oh and since I'm talking to you, I wanted to shamelessly plug my just now fully updated 1980s decade chart! I'm kinda proud of it. soooo much more amazing and interesting stuff to hear from the 1980s.
oh and since I'm talking to you, I wanted to shamelessly plug my just now fully updated 1980s decade chart! I'm kinda proud of it. soooo much more amazing and interesting stuff to hear from the 1980s.
WTF, Ryan!!! This is waaaaayyyyyy heavier than even my 80s chart!!! U been hanging with Noisy Beast?!?! 🤔
Not what I expected, but i do LOVE it!
Hahaha! Yeah I have really REALLY been into a lot of the crazier heavier faster stuff lately. The late 80s and even early mid 80s were full of some seriously unhinged, heavy, pissed off, shit. And I love it. #GrindOn! _________________ -Ryan
Hahaha! Yeah I have really REALLY been into a lot of the crazier heavier faster stuff lately. The late 80s and even early mid 80s were full of some seriously unhinged, heavy, pissed off, shit. And I love it. #GrindOn!
And that's without including Big Black, Naked Raygun, or the Jesus and Mary Chain. 😁
(In the chart, I mean.)
MercuryTurn your back on the pay-you-back last callProfile St. Louis
And that's without including Big Black, Naked Raygun, or the Jesus and Mary Chain. 😁
(In the chart, I mean.)
Yeah not a huge fan of those artists. But cool sounds. Just none of their albums even approaches my personal fave of the 1980s. _________________ -Ryan
I was just sort of drawn in by the thread being about 1994, since that's the year Souvlaki came out (it's currently my all-time #3). It's occasionally "heavy," but in no way is it crazy or fast. I wouldn't even mention it except nobody else seems to have done so... Anyway, I guess I just wanted to say for the record that I agree with you about '94 being an important year, album-wise.
Otherwise don't mind me, please carry on! 😎
MercuryTurn your back on the pay-you-back last callProfile St. Louis
I was just sort of drawn in by the thread being about 1994, since that's the year Souvlaki came out (it's currently my all-time #3). It's occasionally "heavy," but in no way is it crazy or fast. I wouldn't even mention it except nobody else seems to have done so... Anyway, I guess I just wanted to say for the record that I agree with you about '94 being an important year, album-wise.
Otherwise don't mind me, please carry on! 8)
Oh ha! I understand! I forgot to change the title or
Update the title when I stopped talking 1994. My bad.
And yeah Souvlaki is an absolute beast of an album. It’s listed As 1993 here and on RYM. That’s why I never mentioned it. _________________ -Ryan
This is excellent BM. Varg was on a roll in 1993 musically before he killed a guy. Dude was only 20 when he recorded this and Filosofem! sheesh... Anyway, The atmosphere here is cold and the tones are great, but he hadn't yet stumbled upon whatever flash of genius gave us Filosofem. Still, had he never released Filosofem this would still be a classic and a groundbreaking album. The closing 13 minute ambient track is a nice harbinger of what is to come and ...overall, I like this ambient track more than the twice-as-long track on Filosofem. Yeah, I like this album quite a lot.
After listening to Burzum I had a real feeling of curiosity about this classic Mayhem album for obvious reasons. I don't know if I had ever listened to this in full before. My first impression is this is Good, brutal black metal with some really demented and unusual vocals that I grew to like more as the album went on. Cool bass lines and guitar riffs. This more raw, early Black Metal is not, as of yet, really my style. That said, This seems to be a good and almost quintessential example of this early Norwegian Black Metal sound (along with Darkthrone...really those are the 2 I have checked out and so have some idea of.).
A Blaze In The Northern Sky by Darkthrone/1992/3.3-3.8
(Speaking of which, I listened also to this! I was on a big BM run on July 4th. Now for the comment made then...: )
Is this the first classic Norwegian BM album? Based off the date of this, I think maybe? Anyway, I like how punky and disgusting and evil this sounds. The blast beats and drums in general reminded me of death metal at times. I like this a lot. When I heard it before I alwasy came away just not feeling it. This time I was pretty invested. Excited to check out newly Transilvanian Hunger soon.
This finally clicked with me like never before. For some reason I always felt this majorly paled in comparison to Emperor's Anthems To The Welkin At Dusk LP, despite BOTH being quite similar. But this time I was struck by the atmosphere and the epicness of the choral parts and the whole sound - made me think of great big, strong, pale, winged black angel overlords summoning the forces for some final deciding confrontation! I Still prefer Anthems and feel its just a distinct level-up in sound and execution, but shit! this is great!
Outside of Filosofem and maybeDead As Dreams by Weakling and Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk, this is probably my favorite black metal album I've heard. What a badass, accessible, epic, intense, rifftastic, hard charging, inspiring BEAST of a record! The riff work here is some of the coolest I've heard. The vocals are rad, the production kicks ass etc etc... just a masterpiece. This and maybe Bergtatt... by Ulver are maybe the 2 best starting points for someone trying to get into Black Metal. Of course, that's just my thought after a still pretty limited experience with this genre.
This album is what really started me listenbing to all these BM albums. I went out of order with this log. I listened to this 4 times last 2 days. The greatest BM album ever. The guitar tone is my favorite ever and never fails to blow my fucking mind. The first 33 minutes of this album are basically flawless and revolutionary and deeply depressing and moving. Jesus Tod' is perhaps the finest Metal song of any kind ever. The 25 minute ambient track is the elephant and depending on my mood I like it a lot or skip it. The last track is kind of unnecessary. If this was a 33 minute stripped down album, maybe a 5/5 perfect album. Even with those final 32 minutes, its one of the best ever.
I wanted to listen to this to decide if it is still #1 of 1996 (above Filosofem) and yeah it is. As of now its my fave of that year and number 2 of the 1990s and top 10 all time. This is some of heaviest, bleakest, most vibrant and fleshed out and visceral listening experiences I have heard. The more deep growly vocals are my only gripe, but the other, more pissed off, Hardcore punk vocalist is ace. As are the ideas, the production, the riffs, the songwriting, the builds, the pay offs, the atmosphere...everything. Genius and masterful. Best sludge album ever imo as of now. There is just something truly immersive about this album. Without fail when I push play on this, I feel a need to sink into this aural world - as ugly and brutal and hopeless as it is - and soak it in. For a 70+ minute album, this maintains interest superbly.
I was instantly smitten by the absurdly high energy here, the jarring changes, the grating noise outbursts, the wacky and lovable vocals, everything. This is a wild fucking album through and through and also creative and doesn't take itself too seriously. But when I say this is uncompromisingly hard to listen to at times, I mean it. It has these amazingly harsh noisy bits that seem designed to give a big ol fat middle finger to any sort of conventions. Love that.
As much as I like their earlier more un-contained, audaciously unhinged work, this album is the best thing I've heard from Melt-Banana.
This is more mature and thought-out while still at times being absolutely insane and noisy and explosive. The riffs are cooler the songs are cooler the vocals are as good as ever. What a brilliant noise rock and experimental rock beast this is.
Basically I have had Goat and Liar both on my 1990s chart forever but haven't given either a listen for awhile. I thought Liar was more my thing but wanted to revisit and settle this internal argument once and for all (or until I change my mind again...)
This album is abrasive, mean, intense and I really do quite like it. The unsettling attitude here comes across as a bit misanthropic, crazy and raw. The sounds are unrelenting and "off" and their are few moments when I can just nod my head with a little smile and indulge in something "cool". That is probably the idea. As even on the most catchy bits there is a layer of filth and discontent layered on top that gives me pause. Great noise rock album from one of the best to ever do it.
Goat by The Jesus Lizard/1991/3.8-4.2
...This album, however, is a classic through and through and I think I have been underestimating or under-rating it for awhile. Liar and Head are great as well but this middle album is the bee's knees. The vocals are strange and weird in that patentedly J Lizard way. But the riffs and the songwriting here is where it towers above most. The guitar tone and the sense of danger in the guitar is excellent and memorable and distinct. The songs are consistently engaging and also COOL. This has those moments when I am not being assaulted by the sheer "offness" at all times, There are moments of punk rock/noise ROCK bliss here when I can just nod my head and smile. These are mixed in beautifully with some off-kilter, deranged excellence. Love it. And the debate is, for now, settled. Only one Jesus Lizard album on my 1990s chart. For now.
This is such a purely kickass death metal that it almost seems to be like the platonic absolute of what a kickass death metal album is. It's not overly technical, nor "Brutal", not super fast nor slower and doomier - in almost every way it is right down the middle classic DM. But not in a bad way. It may be the best intro to DM if you wanna get a friend into the sound. The riffs and the songs are out of this world! It's groovy and crunchy and the bass work is killer too. Overall, yeah the more I come back to this, the more i respect the hell out of it. What a stellar way to end a storied career.
As I may have stated before, NIN was such a massive part of my childhood and early development of love for music that Trent Reznor basically overshadowed everyone until I was 12 and discovered Dylan. Which is weird to think now, because I almost never return to NIN's music. Even as over the last couple decades I have discovered that this album in particular is considered an absolute masterpiece. So, I got an itch to listen in full to this album yesterday for the first time in probably 20 years. Did it hold up? More than that! As a 12 year old I can say I missed what was most special about this album: the flow and the way the songs all add up to a bleak and fleshed out world of disintegration and self-hatred. Absolutely brutal stuff. And the individual songs here are at times transcendent as well. Especially the 10/10 masterpieces "Closer", "March of the Pigs" and "Hurt". There are no moments here that feel cringy or overly thickly laid upon, unlike my recollections of other Reznor albums. This is such a raw and real representation of deeply troubled human experience. The production is mastery and there is a reason Reznor has always been revered first and foremost as a producer. The way he integrates the live and synthetic instrumentation and blurs the lines between them is fantastic.
Another absolute beast of an album by the greatest grindcore band of the last 15 years. This is the first LP from them since 2016's masterpiece and all time favorite of mine, Voices. And after one listen it is clearly another banger. The almost metalcore breakdowns are brutal and fun, the grind bits show these relatively old farts still have it into their 30s, and the moments when they do some weird off the wall things with the drums and a couple tracks with an extremely ugly distorted violin, are just candy to my ears. The drum sound is a bit mechanical and doesn't feel live or really intense, that is a gripe. And it is sad that their brilliant lead singer all these years will not be on any future Wormrot albums. This was a great send off for his excellent stint and he was always one of the best or the best part of Wormrot's incredible sound. It's unfair after one listen to say How I rank their albums. I love the rawness and the youthful rage of their debut Abuse... no doubt the most crusty and punky of their albums. I feel their second album, Dirge, is perhaps their best (or second best, more likely) because it is starting to show major signs of development, more chops while still having that pissed off aggressive crust punk edge. With their 3rd (and in my opinion best) LP, Voices, it feels like they sacrificed some of their edge and some of their crust punk purity for more mathcore elements, more adventurous musicianship, more somewhat catchy and even beautiful guitar work. It's incredible. This album Hiss is still so new to me, can't really visualize how it relates. Although its fascinating the about-face they did on the aesthetics of the album covers lol. _________________ -Ryan
Recently I had a thought that 1986 was perhaps the peak for Thrash Metal LPs (in terms of classics and when the genre really just seemed to reach its creative zenith). I was thinking 1989 was the same for Death Metal LPs and bands and their classics and creativity. I then looked into it, and I think perhaps I was wrong...
Was 1987 the peak year for Thrash? There were 3 to 5 super major classics LPs in Thrash in 1986 which tends to make it seem 1986 was the year. But 1987 was a year with no Slayer or Metallica releases nor Megadeth... so surely 1987 can't be it? Well! I think there were more great 1987 thrash classics (even if they maybe don't ascend quite as high as Reign In Blood, Master of Puppets, Peace Sells..., Pleasure to Kill and Darkness Descends.)
Looking at it newly, and I'm starting to have my doubts.
1987 thrash albums of note:
Within The Prophecy by Sacrilege/Jan-87.
Taking Over by Overkill/Mar-87.
Among The Living by Anthrax/22-Mar-87
Killing Technology by Voivod/3-Apr-87
The Ultra-Violence by Death Angel/23-Apr-87
Under the Sign of the Black Mark by Bathory/11-May-87
Into The Pandemonium by Celtic Frost/1-Jun-87
R.I.P. by Coroner/1-Jun-87
Strappado by Slaughter/1 9 8 7
Into The Abyss… by Poison/1 9 8 7
None Shall Defy by Infernäl Mäjesty/1 9 8 7
The Legacy by Testament/7-Jul-87
I.N.R.I. by Sarcófago/Jul-87.
Deathcrush EP by Mayhem/16-Aug-87
Terrible Certainty by Kreator/22-Sep-87
Expurse of Sodomy EP by Sodom/1-Oct-87
Forward to Termination by Sacrifice/12-Oct-87
Schizophrenia by Sepultera/30-Oct-87
Release From Agony by Destruction/1-Dec-87
Persecution Mania by Sodom/1-Dec-87
So, again, no Slayer, Megadeth or Metallica... BUT the best Anthrax album. This features the gamechanging emergence of the second wave of legendary Thrash bands, with the debuts by Coroner and Testament. The Germans stayed beastly this year with major works from Sodom and Kreator and Destruiction. The BRAZILIANS started to peak with the first classics from Sepultera and Sarcofago. You have some early Black Metal takes on Thrash with classics from bathory and that iconic early EP by Mayhem. Plus a few others that are apparently great (haven't heard all these... but plan to on my upcoming project listening to gobs and gobs of thrash... stay tuned for that if you want.
Okay, and so yeah those aren't as Iconic as the top albums of 1986. Speaking of 1986, lets look at what I felt were the major stand out thrash albums of 1986 and let's see if you agree that 1986 has a better peak but less variety and simply a shallower pool of beast albums:
Power and Pain by Whiplash/Feb-86.
Master of Puppets by Metallica/3-Mar-86
The Force by Onslaught/May-86.
Tragic Serenades EP by Celtic Frost/1 9 8 6
Doomsday for the Deceiver by Flotsam and Jetsam/4-Jul-86
The Dark by Metal Church/7-Jul-86
Eternal Devastation by Destruction/Jul-86.
Zombie Attack by Tankard/Jul-86.
Flag of Hate EP by Kreator/Aug-86.
Peace Sells…But Who's Buying? by Megadeth/19-Sep-86
Reign In Blood by Slayer/7-Oct-86
Pleasure to Kill by Kreator/1-Nov-86
Morbid Visions by Sepultera/10-Nov-86
Darkness Descends by Dark Angel/17-Nov-86
Okay, so we have maybe the best Slayer, Metallica and Megadeth, we have more good Teutonic brutality with 2 servings of proto-death boundary pushing by Kreator, some less classic but still brutal as fuck Sepultera, some classic and absurdly wild music from Dark Angel, we have a Tankard album (the Anthrax of the German big 4 lol), we have a Metal Church album that actually does sound thrashy (as opposed to their debut which I don't thrash to when I listen).
So yeah 1986 may actually have the advantage due to those heavy hitters. It may be like the NBA finals, if you have the best player(s), you will usually win even against the a deeper team with no standout super star.
Curious your thoughts on this if anyone seeing this has an opinion.
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As for Death Metal, I did a similar thing and looked at what the peak was. As I said I had the idea that 1989 with Morbid Angel's debut and iconic releases from Pestilence and Autopsy and others was the champion year for DM. But looking at it, 1989 for Death metal seems similar to 1986 for Thrash, insofar as there are MAJOR iconic game changers at the top of the list, but it doesn't go as deep as another year I found.
That year was 1991. And when I say there are a lot of classics in 1991 for this genre and all its various little sub-sub-genres (the beginnings of BRUTAL DM with the Godfathers of such, Suffocation, releasing their debut and near-beginning-of-TECHNICAL and the year Human and Unquestionable Presence really set new bars for Death Metal/Prog possibilities, for example) I mean this list goes on forever.
Let's look at 1991's standout DEATH METAL releases:
War Master by Bolt Thrower/Feb-91
The Rack by Asphyx/13-Apr-91.
Gothic by Paradise Lost/Apr-91
Mental Funeral by Autopsy/22-Apr-91
Where No Life Dwells by Unleashed/1-May-91
Blessed Are The Sick by Morbid Angel/May-91.
Like An Ever Flowing Stream by Dismember/29-May-91
Dreaming With The Dead by Ripping Corpse/1-Jun-91
Carrion for Worm by Nuclear Death/17-Jun-91 (have to include this is a great EARLY Deathgrind classic.)
The Laws of Scourge by Sarcófago/1 9 9 1 (This is one of the few albums I listed on my Thrash list and Death Metal list.)
Enjoy The Violence by Massacra/1 9 9 1
World Without God by Convulse/1 9 9 1
Butchered at Birth by Cannibal Corpse/1-Jul-91
From Beyond by Massacre/1-Jul-91
Dawn of Possession by Immolation/19-Jul-91
Into The Grave by Grave/Aug-91.
The Ten Commandments by Malevolent Creation/3-Sep-91
Testimony of the Ancients by Pestilence/6-Sep-91
Clandestine by Entombed/Oct-91.
Effigy of the Forgotten by Suffocation/Oct-91.
Unquestionable Presence by Atheist/21-Oct-91
Human by Death/22-Oct-91
Necroticism: Descanting the Insalubrious by Carcass/30-Oct-91
(note that October 1991 was the greatest month for a teenage Death Metal lover of all time! I love to imagine some imply 15 year old having his mind blown by the new sounds of Suffocation as he is also able to feast on Entombed's sophomore album and then BOOM the 1-2 punch of legendary prog/tech Death metal albums by Atheist and Death hit you in a couple days! And then to top it off those creepy wild Goregrind guys, Carcass, release their Death Metal classic all within like 3 weeks lol).
(it should be noted that Darkthrone's debut album which I hear is quite good, is full on Death Metal. Before they were transformed into Black Metal super GODS.)
((ALSO Gorguts debut which was pre-them absolutely changing the game completely/back when they made somewhat straight up DM was released in 1991.))
So yeah, at least 10 of those are first ballot hall of fame of DM or even all Metal albums.
So what about 1989? How is it even a question which reigns supreme? Well here are some albums and releases of note from that year that I think make it's case well:
The Day Man Lost EP by Carnage/Jan-89
Severed Survival by Autopsy/24-Apr-89.
Altars of Madness by Morbid Angel/12-May-89
Only Shreds Remain EP by Nihilist/1 9 8 9
But Life Goes On EP by Entombed/1 9 8 9
Gloom by Macabre/1 9 8 9
Slowly We Rot by Obituary/14-Jun-89
Drowned EP by Nihilist/Aug-89.
Mentally Murdered EP by Napalm Death/29-Aug-89
Realm of Chaos by Bolt Thrower/28-Oct-89
World Downfall by Terrorizer/13-Nov-89
Symphonies of Sickness by Carcass/Nov-89.
Consuming Impulse by Pestilence/25-Dec-89
...and looking at it listed like that its no contest really. As a Grindcore and Deathgrind fan more than anything else, I think the fact that World Downfall and Gloom dropped that year and basically created that genre is what gives me any illusions about the comparability. Not to mention other UK grind bands releasing their first classics that year - Bolt Thrower and Carcass I mean. Of Course Altars of Madness is up there with few others as the most influential album in Death Metal history. That's not nothing.
So my take is 1991 is actually the peak year for Death Metal. What are your thoughts?
-------------------
I think I will be listening to a lot of Thrash and Death Metal over the next while and documenting some of my thoughts here and making ranks as I go like I have done in the past. If you are interested in Extreme metal, stay tuned and also school me. Because there are so many blindspots I have in these areas that I am thirsty as fuck to handle and experience!
Recently I had a thought that 1986 was perhaps the peak for Thrash Metal LPs (in terms of classics and when the genre really just seemed to reach its creative zenith).
Power and Pain by Whiplash/Feb-86.
Master of Puppets by Metallica/3-Mar-86
The Force by Onslaught/May-86.
Tragic Serenades EP by Celtic Frost/1 9 8 6
Doomsday for the Deceiver by Flotsam and Jetsam/4-Jul-86
The Dark by Metal Church/7-Jul-86
Eternal Devastation by Destruction/Jul-86.
Zombie Attack by Tankard/Jul-86.
Flag of Hate EP by Kreator/Aug-86.
Peace Sells…But Who's Buying? by Megadeth/19-Sep-86
Reign In Blood by Slayer/7-Oct-86
Pleasure to Kill by Kreator/1-Nov-86
Morbid Visions by Sepultera/10-Nov-86
Darkness Descends by Dark Angel/17-Nov-86
I think you just made a very convincing case for 1986, Merc!!! I consider everything I BOLD-ed to be pretty much essential Thrash! At least THREE of these would make up Top Ten Thrash albums of all time! AT LEAST!!!
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