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GD's Most Dominating Albums Of The 1990's (100-91)

27/03/07 || Global Domination

Hello bitches, over the next couple of weeks the intellectual elite here at Global Domination will serve as judge, jury and executioner for metallic music in the 1990’s. The premise is a simple one. We get on our high horse (and trust me, it’s fucking gigantic) and tell you which 100 albums released between 1990 and 1999 were the most dominating.

“B-but,” you cry, “What do you mean by dominating?”

We mean, these are “The 100 Most Dominating Albums of 1990’s”. It’s right there in the title. The only real requirements for inclusion were: The album had to be released in the ’90s, it had to be widely considered a metal album and it had to be fucken awesome. Things like their influence, originality, how fondly we remember them and, most important, quality were also taken into account. That’s it.

As we count these masterpieces down from 100 to 1, you will probably have some complaints. It’s only natural, because our collective will is wildly different than your individual taste. In fact, all of the nearly 20 people who helped put this shit together have issues with certain inclusions and exclusions, and with the rankings. The truth is there is no way to compile a list like this that will please everyone. The other truth is, we don’t fucken care if we please you or not. If you think we made a mistake, join the forum and bitch about it with all the other worms. We spent untold hours, days, weeks and months arguing over this shit and we are the experts, so what we say goes. I know we got it right (mostly) because we all have our doctorate degrees in the field of Metal.

A huge thanks to everyone who helped put this together. Whether you took a few minutes to suggest an album or spent hours making lists and writing comments, you should feel damn proud of this feature. It fucking rocks.

We worked fucken hard and real fucken long to bring you this feature and all we ask in return is this: Enjoy the shit out of it.

/Stephen Fallen, Metal PhD, on behalf of Global Domination.

Ripping Corpse: Dream with the Dead 100. Ripping Corpse: Dreaming with the Dead
^{Released: 1991}

Congratulations to Ripping Corpse for having the shittiest album on our list. Seriously, good job guys. You’re officially the first losers in this whole feature. Global Domination applauds you for that. But at least you guys made it, which is more than those fucking idiots in Color Me Badd can say.

But seriously, why Ripping Corpse? Well first of all, the death metal scene in 1991 was still in its prepubescent stage. Secondly, “Ripping Corpse” was a fairly appealing name for the time (back when “Insert violent adjective” Corpse(s) was the norm, anybody remember Vomiting Corpses?), and most importantly, Erik Rutan was handling the riffing. How well does it hold in 2007? Not too bad, actually. Of course, Scott Routh’s half-ass Slayeresque non-growling vocals do sound rather dated. To be honest, even though Rutan himself was considerably underdeveloped in contrast to his eventual work with Morbid Angel, this album does contain some interesting material. Fans of the extreme old-school will probably indulge in impervious pieces like “Anti-God” and “Chugging Pus”, precisely why, as I speak, a near-mint copy of “Dreaming With The Dead” CD is going for over $30 on eBay with still 3 days left to bid. Quality material or collectioner’s obsessive compulsions? That’s your call. GD thinks Ripping Corpse is decent. Hence its ranking.

-Fishermane

99. Luciferion: Demonication
^{Released: 1994}

“Demonication” always goes underrated, but it really shouldn’t. The idea of paying tribute to old death metal gods worked so well in 1994 that Wojtek Lisicki and his comrades succeeded in delivering a great rip-off album that by all means needs a spot on this list. This material didn’t actually sound like anything new, but its massive aggression took it up to a whole new level. It’s death metal with a lot of freshness and a rebel attitude, so skipping over it would be like not eating the cherry on the top of a pie.

-Rafal

98. Cathedral: Forest of Equilibrium
^{Released: 1991}

Cathedral didn’t exactly invent a new kind of doom metal, but they did cut the path for a lot of modern doom bands. “Forest of Equilibrium” is steeped in the riffy-groove of classic Black Sabbath-style doom, but everything is slowed way down and painted an utterly lethargic hue. It’s funny that vocalist Lee Dorian left the blasts of Napalm Death because they were becoming too death metal and then went on to create something so slow and lifeless. This album does contain a solitary upbeat track called “Soul Sacrifice” and some rather fruity flute playing, but those moments just serve as the contrast that makes the rest of the album’s draining nature stand out more prominently. This is an important evolution of traditional doom metal and the perfect music to groove to while feeling worthless.

-Stephen Fallen

[Full Review]

Bruce Dickinson: Chemical Wedding 97. Bruce Dickinson: The Chemical Wedding
^{Released: 1998}

“And sooooooo we lay! We LAY in the same GRAVE! Our chemical wedding DAY!”

While the 90’s saw Iron Maiden retreat to obscurity with criminally underrated albums, Bruce Dickinson was riding high with two of the best albums he’s ever been a part of. “Accident of Birth” deserves to be on this list alongside this gem, but we’ll have to settle with CW as Dickinson’s sole representative.

And what an album it is! Released years after metal’s heyday and just as nu-metal was taking over the charts, “Chemical Wedding” melds classic heavy metal with a modern, down-tuned groove. Producer/guitarist Roy Z. and guitarist Adrian Smith are just as essential to this album’s success as B Dog. This is one of those albums that will continue to be recommended to new metal fans for years to come.

-Hanging Limbs

96. Devin Townsend: Infinity
^{Released: 1998}

At first glance, “Infinity” is an album that’s almost too strange for its own good, an upbeat conglomeration of show tunes and Devin Townsend’s unique brand of hypnotic and colossal heavy metal. It’s only after repeated listens that the true nature of this beast becomes evident. Behind the bouncy riffs and goofy lyrics a whole other album waits to be experienced. All the “normal” metal music is set over a bed of electronically produced ambient sounds and the most impressive thing about “Infinity” is how well those two sides interact. No matter where you go, from the danceable “Bad Devil” to the breathtakingly lovely “Unity”, you can hear Devy’s careful ambient manipulations undulating in the background, giving this album an almost endless depth. “Infinity” features the most meticulous production I’ve ever heard and its fun outward nature and the staggering depth make it enjoyable on all levels.

-Stephen Fallen

[Full Review]

95. Borknagar: The Olden Domain
^{Released: 1997}

On “The Olden Domain,” Borknagar clutched the folk/black torch which Ulver had set aflame and ran with it into previously unexplored grandiose territory. In fact, Ulver’s navigator (the inimitable Garm) handles vocals on “Olden,” Borknagar’s second release, so it could be said that the torch was hand-delivered to Oystein G. Brun and company by the very architect of the landmark “Bergtatt.” The raw atmosphere present on “The Olden Domain” is completely overpowering, and the epic nature of the album is undeniable. Unlike the majority of folk/viking bands, Borknagar has never relied on hackneyed gnome-dance melodies to convey an aura of majesty and otherworldliness. For many, “The Olden Domain” represents the perfect blend of the primal energy of Borknagar’s eponymous debut and the soaring ambition of the group’s latter outings.

-Consumer

[Full Review]

94. Testament: The Gathering
^{Released: 1998}

Testament sure weren’t fucking around when they hired a few musicians to replace their departing bassist, drummer, and lead guitar player. Steve DiGiorgio, Dave Lombardo, and James Murphy brought a whole lot of kick-ass to Testament, after a good but not great previous release (“Demonic”). I saw them on this tour, in a small club with less than 100 people, and it was one of the best shows I’ve ever seen.

-Chazz

[Full Review]

93. Asphyx: The Rack
^{Released: 1991}

“The Rack” is a notable album for many reasons, not the least of which is that its a damn fine example of the early death metal sound. Of course, by my strict calculations there were exactly one million good death metal albums released in 1991. What separates Asphyx from the rest of the bands in death metal’s Neo-Proterozoic era is the way the tempo effortlessly shifts from break-neck, to mid-paced to fucking slooooow.

The slow parts were obviously ganked from death metal’s sluggish, suicidal cousin doom metal. That’s right folks, “The Rack” is one of the first doom-death albums, though it does lack the bleak atmospheres of true doom-death forefathers like Paradise Lost. I won’t argue that this album is a landmark in metal history, but it is an important sing-post signifying the direction of things to come for marriage of doom and death metal.

Plus, Martin Van Drunen’s vocals straight-up kicked our asses into including this album. That guy is just fucking awesome.

-Stephen Fallen

[Full Review]

92. Neurosis: Through Silver in Blood
^{Released: 1996}

What do you get when you add a little ambient, crunchy downtuned riffs, the slowness of funeral doom, tribal drumming, and some of the most aggressive vocals you’ll ever hear? Neurosis of course, and “Through Silver in Blood” may be the heaviest offering they’ve released. Neurosis has such a good sound that many knock-off bands formed trying to cash in on their post-rock sludge ambient doom shit that they do so well, but as with most things, the original is always the best.

-Eric W

Illdisposed: There's Something Rotten 91. Illdisposed: There’s Something Rotten…
^{Released: 1999}

For a music critic, time can be a bitch. A real fucking bitch. No matter how objective and fair you attempt to be while reviewing an album, nothing can remotely fade the mass of perspective you gain after months (i.e. years) of repeated listening, which dims your ability to analyze the content. As demonstrated by my slightly unsympathetic (and ridiculously amateurish) review of “There’s Something Rotten…” last year, I initially had a difficult time enjoying it. I could recognize that Illdisposed was an excellent band, but I still believed they could have done much better. Of course, my credibility as a reviewer is often questionable considering my slight penchant towards keyboards, neon clothing and male vocalists that look like hot chicks.

Basically, Illdisposed infused a few more melodic elements into their sound, foreshadowing the musical ambitions they would eventually choose to pursue in their subsequent recordings. Of course, the album still retained that hard-hitting Illdisposed style displayed on classic songs like the opener “Psychic Cyclus”, in addition to the sensational “Days On The Floor”. In fact, the former almost surpasses the classic “Die Kingdom” from “Submit” in sheer groove. Bo Summer sounds as ferocious as ever, to credit him as “Subwoofer” in the booklet is almost an outlandish understatement.

To be honest, the bottom line is that although I will never be able to admit that “There’s Something Rotten…” surpasses “Submit” in absolute intensity, most people probably should. And rightfully so. I’m just fucking stubborn. And have no soul. The truth is that Illdisposed might just be one of the most important and influential bands to ever emerge from Denmark (except Aqua). Their spot is well-deserved.

-Fishermane

(Note from Stephen: Ramble some more, bitch. You should have just said, “This album rocks! Also, I am gay!” and left it at that. Just for the record though, I have neon underwear on right now.)

[Full Review]

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