'''Technical death metal''' and '''progressive death metal''' are subgenres of DeathMetal that infuse the (in)famous [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill assaulting musical brutality]] of the genre with the technicality and elaborate musical structures of ProgressiveMetal. The songs tend to be very complex, and often include influences from other genres, such as jazz or classical music; the result is a highly cerebral musical style that rewards close and repeated listening, without surrendering the unrelenting musical aggression DeathMetal is known for.

There is, or can be, a difference between "technical death metal" and "progressive death metal", though many artists fit both descriptions or oscillate between. While both are undeniably musically sophisticated and extremely brutal, tech death bands tend to come across as much more intense, often performing their complex compositions with blinding speed and pounding aggression, or in a manner that emphasises the virtuosic skill and precision of the performances. Technical death metal can thus sometimes have a somewhat machine-like, "triggered" sound, with instruments starting and stopping suddenly or irregularly, playing precisely calculated riffs or patterns which shift frequently and sometimes seemingly at random, only to form part of a larger motif or series of progressions which become apparent upon close listening.

"Progressive death metal", on the other hand, tempers the conventional "death metal" repertoire of elements with jazzy breakdowns, melodic refrains, unusual (for death metal) instrumentation and vocalisation, or slower tempi, and generally draws liberally from diverse musical traditions to create elaborate, multilayered sounds that evolve across lengthy and eclectic albums. Progressive death metal thus tends to be more diverse or less identical-sounding, in that while tech death bands commonly draw inspiration from other musical forms, progressive death metal bands often do so multiply within a single song or album, and though demonstrably capable of the sort of chops-intensive wizardry found in tech death, prog death bands often forego these displays in favour of allowing their compositions time to breathe via greater repetition, subtler permutation, and more extensive progression.

Thus the distinction could be argued to be that technical death metal prides itself on instrumental skill and experimentation, while progressive death metal prides itself on compositional exploration and originality. A quicker way to explain the difference to a metalhead would be this:

* '''Progressive''': Opeth* '''Technical''': Decapitated%%%It should be noted that the page originally mentioned only tech-death, and referred to both tech- and prog-death bands as such. The decision was made to emphasise that the two genres were different, and so prog-death was added too. This is why the page is currently called "technical death metal".

----Deserving special attention are Music/{{Death}}, not only for inventing DeathMetal as a whole, but for subsequently kickstarting both prog and tech with their 1991 album ''Human'', which stood head-and-shoulders above contemporaneous releases in terms of the proficiency and originality of its songcraft and production, with seriously insightful lyrics accompanying inventive chords through inspired and memorable songwriting. It and all subsequent Death albums are considered standard-setting classics, with ''Human''[[note]][[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Zt8nF3b3-E&hd=1 Lack Of Comprehension]][[/note]] and ''Individual Thought Patterns''[[note]][[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5ISAdamTJ4&hd=1 Trapped In A Corner]][[/note]] cleaving more closely to technical death metal and ''Symbolic''[[note]][[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qd_jlnvUJz0&hd=1 Crystal Mountain]][[/note]] and ''The Sound of Perseverance''[[note]][[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgx3sp_hTJw&hd=1 The Flesh And The Power It Holds]][[/note]] closer to progressive death metal to the contemporary ear.

Further bands that are generally classified as technical/progressive death metal (exact subgenre noted by their name) include:

!!Tropes that apply to prog/tech death:* AGodAmI: Tech death acts, especially those who write fantasy-based lyrics, are particularly infamous for invoking this trope. The lyrical implementation can range from something as relatively tame as having control over the future to a straight-up insatiable desire to [[OmnicidalManiac destroy everyone and everything]]. Often written in PurpleProse for maximum effect.* DumbAndDrummer: ''Strongly'' averted here. Hell, even the more blast-happy drummers still have to have truly incredible stamina, dexterity, and senses of time to be able to pull off what they do.* EpicRocking - Frequently, especially on the prog side of the family.* GenreBusting: A direct consequence of bands using NeoclassicalPunkZydecoRockabilly to full effect** GenreRoulette: Frequent among prog death bands; a trend popularized by {{Opeth}}.* LeadBassist: Lots and lots of ''Type A'' examples, with [[Music/{{Origin}} Mike Flores (Origin)]], Erlend Caspersen (Music/SpawnOfPossession), Jacob Schmidt (Music/DefeatedSanity), Olivier Pinard (Cryptopsy, Neuraxis), Ivan Munguia (Brain Drill, Music/{{Arkaik}}, Deeds of Flesh), Toshiya (Music/DirEnGrey), Dominic "Forest" Lapointe (Augury, Beyond Creation), and Jeff Hughell being some of the individuals who stand out even amongst them.** Though it may be argued that within the generic context these individuals and others ought to count as ''Type D'' examples, rather than strictly ''Type A''. Because both prog and tech death place substantial emphasis on writing interesting and challenging parts for all instruments, bassists in the genre are, moreso than in other rock or metal genres, considered to be integral if not central to the band's sound, and thus cut far larger figures within the consciousness of fans, and are simply unlikely to be overlooked, especially if they are particularly skilled.*** The abundance and popularity of bass solos, or duelling solos in which the bassist and the lead guitarist trade off against one another, probably doesn't hurt either.* LyricalDissonance - Despite being death metal, lyrics range about evenly from the traditional [[ForTheEvulz Deathy]] {{Gorn}} to philosophy, social commentary, speculative fiction, spirituality or the occult, and even comedy.** Albeit the lyrics are almost always [[SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism several shades darker in tone]] than the [[UpToEleven darkest darkness]] found in other musical genres.* MohsScaleOfRockAndMetalHardness - Tech and prog death usually comes in at a 10, though brutal death often reaches to 11.* NeoclassicalPunkZydecoRockabilly - Mostly prog death, which often aims to produce truly excellent death metal by combining it with elements of just about every other excellent form of music in existence.* TropeMaker and UrExample - Music/{{Atheist}}, which began life as an extremely technical offshoot of ThrashMetal and grew in heaviness for the second album.* TropeCodifier - Music/{{Atheist}} and Music/{{Death}} for tech in general, Music/{{Suffocation}} for brutal tech, Music/{{Origin}} for noodly, hyperspeed tech, Music/{{Opeth}} for standard prog, Music/{{Meshuggah}} for djenty prog, and Music/{{Gorguts}} for noisy avant-garde prog.* UncommonTime - ''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FN53FLWBGQ&hd=1 Fuck yes]].''* UpToEleven - Ubiquitous; in fact, pushing the envelope at all levels of musicality is virtually axiomatic of both prog and tech death.