Death metal 's popularity achieved its initial peak during 1992 – 1993 , with some bands such as Morbid Angel and Cannibal Corpse enjoying mild commercial success . However , the genre as a whole never broke into the mainstream . The genre 's mounting popularity may have been partly responsible for a strong rivalry between Norwegian black metal and Swedish death metal scenes . Fenriz of Darkthrone has noted that Norwegian black metal musicians were " fed up with the whole death metal scene " at the time . Death metal diversified in the 1990s , spawning a rich variety of subgenres that still have a large " underground " following at the present
Norwegian black metal
Early Norwegian black metal scene
Death metal