Death metal music falls within the genre of heavy metal. Typically, the death metal sound features loud, thrashing electric guitars, fast drumming, and guttural, growling vocals, which are often called "Cookie Monster" vocals, for their similarity to the voice of the character on Sesame Street. Death metal music often focuses on violent and morbid imagery in its lyrics; however, the lyrics are often difficult to decipher, and most fans of death metal music enjoy it for its intricate musicianship.

There are several theories regarding the origins of the term "death metal." Some people claim that it comes from a song title on Possessed's 1985 debut album, Seven Churches, which many consider to be the first ever death metal album. Others believe that the term comes from a song by a thrash metal band called Onslaught, also released in 1985. Still others think that the title was inspired by a metal band called Death.

Death metal was influenced by early heavy metal bands like Iron Maiden, and British band Napalm Death, which mixed heavy metal with the energy of punk music. Some of the earliest and most influential bands that can be characterized as death metal are Carcass, Morbid Angel, Sepultura, and Pestilence, which were all signed to two record labels that specialized in death metal music, called Earache Records and Roadrunner Records.

Since the early 1990s, many subgenres of death metal have been established. These include melodic death metal, Scandinavian death metal, Florida death metal, technical death metal, progressive death metal, slam death metal, brutal death metal, death/doom, and several others. Though different in minor ways, all of these categories share the heavy electronic guitars and percussion and harsh vocals that the death metal genre is known for.

Though death metal is generally considered to be too offensive to ever achieve mainstream success on the radio, some death metal bands have made a good living recording albums and playing shows for their underground cult followings. One death metal band, Cannibal Corpse, achieved a kind of mainstream success when they were featured playing a song in the hit movie Ace Ventura, Pet Detective. Cannibal Corpse was the favorite band of the movie's star, Jim Carrey, and he requested the performance. Cannibal Corpse's song, "Hammer Smashed Face," even appeared on the movie's soundtrack.