Just wondering. Some of my fave dm bands include: Nile http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNQpLFns-CA Morbid Angel http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7YLblswAI0 Obituary http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vs2qpRPs-YY Cannibal fuckin' Corpse http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5Hv0tsvpyU
It interests me in as much as it is technically extremely demanding and some of these guys are amongst the best guitarists, bassists and drummers you are ever likely to hear, but emotionally it does not connect with me. At least nobody has played me anything that connects, that's not to say I would write off the genre.
I'm a massive fan of In Flames, who as far as I'm aware have always been classified as melodic death metal. They're nothing like the bands you've listed though.
Out of those 4, I don;t care much only about Obituary. The rest are among my favorite bands. I don't like melodic death metal much (In Flames and such), I prefer the more brutal approach of Cannibal Corpse, Nile, Aborted and such. Amon Amarth are also great: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTEr3OmS09E
Death metal is my least-favourite genre of extreme metal. Personally, I prefer black metal, and the new thrash (groups like The Haunted, The Crown, and Defleshed). But I can go for a little death metal now and then--especially if it's blackened, like Behemoth, or Vital Remains. I have most of Nile's albums, and the scored major points with me with their song "Cast Down the Heretic." Or, to be more precise, with their liner notes on this song, when they mentioned Philip Glass's opera Akhnaten as an inspiration. I used to listen to Cannibal Corpse, but eventually concluded that they had maybe one outstanding song per album, and the rest was filler. I could have purchased Live Cannibalism and skipped the rest of their discography. And some of the grindcore bands I listen to are equally gore-obsessed, like Regurgitate. But ultimately, as another poster mentioned, most death metal just doesn't connect with me. I'm not sure why.
There are examples of death metal used as an effect added to other elements which I like, but in its pure form I find it a bit too unrelenting. I took a drive with someone who had a tape full of Cannibal Corpse and other stuff playing on the stereo and 45 minutes of that nonstop was about enough. Technically demanding, yes, but not what I'd like as a steady diet.