Sloan (in the black and white flannel), relishing in 90s fashion with his band...
When first given the assignment to write about what I feel are the 30 best albums of the 1990s I thought it would be a snap. Considering I’m one of those list-orientated kind of people, I usually have a mental list of the best this or the worst that and what have you. Piecing together the final list, though, was more daunting a task than first imagined.
I immediately jotted down the best albums of that decade, which, in my opinion, is the best in music history. However, I noticed I had 58 albums and had to somehow break the news to my CDs one at a time that not everybody would be included. After a few hours of back-breaking work, I was stunned at how many of my favorite albums were omitted from the list. Blown away was I when I realized that nothing from the mighty Deceased or Obituary made the cut and only one Death record made it.
It was a pleasure compiling the list and memories of when I purchased each one flooded my brain. I was only 12 years old when 1990 came around and I had already been a foaming-at-the-mouth headbanger for about two years at that point. Before you, the loyal reader, examine the list, I must first make a note that though much of their sound is definitely metal, I omitted Tool from the list because they aren’t considered a metal band. If they were to be on the list, though, 1996’s Ænima would be near the bottom of my top ten. Enjoy.
1. Carcass - Necroticism – Descanting the Insalubrious (Earache) In my opinion this is the greatest album ever recorded in the history of mankind. I’ll never forget the day I first heard this masterpiece, either. My cousin bought the cassette and called me right up because he liked the cover and impossible-to-pronounce song titles. I was told by him how good the tape was. When I got to his house, we cranked it up while playing Golden Axe on the Sega Genesis. Instantly the perfect sound of the guitars and the brilliant duel vocals of Jeff Walker and Bill Steer struck me. Right then I knew it was perfect and probably nothing would ever eclipse it. Almost 20 years later, I have yet to listen to an album that is better (but one is awfully close). After thousands of listens to both cassette and CD, it never gets old. It’s absolute perfection and in another twenty years, I highly doubt anything will ever top it.
2. Atheist - Unquestionable Presence (Active) Like it was stated in the Carcass paragraph, one album is close to Necroticism. This is it. Unquestionable Presence is the closest thing to eclipsing Carcass’ gem that I’ll probably ever hear until my body is being carved up by med students. No band has ever released a more technical and catchy album than Atheist did with this and literally every time I listen to it, I somehow manage to unearth something I’ve never noticed before. This piece of brilliance has never gotten old, not even in the least. This is the album that really opened my eyes to bass playing. [Bassist] Tony Choy pulled off what Roger Patterson [R.I.P] wrote and nobody else could have done a better job.
3. Morbid Angel - Blessed Are the Sick (Earache) The best album the Floridians ever offered, hands down. It has that creepy, haunting sound to it like so few “evil” bands ever pulled off. Aside from Black Sabbath’s self-titled song and Mercyful Fate’s perfect Don’t Break the Oath, no other album captures that mysterious dark atmosphere that Morbid Angel did on Blessed Are the Sick. It’s as violent as it is beautiful and the bleeding hatred that David Vincent spews is priceless. Trey Azagthoth’s guitar work has never been better before or after and Pete Sandoval’s drumming magnifies the strength of the album. I’ll never forget when I brought the tape home and was mesmerized by the lyrics and sound while laying on my living floor with a terrible Sanyo stereo (with a handle for easy carrying).
4. Slayer - Divine Intervention (Def/American) Yes; Divine f**king Intervention. Slayer is my all-time favorite band and I had been listening to them since 1989, several months before Seasons came out. I had a daily countdown when the official release date for this opus came out and once I got my grubby mitts on it, I couldn’t have driven my crummy 1979 Camaro Berlinetta home fast enough. This was surprisingly the first album I ever got where I did nothing but listen to it; no video games, no reading anything, no friends over, nothing. I just sat in my bedroom on my chair and just listened. The album couldn’t have been better and it was well worth the four-year wait since Seasons. Not many people like this album from Slayer, but not me; it’s their finest hour in my opinion. You can’t get better than “Dittohead,” “Sex Murder Art” or “Circle of Beliefs.”
5. Slayer - Seasons in the Abyss (Def/American) Another absolute classic from the greatest band that ever walked the earth, Seasons… was my favorite from the LA thrashers until September of 1994. There is literally no weak point on the album and it’s the rare album with perfect bookend songs. I fondly remember going to a local Peaches store (it later became Coconuts) with my sister to buy the cassette. I’ll never forget how insane that album was when I first heard it and it’s never gotten old. It also doesn’t hurt to have my #3 favorite song from these guys, either (“War Ensemble”). Hail Slayer.
6. Cradle of Filth - Cruelty and the Beast (Mayhem/Fierce) Ah, if only this album had a nice, thick and meaty drum production because this is the album that just might have knocked Necroticism… off its perch. It’s the perfect orchestral black metal album; blistering at some parts, thrashy in others and beautiful symphonies in the rest. This is the perfect Cradle of Filth album, one that they’ll never top no matter how hard they try. When I first got it, it instantly blew away Dusk and Her Embrace, which was at that point my favorite album from the Brits. Ah, if only it had a better drum production…
7. Entombed - Wolverine Blues (Earache) I know its blasphemy because all the cool “true” Entombed fans like Left Hand Path the best but let’s get serious; Wolverine Blues decimates that disc in every facet. This is one of the catchiest albums ever recorded and though it’s a departure from the Swedish death metal sound they basically invented, Entombed reached their zenith with this absolutely perfect mix of punk, death and rock & roll. They’ve released several very good records since this mighty slab, but nothing touches Wolverine Blues.
8. At the Gates - Slaughter of the Soul (Earache) What a way to go out. Slaughter of the Soul is the album I never expected At the Gates to create, not in a hundred years. After having been a fan since The Red in the Sky is Ours and following them from that point forward, I honestly didn’t scoop this one up until several months after its release. I wasn’t too impressed with Terminal Spirit Disease but the day after I saw At the Gates live at the Thirsty Whale with Dissection and Morbid Angel on their final tour, Slaughter… had to be purchased. It’s just a shame they split up and never recorded jack after this one, but at least The Haunted their debut album a few years later (too bad that band turned into a bigger pile of manure with each ensuing release…).
9. Pantera - Far Beyond Driven (Atlantic) Pantera’s hardest, most violent record ever and I’ll never forget the first time I listened to it. I rushed over to Kroozin’ Muzik after school the day it came out and tore into it once I got home. To be honest, I didn’t really care for it too much and didn’t really get into it until about three years after its release. Sure, I’d listen to a few songs, but over time it slowly became my personal favorite from these guys. Hell, I even like their version of “Planet Caravan” better than Black Sabbath’s! But seriously; who can argue the greatness of “Shedding Skin” or “Throes of Rejection?” I didn’t think so.
10. Cannibal Corpse - Tomb of the Mutilated (Metal Blade) In my opinion, this is the Corpse’s only elite album. Sure, The Bleeding is very good and Butchered at Birth has its moments, but Cannibal Corpse never, ever came within a mile of replicating the sheer barbarity or grooviness found on Tomb… It is absolutely the finest slab of brutal death metal the world has ever heard as literally every song on the album crushes you with both heaviness and hooks. It’s a shame every release from this band from Vile onward is literally the same exact record over and over.
11. The Haunted - The Haunted (Earache) 12. Pantera - Vulgar Display of Power (ATCO) 13. Carcass - Tools of the Trade (Earache) 14. Emperor - IX Equilibrium (Century Media) 15. Fear Factory - Demanufacture (Roadrunner) 16. Amorphis - Elegy (Relapse) 17. Deicide - Once Upon the Cross (Roadrunner) 18. Amorphis - Tales From the Thousand Lakes (Relapse) 19. King Diamond - The Eye (Roadrunner) 20. Morbid Angel - Altars of Madness (Earache) 21. GWAR - Scumdogs of the Universe (Metal Blade) 22. Deicide – Deicide (Roadrunner) 23. Cradle of Filth - Dusk and Her Embrace (Mayhem/Fierce) 24. Mercyful Fate - In the Shadows (Metal Blade) 25. King Diamond - The Spider’s Lullabye (Metal Blade) 26. Sepultura - Chaos A.D. (Roadrunner) 27. Death - Human (Relativity) 28. Soilent Green - Sewn Mouth Secrets (Relapse) 29. Malevolent Creation - Retribution (Roadrunner) 30. Dissection - Storm of the Light’s Bane (Nuclear Blast)
