Death Metal is a 1984 split album by the heavy metal bands Helloween, Hellhammer, Running Wild, and Dark Avenger. It contains the only recorded material by the German group Dark Avenger besides their 1985 demo tape.[2] Despite its name, the musical style is not actually death metal.[3]
The album offers a snapshot of the Central European metal scene during the end of the early 1980s. At that time, Running Wild were still in their "satanic" lyrical phase and had yet to develop their "pirate metal" focus.[4] Helloween had more of a thrash or speed metal sound compared to the more melodic power metal style they would soon develop. Hellhammer were the darkest and heaviest band of the foursome and would later evolve into the group Celtic Frost.[5]
