Top 10 Death Metal Albums
This is a bit of a loose list, while I won’t argue these are the best Albums. While “Alters of Madness” isn’t my favourite Morbid Angel album I wouldn’t deny it’s their essential album for a second. These are just the 10 albums that I keep returning to. They are the albums I measure up new albums I hear against. There are some newer albums also. Some in particular I heard just a couple of years ago but the impression made on me was massive. They are not particularly in order, the first 5 yes then it goes a bit loose.
Anyway here we go….
Death – Symbolic/Human
Choosing one of these albums is like choosing a favorite child. I go back and forth. However Symbolic probably takes the lead a bit more often and is the album I’ll probably recommend to a new listener. I think “Symbolic” is one of the greatest metal albums ever recorded period. However both albums are perfect for the same reasons they just reach opposite ends of the spectrum. You could say “Human” is more out there while “Symbolic” is a bit more refined and simpler. Both capture the perfect balance of heaviness, technicality AND catchiness as well as other worldly beauty.
Morbid Angel – Formulas Fatal to Flesh
I just adore this album. With every passing year it gets better with every listen. There is so much depth and so many shades to this. It’s dark as hell and so deep and beautifully crafted. I will actually use a section of a piece I wrote a few years back because I think I said it best then (link to original piece below)
The album starts of as a blast-fest, the brutal opening track “Heaving Earth” saw the band back at their brutal best. Pete Sandoval’s drumming I think was also at its peak on this album; he is all over his kit throughout the album. “Prayer of Hatred” has a hypnotic solo from Trey. The distorted, twisted groove of “Nothing is Not” is absolutely superb. The instrumental passages such as the haunting “Disturbance of the Great Slumber” and the eerily tribal “Ascent through the Spheres” is stomach churning. “Invocation of the Continual One” is one of the bands’ masterpieces. With that wonderful melodic lead at the beginning, the song nearly 10 minutes long (It is if you include the introduction before it) and it goes on this brilliant journey taking you through Trey’s warped mind.
The album has so much going on and it takes a few listens to fully take it all in, but the rewards are infinite. It’s an album that shows more with each listen. It’s one of Morbid Angel’s finest albums and shows Trey Azagthoth at his creative peak. It is simply criminal that this album gets ignored simply because David Vincent isn’t on it. If songs like “Invocation….” Or “Prayer of Hatred” were released today by Behemoth everyone would be losing their minds.
Vital Remains – Icons of Evil
A full package of an album that captures everything great about metal in general. It’s Death Metal in its purest form with the Epic bombastic-ness of the classics. It closes with an Yngwie Malmsteen cover for god’s sake. It has the brutality that makes you want to go burn down a church and Melodic passages that bring to mind classics like Mercyful Fate and Iron Maiden. This is all topped off with Deicide’s Glen Benton giving one of the best vocal performances of his career.
Malevolent Creation – Envenomed
I always loved the way Malevolent Creation leaped back and forth between Death Metal and thrash. While their first albums are rightly regarded as classics hardcore fans of the band always site this as their favorite. It’s got a perfect line up with Rob Barrett on guitar and the underrated David Culross killing it on the drums and a face melting performance from Brett Hoffman. It has the non-stop, white heat intensity of Reign in Blood and even tips into Black Metal territory on “Kill zone”. Play this in the car and its impossible not to speed.
Brood of hatred – Skinless Agony
Released in 2014 and is one of the best Death Metal Albums I’ve ever heard. It sits up there with all the classics. This album kicked my ass when I first heard it and it still bewilders me. So dark and atmospheric. Just Stunning!
Hate Eternal – Infernus
Eric Rutan is like the Death Metal mathematician. He just understands this form of music and there’s a reason Morbid Angel snapped him up at the age of 22. This is their latest album released just last year and I truly believe this is his masterpiece. Again while “King of all Kings” and “I, Monarch” are milestones he completely outdid himself on this album. It’s another one of those albums where the band are just on point with tracks like “The Stygian Deep” and “locust Swarm” but on the title track you see the band breaking new territory.
Deicide – the Stench of Redemption
After a couple of phoned in albums Deicide split in a half. With Jack Owen and Ralph Santolla taking over on guitars the band returned reinvigorated. Deicide sounded angry again. As well as the return of the furious intensity there’s actually a lot of melody in there as well as some blistering solos. A nice extra twist is the final track “The Lord’s Sedition” with its slow melodic introduction which saw a change for the band and them exploring new ground. It didn’t last mind…
Immolation – Majesty and Decay
The oppressive down trodden atmosphere on this album is thicker than Marmite, it’s so heavy. Immolation are the masters at Death Metal and this is a later day masterpiece by them. The twisted melodies on the title track alone is worth
Skinless – Trample the dead, hurdle the weak
I love this album’s attitude. It has its tongue firmly in its cheek with the samples used and it unapologetic, nihilistic delivery of balls to the wall Death metal. They know also when to break things down and through in a massive riff and a big groove. It’s one of the catchiest Death Metal albums you’ll ever hear.
Decapitated – Organic Hallucinosis
The bands last album with Vitek (Witold Kieltyka) on drums and their sole album with Covan (Adrian Kowanek) on vocals. Before tragedy struck the band they released this dystopian masterpiece. With a mere 7 tracks and just over half hour in length Decapitated unleashed an album that was brutal with emphasis on groove and odd time signatures. Imagine Pantera on tracks like Slaughtered but Death Metal! The album has this wonderful dark, nightmarish, biomechanical atmosphere (so it sounds just like it’s front cover looks!) that’s not been matched since.
