Where most forms of death metal music constructed themselves like heavy metal, with emphasis on certain chords supported by longer extensions of melody, phrasal death metal is so named because, in a precursor to later ambient metal genres, it tended to use a fixed rhythm in which it would create its music from an interconnected series of longer riffs that formed a melody line. Where rock and most death metal rhythm relied on creating an expectation by selectively omitting beats or offbeats to form a pattern, this form of death metal used even cadence repetition for its drum phrases and put all percussive hook into the fills. As a result, bands were free to write more intricate riffs and vary tempo within those riffs to a greater degree, which gave them the ability to sculpt sound in fluid form, using the tremolo strum which by blurring the distinction between notes creating a sustaining and seamlessly-changing flow of tone. Because this style did not hammer out a clear, crowd-pleasing rhythm, with few exceptions it was mostly forgone by the fanbase at large, but its influence lives on in both melodic death metal and black metal.

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