Rafael Quintero
Florida, USA

Rafael Quintero

Death metal editor. Ex-drummer, lifelong Florida scene rat, still buys demos on tape. If it has blast beats, he has heard it.

Death Metal Brutal Death Slam Florida Scene

Rafa played drums in Florida death metal bands through his twenties, toured in a van that broke down in four states, and has been on the other side of the merch table ever since. On KaosMetal he covers death metal, brutal death and slam: the genre history, the biographies, the essentials, the Florida scene and the American labels.

He writes short, he writes loud, and he talks to you like you are standing next to him at a show. Production details, drum sounds and label gossip are his weak spots. Bands that take themselves too seriously are his favourite target.

Reviews by Rafael Quintero

9 reviews · average score 8.5 out of 10

Echoes of a Dying World — Revelations 7.5

Echoes of a Dying World

Revelations

2026 · Death Metal · EP

A singer worth wading out for, on a wreck still settling into sand

Rafael Quintero Sep 14, 2026

Vulgar Mephitis — From Dust 7.5

Vulgar Mephitis

From Dust

2026 · Brutal Death Metal

Extraordinary drumming, eight tight songs, and one experiment arriving far too late

Rafael Quintero Sep 13, 2026

Gorod — The Ember Gone 8.0

Gorod

The Ember Gone

2026 · Progressive Metal

Slower clockwork, sharper blades, and one long song too many.

Rafael Quintero Sep 1, 2026

Death — Symbolic 9.0

Death

Symbolic

1995 · Death Metal

The cleanest stone Chuck Schuldiner ever cut, and nearly every facet burns.

Rafael Quintero Aug 28, 2026

Cryptopsy — An Insatiable Violence 8.5

Cryptopsy

An Insatiable Violence

2025 · Death Metal

Nine albums deep and still the fastest room in Quebec.

Rafael Quintero Aug 13, 2026

Morbid Angel — Altars of Madness 9.3

Morbid Angel

Altars of Madness

1989 · Death Metal

Thirty eight minutes that taught death metal how to play.

Rafael Quintero Mar 24, 2026

Severe Torture — Torn from the Jaws of Death 9.5

Severe Torture

Torn from the Jaws of Death

2024 · Death Metal

Dutch death metal titans Severe Torture have returned with a vengeance on their latest album, Torn from the Jaws of Deat...

Rafael Quintero Jun 6, 2024

As the Sun Falls — Kaamos 9.0

As the Sun Falls

Kaamos

2024 · Death Metal

The Finnish metal band As the Sun Falls is back with their latest album Kaamos, released less than a year after their pr...

Rafael Quintero May 11, 2024

Kataklysm — Serenity in Fire 8.5

Kataklysm

Serenity in Fire

2004 · Death Metal

If you want grim-sounding, self-admittedly groove-infused death metal with blasting drums and intelligible growls, then...

Rafael Quintero Feb 28, 2022

Articles by Rafael Quintero

Possessed early band portrait Genre Histories

A Death Metal Timeline: Every Year That Mattered

Sep 8, 2026

Cannibal Corpse, the band whose two different album sleeves drive collectors to chase both, in a recent press photo from their own site Essential Albums

The Death Metal Records Collectors Chase

Sep 8, 2026

In Flames band members posing together outdoors in the late 1990s Essential Albums

Swedish Melodic Death Metal Bands

Sep 8, 2026

Sleeves from the eight years in which each record had to go further than the last Explainers

Why Death Metal Became So Extreme

Sep 8, 2026

Bolt Thrower on stage at Tuska in 2013 Explainers

Death Metal Meaning: What the Words Actually Describe

Sep 7, 2026

Cannibal Corpse playing live, the five piece line-up on a dark stage under white light. Explainers

Is Cannibal Corpse Death Metal, or Something Else by Now?

Sep 7, 2026

Cause of Death, Seven Churches, Altars of Madness and Human, in a row Essential Albums

Death Metal Albums in Chronological Order

Sep 7, 2026

Crypta performing live on stage Essential Albums

Death Metal Bands With Female Singers

Sep 7, 2026

Sadus on stage Genre Histories

California Death Metal

Sep 7, 2026

Bloodbath on stage in 2023 Essential Albums

Death Metal Live Albums Worth Owning

Sep 7, 2026

A grid of real death metal album sleeves from the bands whose names this article traces, including Death, Carcass, Obituary, Entombed, Sepultura, Bolt Thrower, Atheist, Deicide, Cryptopsy and Necrophagia. Genre Histories

How Death Metal Bands Got Their Names

Aug 31, 2026

Immolation on stage Portraits

Death Metal Singers: The Voices That Set the Template

Aug 29, 2026

Extol in a black and white band portrait Explainers

Christian Death Metal

Aug 27, 2026

Napalm Death, Barney Greenway and Shane Embury at the centre Explainers

What Is Death Metal Music? A Plain Answer

Aug 25, 2026

Cannibal Corpse band portrait Essential Albums

The Best Death Metal Songs

Aug 25, 2026

Autopsy, the death metal band whose 1989 Severed Survival logo the article opens on, photographed in 2023. Photo: Nancy Reifert, courtesy of Secret Service Publicity, via Blabbermouth. Explainers

The Death Metal Logo: Why You Cannot Read Any of Them

Aug 24, 2026

Bloodbath band portrait Explainers

Why Death Metal Vocals Sound Like That

Aug 20, 2026

The members of Gorefest Explainers

What Is Death and Roll?

Aug 16, 2026

Arch Enemy performing live on stage Essential Albums

Women in Death Metal

Aug 15, 2026

Disentomb on stage Essential Albums

The Heaviest Death Metal Bands

Aug 14, 2026

Edge of Sanity band portrait by a cemetery cross Essential Albums

Death Metal Concept Albums

Aug 14, 2026

Cannibal Corpse on stage Explainers

What Is Death Metal?

Aug 13, 2026

Obituary band portrait Genre Histories

Mosh Pits, Circle Pits and the Wall of Death

Aug 11, 2026

Devourment performing live at Brutal Assault festival Genre Histories

Texas Death Metal

Aug 11, 2026