These are some records of festering death metal genius that may not be on everyone’s top 10 lists, but are timeless in their own right. These four are important and seminal in all cases and have received critical acclaim as well as praise from the humble listener, as the average percentage values at the Metal Archives website will reveal.
The Chasm - Deathcult for Eternity: The Triumph (1998 - Oz Productions)
Big towering riffs, emanating power and defiance are abundant on The Chasm’s third full length Deathcult… which is an album of epic and divine progression channelled thorough malevolent death metal. It is an album that charts its path to the stars with grandiose lead guitar work and slow and steady build up.
Daniel Corchado’s vocals are varied but always scathing and match the mood regulated by the clamour of the combined instruments. Some of the killer hooks on this album may be more at home on a black metal record, being truly harrowing – e.g. in “Possessed by Past Tragedies (Tragic Shadows)”, but this diversity however doesn’t impede The Chasm on their quest for dominion.
The inherent creativity may take virgin listeners a while to imbibe as the songs are long and intricate, but the rewards reaped after the songs have had the time to cast their spell (of retribution) are well worthwhile. Just check Seker’s review at Global Dominion or the review at Chronicles of Chaos which are just two examples among the tons of very strong acclaim this album has gained.
Decapitated - Winds of Creation (2000 - Earache)
Youthful enthusiasm wins the day here with Decapitated’s stunning debut Winds of Creation. Clinical jackhammer death metal of celestial order, jam packed with groove and power as well as soaring solos. When the tempo is up, the forward motion is punishing and throughout the record there is an intrinsic cyclic dynamic to the riffs that make them highly contagious.
You may very well be aware of Decapitated’s sound which was still exhibited expertly on Nihility and The Negation, but it was on this album that the ability to write undiluted tunes and harness their sound to real unforgettable enthralling songs. Take “Nine Steps” and “Blessed” - how anyone can’t feel an overwhelming sense of childish excitement when cuts like these come racing out of the speakers is beyond me.
Lykathea Aflame - Elvenefris (2000 - Obscene Producitons)
Czech band Lykathea Aflame (formerly known as Appalling Spawn) released one solitary but blistering full-length in 2000 - A perfect sparring partner for Nile’s In Their Darkened Shrines, released within a year of each other. When an album goes beyond a number of good tracks and leaves a listener bewildered and trying to shrug off a sense that they’ve been transported to another place, this shows how truly together and complete the songs feel. Such is the case with Elvenefris.
As the album unfolds its tale of beauty and brutality, empowering riffs intertwine whilst being driven by the rumbling of ever inventive and dynamic percussion.
Matched in its dumbfounding technicality by its shear beauty; the band really captured their historical influences perfectly. Like Egyptology-obsessed Nile and Israeli band Melechesh, Lykathea convey a vivid flavour of ancient civilization.
Aborted - Engineering the Dead (2001 - Listenable)
“Your suffering will be legendary…even in hell” rings out as “Nailed Through Her ****” tears your ears asunder, and despite the title sounding like a car crash between two Cradle of Filth song names, “Nailed…” is a shining example of how sublime Aborted’s songwriting is on this album.
Some may notice a few recycled Cannibal Corpse riffs and approaches, but didn’t some important people say that recycling will save the world one day? And anyway, if you are going to use one of the best death metal bands as a frame of reference to create an independent and engaging album, then what’s the problem?
No frills, just good ol’ death ‘n’ gore from the inconsistent Belgians. Carnivorous riffs, well timed and not over-milked breakdowns and some ferocious blasting unite to spew forth an intense rush of an album, like standing in a wind tunnel and having rancid corpses fed in through the fan. Lovely.
Sounds of the Underground
There are many lists and countdowns that cite albums like Tomb of the Mutilated, Altars of Madness, Slowly We Rot, Deicide and others of their ilk as top death metal albums, which indeed they are, but there are also albums that are as important and powerful as these classics.
Whether it is due to lack of exposure or geographical isolation these albums haven’t become as well known as the aforementioned classics. Hopefully this article has shed some light and will introduce some hungry metalheads to some awesome albums. There are many more out there so keep your ears to the ground.
