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Originally Posted by Metal Connoisseur
Ah but I think the genre has so much more to offer than just gateway bands. If anything, the genre's sound is an advancement upon the death metal formula. Also, lyrically, you think one would eventually tire of constantly listening to depictions of the walls being painted with anal blood through the eyes of a deranged mass murderer. That is an overstatement of course, but eventually the novelty of ultraviolence and death-obsessed lyrics wears thin.
I think melodic death metal gets a bad rap from traditional death metal fans because of how the seminal melodeath bands progressed with their respective sounds throughout their careers. In Flames, Dark Tranquility, Amorphis, Children of Bodom, and Soilwork all have had their fair share of hate because of not sticking with their original sounds. Outside of a few lesser known bands like Kalmah and Insomnium the genre really isn't known for consistency which I suppose is why it's so divisive amongst death metal fans.
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That's generally how I view melodic death metal as well, especially when it comes to the dislike from traditional death metal fans. Not that it's entirely unwarranted, I haven't particularly cared for any of the In Flames albums since
Colony (1999). Dark Tranquility has really moved toward that position with
We Are the Void (2010), and Soilwork have pretty much abandoned it altogether for a more thrash metal sound. At least Hypocrisy is still proving that you can be just as heavy as traditional death metal while still being melodic. Plus as you said there's Kalmah and Insomnium, as well as bands like Be'lakor, Torchbearer, and In Mourning.