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Lists of Domination
GD's Most Dominating Albums Of The 1990's (30-21)
11/04/07 || Global Domination
30. In Flames: The Jester Race
Released: 1996
You knew this would be on here. I thought it would be higher, but fuck me, I didn’t make the list. Wait, yes I did. Well it was a group effort and I was part of the group, so technically I did kind of make it. But it wasn’t completely me. Had it just been me, this album would have been top 20. (Note by the Mane: Yeah, that and all those fucking Bon Jovi albums you tried to convince us to add. Oh wait, that was me. Um, carry on…) I just wanted to clear that up.
The third of the big three SMDM albums of the 90’s, “The Jester Race” is probably my favorite. This is the album that introduced me to the darker side of metal. Its influence is heard all over today’s metal. Most notable to your metal palate are the THICK twin guitar melodies and the (what would become) typical Swedish riffing. This album is 90% pure Gothenburg. The Flamers add just enough variety (acoustic guitars, 80’s pop metal, instrumentals, etc.) to keep the staunchest of SMDM opponents listening. The In Flames of today is heavier and catchier, but my heart will always be with “The Jester Race”.
-Hanging Limbs
29. Meshuggah: Destroy. Erase. Improve
Released: 1995
There are a couple of albums out there that changed the face of music. This one not only changed the face of metal, but obliterated everything everyone thought they knew about, well, everything. Fucking apt album title, come to think of it. That’s exactly what they did. This, ladies and gentlemen is pure genius and perfection in 46 minutes and 31 seconds. It wasn’t the first time jazz devices were applied to metal, but their particular approach, using the odd jazz fusion principle here and there, and the employment of polymetrics, staccato riffs, and the utilization of fucking weird, alien guitar solos make this an unbelievably great album. Anybody who says otherwise is a complete idiot with cotton wool for ears. This album is incredibly classy and devastatingly clever. These musicians deserve to be openly worshiped for releasing this album (especially since legend has it that at some point prior to the recording of this album, Thordendal severed a finger in a carpentry accident and Haake met with the wrong end of a grinder). There is not one single wasted or bad track herein, and, as fitting an album of this technical brilliance, this album is destined to never sound outdated — neither in songwriting, execution, nor production. Just. Plain. Perfect. End of story. In my eyes, and to my ears, this is nothing short of groundbreaking stuff, and metal hasn’t been the same since.
-Tash
[Two full reviews for this one. One and Two. ]
28. Blind Guardian: Nightfall in Middle-Earth
Released: 1998
Power metal is not a style known for its originality. Hansi Kürsch and the boys of Blind Guardian, however, have been taking power metal in a completely unique direction since the early 90’s. Many fans would agree that 1998’s “Nightfall…” is the band’s defining moment. I’m not one for concepts and stories, so I won’t comment on all the narrations and lyrics, but I can champion the music.
Whereas most power metal bands pay homage to bands like Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, and Helloween, Blind Guardian took things one step further. You hear just as much Queen, Jethro Tull, and Uriah Heap in BG’s music as you hear the aforementioned stalwarts. These influences and the band’s studio dedication result in one of the most polished and technically dazzling albums in metal history. Although the lead guitars are rich and the rhythms are pounding, the true captain of this ship is Hansi. His mega-tracked vocals and varied singing will stick in your head like a pube on the toilet seat.
-Hanging Limbs
27. Megadeth: Rust in Peace
Released: 1990
From his early beginnings with Metallica, to his “battles” with addiction, Sir Mustaine has certainly had an interesting career. Basically, Dave was a crazy fuck. In a drunken rage, he poured a full beer into (then-member) Ron McGovney’s bass and punched Hetfield in the face after kicking his dog. I don’t care if these rumors are true or not, I want to believe them. After being thrown out of Metallica, fist in the air and pipe full of crack, Dave vowed to form his own band in order to outshine the schoolgirls who casually disregarded him.
While never achieving the same commercial success as Metallica, Megadeth has certainly proved to be relatively more consistent over the years; “Rust in Peace” being the pinnacle of their achievements. “Holy Wars” in itself represents the bastion of a classic metal song, its lyrics more relevant today than ever before. While Mustaine was probably higher than Pete Doherty climbing a ladder in a floating penthouse suite when he wrote the song, it nevertheless proved that while Megadeth was never officially “better” than Metallica in theory, officious empirical evidence might say otherwise. Of course, to each his own. Some people despise Mustaine’s work. Shame on them. “Rust In Piece” will always stand out as one of the most consistent albums released in the 90s and is, without a doubt, Megadeth’s finest hour.
-Fishermane
26. Dark Tranquillity: The Gallery
Released: 1995
There isn’t a way of avoiding clichés now. Terms “Gothenburg death metal” and “NWOSDM” will be used, because this album, along with In Flames’ “The Jester Race” made it oh so popular — with merits, of course. “The Gallery” is melodic and intricate but never losing intensity, a scheme that injected new elements of attraction without leaving the listener appalled by them.
While there are elements such as female vocals, clean vocals and acoustic guitars here and there, the credit for such renewal is given to the melodic twin guitar attack. While so obvious on the British heavy metal and so blasphemous on death metal, it was the one characteristic that managed to lift Swedish death metal into new heights. This album, along a few others, spawned a whole new generation of bands, a glory only a few can claim.
The Dark Tranquillity troupe was also responsible for a new view on writing lyrics, which content departed from either gore, Satan or political issues. They might not sound as deep now, its introspective approach expanded the horizons of many kids towards subjects that couldn’t be found in horror movies nor left or right winged manifestos.
And it has “The Emptiness From Which I Fed” and “Punish My Heaven”, c’mon. This is fantastic stuff!
-Tiago Bonamigo
25. Cryptopsy: None So Vile
Released: 1996
Chaos is the name of the game here, that which can be compared to Deicide’s “Legion”. A wave of sounds hits you as soon as you hit play, with technical drumming done at uncharted speeds, groovy bass lines, technical guitar playing, and those grunts. How can someone not like Lord Worm’s grunts? Plus, he drinks from a glass filled with worms during their live shows, which is more than I can say for Deicide.
-Eric W
24. Strapping Young Lad: City
Released: 1996
“City” is a special album for a lot of reasons. For one, nothing else on the planet sounds like it. For another, Devin Townsend’s massive riffs and throat searing screams combine perfectly with Gene Hoglan’s percussive domination — rarely have two guys ever been as in sync as they are. To say that SYL created some really angry, slightly humorous and completely over the top industrial thrash metal is like calling the Parthenon a “building”. The statement is technically true, but it just doesn’t do the thing justice.
Let me put it this way: Have you ever been so pissed-off that your vision is blurred by patches of brilliant, white-hot rage? Ever been so filled with paranoid hatred that you wish to destroy everything in your path, because all of it, your possessions, your family and friends, your enemies, yourself and even the very the world upon which you stand, is so infected, so imperfect that it deserves nothing less than annihilation? Well, “City” is the thrum you hear in the background of that state, amplified and clarified for your listening pleasure. What makes “City” such a sublime album though, isn’t just the relentless self-destruction and sonic violence. It’s that even as he’s blindly lashing out at everything, Townsend is winking at you, smiling beneath the curses and letting you know that it’s okay to laugh and cry and just be pissed. It’s all just part of being, you know, human.
-Stephen Fallen
23. Dismember: Like An Ever Flowing Stream
Released: 1991
If Dismember released “Like An Ever Flowing Stream” one year before Entombed’s “Left Hand Path”, the band would be cherished by the underground hordes as deserved. That classic album featured all the production tricks that defined the almost-patented “Sunlight sound” but yet employing a healthy dose of melody and thrashing grooves that makes it hard not to love every damn second of it.
Maybe it lacked the brutality needed to succeed on conquering a huge amount of fans back in the day, but the truth is that the blend presented on “Like An Ever Flowing Stream” is probably the one that sounds mostly unaffected by time when you get to listen to all of its contemporaries. If they had the right support, they would have skinned half the planet alive and it would be beautiful.
Now the world is all about thrashy riffs blended into aggressive music, right? Dismember did it before your shitty band ever thought of metal, you fucking assholes. Stop flicking buggers out of your nose and bow to them!
-Tiago Bonamigo
22. Bolt Thrower: The IVth Crusade
Released: 1992
The fucken Bolts. “The IVth crusade” is the one album that put Bolt Thrower on the map for me. What they released prior to this one was half-assed, untight and boring death metal, but with this fucker they turned the tables and wrote some of their finest material ever. They don’t play anything technical, they don’t put on any fancy bullshit in their tunes. Bolt Thrower just kill, and kill again. The title track’s opening riff goes down as one of the best riffs I have ever heard, from any band. And it’s not like the rest of the album is a hella lot worse. Fantastic. Completely fan-fucken-tastic.
-Lord K
21. Mayhem: De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas
Released: 1994
The album that started it all… This groundbreaking record started the second wave black metal scene, and from that point on, all hell broke loose. With all the murders, church burnings, and other crimes, this album was so publicized that it got a lot of hype. Thankfully it lives up to all the hype, and is more than a historical time piece, but a damn good piece of music as well.
-Eric W
