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GD's Most Dominating Albums Of The 1990's (40-31)

09/04/07 || Global Domination

40. Morbid Angel: Domination
^{Released: 1995}

Morbid Angel guitarist/vocalist Trey Azagthoth is a sort of crazy old hippie uncle to the metal community these days, but his band will always be remembered for violent, evil death metal. Nobody has released more high quality death metal than Morbid Angel and while all of Morbid Angel’s early albums are stunningly brutal and highly influential, “Domination” may have been the band’s high point. First, it’s got the best name (obviously). Second, it’s got the most groove. Third, they took everything they learned from their first 4 albums and churned out something even more satanic and filthy by adding some great new tricks to the arsenal. For examples, look no further than the classical arrangements and David Vincent’s crazy fishman vocals on the classic tune “Where the Slime Lives”.

Heck, the band even tried to release a special edition called the “Slime Pack” that came with toxic-green colored goo. When the slime turned out to actually be deadly toxic and had to be canceled, it just proved that Morbid Angel was evil enough to attempt to kill off its entire fan base (inadvertently or not). Neat-o.

-Stephen Fallen

39. Dissection: Storm of the Light’s Bane
^{Released: 1995}

Jon Nödtveidt was a murdering douche bag. He had one of the most eagerly anticipated, yet under-produced comeback albums in metal history. Apparently I wasn’t the only one who found fault with his music. Jonny Boy blew his fucking head off in 2006 after reading 45,825 negative reviews of “Reinkaos.”

This disc, however, is deserving of every bit of praise it receives. An album as dark as it is melodic, “Storm…” represents Mrs. Nödtveidt at his creative peak. Like In Flames, Dissection is a great way to introduce traditional metal fans to the dark side of the genre. Just ask them if they want to hear blackened death metal at its most epic. If their drool sacks bob up and down, turn on “Where Dead Angels Lie” and kick back with a cold one.

“A spell was cast and the sky turned red and the angel’s heart froze to ice in the gloomy sky – The silence where dead angels lie”

F’in A!

-Hanging Limbs

38. Death: The Sound of Perseverance
^{Released: 1998}

At this point, it is widely accepted that Death was one of the most influential bands in death metal and beyond. However, it is also well worth noting that Death remained a trailblazing band throughout its existence. When listening to Death’s last album before Chuck Schuldiner’s untimely passing, one can clearly hear the immense influence that latter-era Death had on the more technically-inclined death metal of today. The album is an unsurpassed gem in forward-thinking tech-metal. The complex-yet-accessible songwriting coupled with Schuldiner’s passionate lyricism makes “The Sound of Perseverance” a definite classic. There is a very good reason why Chuck’s absence is so painfully felt by so many metalheads to this day: Death’s last album and Control Denied’s single release made it clear that he had many masterpieces left in him. R.I.P. to Chuck Schuldiner, true master of the metallic arts.

-Consumer

37. Dying Fetus: Purification Through Violence
^{Released: 1996}

I don’t even remember how I first stumbled upon Dying Fetus’ music, or even what album it was. They like to get a bit technical with their riffs, and unleash plenty of blastbeats, but they always have some groove going on, and somehow manage to make songs with titles like “Raped On The Altar” so damn catchy.

-Chazz

[Full Review]

36. Entombed: Clandestine
^{Released: 1991}

Downtuned death thrash has always been something no one could up Entombed on, even though many have tried. “Clandestine” shook the death metal world at the time, showing fans that thrash and death go hand in hand, as well as using those drop z crunchy riffs they are known for.

-Eric W

(Note from Stephen: I was surprised and disappointed that the name Dan Seagrave didn’t show up anywhere on this list, so I’m adding a note about him. He’s not a musician, but an unbelievably talented artist and his dark, gorgeous alien landscapes adorn many memorable albums. More importantly, his influence on modern metal album artwork was massive, and his style is cribbed by everyone. The cover for “Clandestine” is particularly memorable. Check out a bigger version here).

(Note from the Mane: Gorgeous alien landscapes? Fuck that shit, show me blood, steel and naked women! Yea bitches!)

[We like this album so much there are 3 full reviews to peruse: 1, 2, 3. ]

35. Sepultura: Arise
^{Released: 1991}

A theme we see on all of these classic albums is that they were composed at a time when the band was at its strongest. Sepultura was never “stronger” in terms of thrash/death aggression than on “Arise.” Gone are the more melodic tribal influences of Max’s later works. This disc is just jammed full of riffs upon riffs upon Brazilian piña colada. Igor behind the kit is all crazy and groovy and shit, Andreas has his signature sounds coming through his leads, Paulo enjoys playing with a pick, and Max is doing his best raped goat impersonation. To truly take stock of Sepultura’s gorgeous fusion of late 80’s death metal stylings with the melodic/groove/thrash they will soon pave the way for.

-Syrrok

[Full Review]

34. Opeth: Morningrise
^{Released: 1996}

Not to be confused with Blowpeth. This was the first great Opeth album and probably my favorite of theirs. Mikael Åkerfeldt’s creative songwriting, though excessive and sometimes tedious, always placed them a few notches above their peers. Opeth’s classic and progressive rock influences made for much needed diversity in a melodic death metal scene that was becoming over saturated and generic.

“Morningrise” is a dark and heavy album despite the frequent use of acoustic guitars and clean vocals. Unlike their later, snore-inducing efforts, every note here stirs your emotions. The middle section of “Black Rose Immortal” is one of the most eerily soothing moments you’ll find in metal.

I’ll end this on a somewhat interesting note. My mom absolutely loves the song “To Bid You Farewell.” Congratulations Mr. Åkerfeldt. Take your seat next to Barry Manilow and Neil Diamond. You’ve earned your throne in my mom’s heart.

-Hanging Limbs

[Full Review]

33. Amorphis: Tales From the Thousand Lakes
^{Released: 1994}

To this very day there is a load of bands that intend to blend their distinct influences into a homogeneous sound of their own and most of them fail miserably. Amorphis, back in 1994, managed to pull off the nearly impossible by making a great mixture out of equal parts of progressive rock, death metal, folk music and classic metal into a fantastic album called “Tales From The Thousand Lakes”.

The lyrics, taken from or inspired by the Finnish epic poem Kalevala, go hand in hand with the spacey production and monotone vocals to weave an album that summon images as epic as the tales contained within it. Whether you choose to lay on your couch while reading the booklet or headbang to it, it provides you a great experience with songs that are quite melodic and also groovy, yet always moving and without sounding one bit less metal than it was supposed to.

It took a couple of releases for Amorphis to release this landmark, but it will remain a relevant release for years to come. One must applaud their boldness back in the day, in the time the extreme metal underground feared the words “melodic” and “innovation” as much as the cross. So refined was their concept and sound that is ironic the amorphous nature of their name.

-Tiago Bonamigo

32. Type O Negative: Bloody Kisses
^{Released: 1993}

Ever since Bauhaus gave the post-punk movement a dark and curiously morbid twist in the late 70s, freaks in black have constantly thrown themselves at any band who seem to share their feelings, ideologies and most importantly, their image. While Type O Negative might casually disregard any deliberate association with anything remotely “Goth”, their ’93 breakthrough “Bloody Kisses” might say otherwise, considering the legions of followers the album would spawn. Despite all the sludge-doom-goth-metal labels often pinned to TON, BK was a hell of a nice progression for the Drab Four and would even land them a certified platinum album.

In hindsight, it has aged extremely well. Peter’s deep crooning flows effortlessly over heavy yet elegant compositions. While every single TON release is significant in its own right, “Bloody Kisses” would prove to be their most critically acclaimed album, thanks mostly to the 2 tremendous singles “Christian Woman” and “Black Number 1”. The former, a lengthy parody of the lifestyle adopted by the aforementioned gothic culture couldn’t be any more entertaining, albeit ironic, considering the nature of many Type O fans. And according to Peter, loving a goth girl is like loving a dead girl. Couldn’t he have saved us from numerous mind-numbing fan interpretations and just outright said that fucking a goth chick is boring?

-Fishermane

31. Metallica: Metallica
^{Released: 1991}

This one sure belongs on this list and it is the last Metallica album that should end up on any list that features important albums. Metallica were once a group of guys who actually had a part in this world, even though it is hard to believe nowadays. This black one is the last effort they released that’s at least a bit metal and it also holds a great production and some true gems in tunes like “Wherever I may roam” and “Through the never”. Up to this point in time, Metallica still had some decent musicianship in them and they obviously knew how to write some catchy music, something they completely lost after this one. With “St. Penis” they really completed the task of being one of the most terrible bands around, something not even the black album can prevent. A fine black effort and obviously the last decent chapter in the history of Metallica. Rest in piece.

-Lord K

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