Originally Posted by: SuperhumanThe other thing you could AND should try anyway is to create a unique style that does not depend on speed but replies on other less frequently used techniques. Tapping is a good one, you can actually tap heavy rhythms - they will sound legatto but will also sound cool, sweep picking is another and us of the whammy bar is another, advanced pinch harmonics is another great one. Another unused one in death metal that lots of high brow players use is finger picking with medium to low gain using a good sound suppressor. It gives a totally different sound but played with a blast beat or fast double bass it all of a sudden sounds very technical.
Most death metal guitarists are very poor musicians and have nothing beyond fast alternate picking - that's why they get very boring very quickly. Take away the production from a lot of these bands and they all start to sound the same so you could focus on exploiting your limitations to open a broader canvas of techniques - I guarantee you would open a lot more eyes and ears with that approach. If you focus on becoming an expert in using other techniques then your whole style will shape into something original, this is a far better way to look at playing in the long run.

This is some great advice and you're definitely right about the whole death metal thing. There are alot of great bands (Death, Asphyx, Pestilence, Cynic and Atheist) that play outside of the box if you will and these are some of my favorite bands. This is realy great advice. Thanks!