I listen to both. They're fucking awesome. Old is still gold.

[@onetakehoovie5955]

Two of some of the best metal guitarist youtube creators collabing? I love it

[@marchanson169]

It's all great. I do think that there is a little bit of tradeoff where the "evil" vibe diminishes in proportion to technicality. It's not a good or bad thing -- just a thing.

[@TheeDangle]

This selection of riffs from both of you are s teir. 11/10

[@Pyropenguin10]

Was literally thinking "what if he had a guest? Would they be g/s'ed in?" Great keying job! It definitely couldn't have been easy!

[@zekt976]

shit like this is how i have discovered like 90% of my new fav bands in the last year

[@jasonvanwinkle2388]

I knew Spiritual Healing before it played just by the finger placement 😁 can't beat old school Death Metal! I need to listen to more newer Death Metal, I'll take this as a recommendation!

[@oifvet7487]

I just can't really get into the newer stuff

[@zannall2699]

newer bands i'd recommend (besides rivers of nihil and archspire) include but are not limited to: Revocation, Jinjer, Brand of sacrifice, and if you are in a particular spicey mode paledusk. Slugdge is one of my favorites but I wouldn't consider them newer death metal.

[@HaasiAustria]

@@zannall2699 Do you know any instrumental death metal bands? My girlfriend would like it, but she hates growling. I know Blotted Science, but it's too much Jazz. I search classical old school death metal. Or trash metal.

[@zannall2699]

@@HaasiAustria without harsh vocals you might be able too get her into heavy edm.

[@HaasiAustria]

@@zannall2699 Sorry, your message was deleted again. Do you wrote band names, that could violate any rules? 😀 I only could read your first lines in the message, you spent an hour for researching. Wow, you do that for a stranger, thanks! I found also something, will write it in another message. If it would be deleted.

[@zeigknoechelbruder]

The collab i always wanted!

[@davegillett4304]

Can this amazing collaboration spawn an original track ? Id smother the like button for that . Love this channel!

[@rysiumasakra]

Archspire - what happens when Busta Rhymes goes death metal

[@donovanrebbechi3334]

I've really enjoyed TheSuffocater's videos. I would have liked to see Pestilence in the "Old School" mix but nice job overall. Though I'm an old school guy, Death Metal has come quite a long way in the last 30 years, as is apparent in this video. However, Chuck Schuldiner was way ahead of his time.

[@zannall2699]

mind reflections just hits so hard

[@jhin4158]

Great video! You did a perfect job of showing the contrasts of modern and old school death metal by playing all these amazing riffs

[@amineabouzaid9095]

Just a great collab guys keep going !! We want more of you !

[@AutumnReaper23]

Awesome collaboration!!! And there is no clear winner as both are just as amazing!

[@lebarak69]

You literally played my modern death playlist 1:1 impressive and good taste ;)

[@nicolaswhult]

Old school for the indesputable win. Great job both of you guys, excellent playing!

[@hegelian27]

Great job to both of you! Man, I love that Rivers of Nihil riff. Such a fun one!

[@kirisutegomen12]

Great collab! 🤘🏼

[@Jeffmetal42]

killer video! I love all death metal, doesn't matter the school. I absolutely love the classics, but I also am a very big fan of a a lot of new stuff too. I'm as much part of the new school as much as I am the old school. 🤘🏻🤘🏻

[@i-never-look-at-replies-lol]

Older ftw. Honestly without the vocals, the newer stuff sounds like it could fit in across several different modern metal genres. I expecting just a tonal difference, but there's more than that going on.

[@d3th_2_all]

I feel like that’s because modern metal has a lot of integrating of other genres due to the broad spectrum of metal now

[@danieldoncel7308]

Love the featuring with suffocater! 💀🤘🏽

[@johnfeidt238]

So stoked to see the epic Those Once Loyal riff

[@fartvader84yearsago8]

I admire your commitment to rapidly age to do the old school part

[@ThomasHogue]

Anything for the fans

[@ChainsawChristmas]

Thank goodness for content like this. Not a boring reaction or demo.

[@FlyingSpaceOstrich]

Yes! Spiritual Healing is one of my favorite Death songs

[@ChrisJones-yu9rz]

That was an epic battle! I am more old-school oriented, so the one thing that would’ve made me happy is after you played Cannibal Corpse newer stuff? If the sufficator would’ve whipped out some thing from back in the 80s or 90s lol.

[@devildozer]

Definitely one of my fav vids...f@*$ing sick as hell, I loved this collaboration guys!! Perfect guitar playing from both of you. Subscribed!!!!!!!

[@ThomasHogue]

Thank you!

[@Azzmelater]

The beautiful thing about metal is there’s no such thing as one is better both are legendary!

[@bluesrock88]

Bolt thrower’s riffing is the best. So iconic, a trademark.

[@JonnyJungle77]

That was awesome guys, really enjoyed it. Y'all are badass guitarists!

[@kowskull_]

I think the winner here is death metal, in general.

[@MutatedAntibiosis]

Death metal is just so fucking great that I love both the old school stuff and the new stuff. And everything in between. That genre will never become boring, stale or predictable.

[@97McLuvin]

what an awesome vid Didn't know I wanted/needed you two to do something together until 5 minutes ago

[@-the-light]

That was awesome!!!! Thank you guys!

[@BigMuff75]

After that song from Left Hand Path, that Decapitated Riff hits insanely hard... although imho over the course of the video the br00tal sound of the new stuff wears out pretty quickly and the old stuff is a lot more diverse.

[@MrTransmaterial]

What about power metal then vs now? By the way, great channel, I love it!

[@Tyelkormoko]

what an amazing combination! Two of my favourites, this is just too strong

[@jennyprorock]

Even have the old school warlock out...I salute your old school homage.. Awesome video. Good job guys.

[@vladdergraue1942]

In my opinion (I've been listening to DM since the early 90s) the sound of the 90s was groovier. But there were also grenades like Suffocation, Cryptopsy, Cannibal Corpse, Meshuggah. The later DM sound of the 00s and 10s is more technical, better produced (at the expense of the groove) and so unnaturally hectic and chaotic that I hardly heard DM at that time. I can barely listen to these talented new musicians pounding out their scales, breaks, riffs and tempo changes at an insane pace anymore, except for one or two songs at most. The last current DM LP was Morta Skuld. Greetings to all DM fans out there and hats off to your skills, you two!

[@josueguillen5053]

Whoa hell of a collab! Good job guys

[@zannall2699]

man you guys hit the fucking mark for new and old bands, rivers of nihil and archspire mwah. but the classics i expected were there death morbid angel and cannibal corpse.

[@jbasti227]

Never expected to see this collab but this was awesome, really enjoy both of your channels

[@TheStrykerProject]

EPIC collab, gents! Throughout the video I was thinking, "I wonder if Archspire will make the list"...Last song? Archspire! And thanks for not hiding the fact y'all had to speed up the video!! 😆 (It was epic, nonetheless)

[@michizer0]

Never understood how it s possible to play with your guitar on the right leg 😂. Great playing by the way!

[@Terrierized]

Subbed mate ! Loved Suffy doing 'suffocation'!!

[@ThomasHogue]

I didn't even notice that 😂 Thanks for the sub!

[@bigjohnsbigmetalshow18]

Absolutely brilliant, both of you.

[@davidadolfoplacenciamontes5312]

EPIC COLLAB

[@mikerauter1859]

TheSuffocater wins again! There's no school like the old school!

[@shredmaster.general]

I was really hoping to see Rivers of NIhil on here, and I was not disappointed. most excellent

[@Thrasher_Abbatoir]

Great track selection. Kudos to both of you!

[@BatteryAcidEater]

Old and raw death metal is always the best

[@SingularityCSGO1]

Man i just love every video you do! Sick collab bros, you guys are awesome!

[@ThomasHogue]

Love to hear it! Thanks for the support!

[@garrisonclark4793]

Thomas so good to see the views reflect your amazing content, don't stop bro!

[@SoftStationMusic]

I hope yous get together more. That was exquisite

[@rickbrunet2559]

Great cola guys! You both are amazing guitarists! 🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘

[@CogGrinder]

Man, that riff from Where Owls Know My Name is a secret weapon for sure

[@the_malefactor]

Honestly, I think a number of these newer songs illustrated the conservatism in death metal writing (eg Abysmal Dawn, Aborted, Cannibal Corpse). Of course, many of those also are pretty veteran bands.

[@cannibal666]

DAM!!! What can I say u guys freaking shred awesome Collab great vid 💥🤘🤘👹💀⚡

[@sunsetbarmartigny]

That was great guys 🤘

[@egioch]

Well, that was awesome!

[@pain9270]

I love both, but if I had to chose one it would be old school. You guys should do more videos together.

[@tttarms1970]

Old school....the only school

[@jaewhite2462]

I saw the six string and thought he was going to skip over bolt thrower, but managed to pick one of there higher tuned ones to play into

[@atlante4368]

Great track selection. You guys rule!

[@jessicalynn835]

oh I love the nearest Decapitated album. so groove, really cool \m/

[@geraldrauch1701]

awesome guys!!! all hail the Suffocater!!! my first time seeing you thomas, very well done brother...just subbed!!! cheers!!!

[@ThomasHogue]

Great to hear, thanks for the sub and kind words!

[@TheMetal750]

This was awesome ple as ee do more collaborative together!

[@ShapeshifteR-TheAnomalyGameCat]

One thing's crystal clear: All hail the oldschool!!!

[@joshuavalencia6146]

No way, TheSuffocater is in!.

[@xMIRAKx]

MIssed the opportunity to do Barnes CC and Corpsegrinder CC. The old school and new school warlocks were a nice touch.

[@bartekwas9791]

cool to see this collab, great job guys! and hate top be that guy but just wanna say that modern dm scene is muchos more than technodeath and old bands dropping new stuff, there's massive OSDM revival rn and new wave of monke death which deserve way more attention than it gets, just saying. Still it was just sick, can't wait for more in the future, cheers.

[@ThomasHogue]

There is definitely a lot of variety in death metal today, I came across some of those bands like Gatecreeper in my research. I tried to pick bands that had more of a "modern" sound to show contrast (besides CC who I just wanted to feature in some way)

[@DOUGLASaraujosoares]

Awesome feat

[@Popeye-xk5si]

Good stuff as always my man ,, 🤘🏻🤘🏻

[@bastianmaoro8278]

Some new death metal stuff seems to be are "all about" groove ("generic" kinda groove), a lack of story teeling and some more modern recipes that for me sometimes doesn't work like something that I would like to hear (specially in death metal), leaving the creation a bit empty even with so much stuff and showoff going on in some ocassions. The old school is more focused it seems to have "ambience", melodies (or lack of), putting groove when it's needed, teeling you a story, and when is targeted to be you can feel so much more the evilness, coldness of those writings, with more RAW and timeless riffs n' sections, even the crazy and mad sections was part of the "mirroring" with the real life, daily violence, youth rage, dementia. The new stuff sometimes sounds like the same stuff all the time or how to play the same thing but in a fancier 'n trickier way, leaving too much of nothing. I can't feel vivid experiences through these songs nowadays, reality, inspiration, or even something truly fun (so much of the feel it's lost also due the most of the guys are not recording shit together anymore, leaving all in one take... All together). To impress some eyes sounds a bit meh. At the end, the new guys sometimes act like Gordon Ramsay doing the Carbonara vs the old guys, that uses the stuff that need to be used to create what needs to be.

[@stantorren4400]

Check out Nocturnus AD's Paradox if you want a real old school death metal record in the modern era

[@Spiffelight]

Hell yeah I loved this, oldschool got the feelgood vibes but modern for me got the chug you want, love both!

[@julioazathoth]

Damn, sick guitar tones in this video

[@FLOURISHFAMILYENT]

Sweet collab 🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@quasimodoshunchback]

yessssssssssss this was so sick!!!!!!!1

[@jon_halliwell]

Excellent video 🤘🤘🤘

[@suicidewhitechapel23]

What a fucking ending, ucking awesomeeee

[@Metalandstuff]

Something special whit Death Metal, old school , new ...its still Death Metal 🤘

[@mrbookends]

Amazingly enough - just today (!) - I had Vader "De Profundis" (1994?) and Sinister "Diabolical Summoning" (1993?) playing while working from home, followed up by the new Archspire. And here's the thing - if either of those early 90s album had been released this month, they'd be on "album of the year" lists on websites this year..... It's been decades, but how far have we really come?!

[@Benobot99]

Awesome video

[@argetect2847]

Now that's some good clean fun

[@luisgoregonzalez7394]

Epic riffs! Amazing video! 🤩🤘🍻

[@darkgoku200]

One hell of a show. The guy on the right is the old one, yes? If not your guitar work is amazing Thomas. Keep it up, also other guy keep it up too. 😆😆 Also Thomas any chance of Arch Enemy start to end riffs? Be awesome too see. 😀

[@ThomasHogue]

I'm not sure what you mean by the old one 😅 But... there could definitely be an Arch Enemy video in the future, I'm a big fan and they've been making good music for a long time!

[@lukash_zx9003]

Thank you for the video. I’ve been waiting it for a ling time. Waiting for a progressive metal))

[@nightslayer23]

what i like about the classic ish oldschool melodic death metal is the riffs and the well melody and yes i know its death metal but still i love the oldschool death metal melody modern death metal is almost a mix with deathcore and melodic death metal cuz the guitars are lowered tuned but in short i love both oldschool and modern but fully preff oldschool and both you are amazing well done

[@David_Downs]

Not a single Blood Incantation riff though, probably my favorite modern DM band.