Top Ten Death Metal Albums

Ahh... Death Metal. Some people think anything with a screaming singer is death metal. But last time I checked screamo scene pussies are NOT Death Metal. Death Metal has changed quite a bit from it's roots in thrash metal but it's still those first classics from bands like Death, Possessed and Cannibal Corpse that bring the pain most deliciously. There are many amazing bands who are not represented here such as Grave, Massacre, Cryptopsy, Atheist, Nile, At The Gates, Unleashed and Dismember etc. There are also albums by the bands on this list that are amazing and are landmarks in the genre, like 'Human' and every other album released by Death, that do not appear on this list. This is due to my personal tastes, as I prefer my death metal to be rawer and thrashier more often than not.

1. DEATH - Scream Bloody Gore

"DRINK FROM THE GOBLET, THE GOBLET OF GORE. TASTE THE ZOMBIE'S DRUG, NOW YOU WANT MORE. DRIFTING FROM THE LIVING, JOINING WITH THE DEAD. ZOMBIE DWELLING MAGGOTS, NOW INFEST YOUR HEAD. ZOMBIE. RITUUUALL!!!"

Chuck Schuldiner was Death Metal personified. While he was really a nice quiet guy with a love for horror movies and extreme music, no single person did as much for the genre as Chuck. Besides possibly inventing the term "Death Metal" (there is debate as to whether Possessed did so first), Chuck and the revolving door of players in Death perfected their art for years with demos and released 7 albums from 1987-98. Every one of these albums were genre masterpieces that never failed to thrill and progress with each new release. Also, through his obsessive tape trading, he not only promoted his own band but many of thrash, death and grindcores founding fathers (at different points he struck up musical partnerships with the members of DRI, Repulsion, Canada's Slaughter and Terrorizer and former members went on to form bands such as Autopsy and Massacre). This album doesn't showcase Chuck's later philosophical side and is firmly rooted in horror and gore lyrics (Especially on my personal favorite, the Bruce Campbell gore-fest worshiping 'Evil Dead') and the music compliments it so very well. Such a brutal and perfect album made by a truly amazing person. RIP Chuck we'll see you on the other side.

DEATH ~ Evil Dead

2. SEPULTURA - Beneath The Remains

"CITIES IN RUINS, BODIES PACKED ON MINEFIELDS, NEUROTIC GAME OF LIFE AND DEATH... WHO HAS WON? WHO HAS DIED? BENEATH THE REMAINS!"

Sepultura was the greatest thing that Brazil has given the world. No joke. While their blackened thrash EP's and their debut full length 'Schizophrenia' were groundbreaking, it was this album that cemented their place in music history. Some classify this as a thrash album and other do not. I never felt comfortable placing this album alongside of Slayer, Dark Angel and Kreator. I've always felt that this album was very rooted in thrash with it's guitar style and political lyrics but was exploring and creating the death metal genre as it went. This album is like Slayer's 'Reign In Blood' in many ways. Other than a slow intro at the beginning of the title track, this album is full throttle, full tilt, full bore and no bullshit. It takes no quarter and is all too often forgotten.

SEPULTURA ~ Beneath The Remains

 

3. POSSESSED - Seven Churches

"UNLEASHED MEN OF SIN. HATRED HELL WITHIN. SINNER'S HATE WILL DIE. THE EXORCIST!!!"

The album begins with Mike Oldfield's 'Tubular Bells' better known as the theme from the landmark horror film 'The Exorcist'. If that and the album's minimalist and evil artwork haven't clued you in as to what this Bay Area band is about... well, good luck in life with your powers of discernment. One of the things I've never understood about this album is why people haven't cited it as a major influence on Black Metal as well. Everything is here for it. Lyrics about evil, tremolo picked guitars, lo-fi production and reverb out the wazoo, other than the guttural vocals, it seems like a great template for proto-Black Metal. Either way, this is an awesome album that oozes with malevolent atmosphere and should be required listening for all metal heads.

POSSESSED ~ The Exorcist

4. DEICIDE - Deicide

"WE ARE WHAT WAS AND SHALL RULE AGAIN. DEAD BY DAWN, CHANTING DEATH THE ANCIENT HYMN. THIS IS NOT REAL, I AM NOT THE CHOSEN ONE. TRAPPED IN THE SPELL OF THE NECRONOMICON."

From the band Amon (whose collected demos are on the Deicide's CD 'Amon: Feasting The Beast' a really good album for your money.) the band Deicide was formed. This album is made up entirely of songs from Amon songs  and the practice behind these songs is evident. Lead vocalist/bassist Glen Benton has been the creative vision and walking PR agent for this band since day one. From burning an upside down cross into his forehead, shooting a squirrel while being interviewed at his home and declaring himself a Satanist (most likely for the publicity), Glen has always managed to keep Deicide in the spotlight. His vocals are so demonic with and WITHOUT the vocal effects on this album that the Religious Right was convinved he was genuinely possessed. Decide for yourselves and see why Deicide is one of the founding fathers of Death Metal.

DEICIDE ~ Dead By Dawn

5. CANNIBAL CORPSE - Eaten Back To Life

"THEY ENTER YOUR TOMB. MAGGOTS!!! BEGINNING TO FEAST. MAGGOTS!!! CRAWLING ON YOU. MAGGOTS!!! NOW THEY EAT YOU. MAGGOTS!!!

If there is one Death Metal band EVERYONE knows of, it is Cannibal Corpse. The biggest reason for this is their name, their unprecedentedly gory artwork and their unbelievably inhumane lyrics. Coming from Buffalo, NY (and not the Death Metal havens of Florida and California) Cannibal Corpse quickly became the face of death metal for mainstream media and the face of Satan for the Religious Right. They also were along with Massacre a major part of the shift to what is now considered typical death metal vocal styling (or "cookie monster" vocals). While many do not agree, I find 'Eaten Back To Life' to be their most fun, enjoyable and rocking album for a few reasons. 1. Their sound was still tied to thrash metal in the best way 2. Chris Barnes was still their vocalist and 3. This was when they were just out to have some gory fun and didn't take themselves too seriously and become a parody of themselves and the genre. Like a good cheesy B-horror film, it delivers the thrills, chills and laughs that we all crave.

 CANNIBAL CORPSE ~ A Skull Full Of Maggots

6. AUTOPSY - Severed Survival

"STRICKEN WITH A HORRIBLE DISEASE, MANKIND FALLS VICTIM TO DOOM. A FESTERING PLAGUE SWEEPS ACROSS THE EARTH. ROTTING DEATH... MORBID CURSE."

Autopsy is one of those unique sort of first wave bands that straddles the line between Grindcore and Death Metal. Very much like Terrorizer. Except it has some truly blistering guitar solos that place it in the death metal category annnnnd it just feels more Death than Grind to me. So there. Arbitrary decision making up your ass, bitch! Sorry about that. Anyways, while the "genre" or whatever may be ambiguous (Hell, these genres didn't even exist they were just making noise and people started calling it stuff.) what is not ambiguous is that this album is heavy as osmium (consult your periodic table of elements). Gore obsessed with great dynamics switching from a grinding mid-paced drive to a hardcore paced blitzkrieg. It's like Glenn Danzig said, "All murder, all guts, all fun."

AUTOPSY ~ Charred Remains

7. ENTOMBED - Left Hand Path

"DEAD. DECEASED. BUT LIFE GOES ON. I WILL BE THE ONE WHO WON. MY CHARRED BODY WILL DECAY BUT MY SOUL WILL BE FLOATING ANYWAY."

Just like Amon changed their name to Deicide and revamped their legendary demos for their first album, Sweden's Death Metal pioneers Nihilist broke up after releasing some well received demos (which can be found with the first Entombed demo 'But Life Goes On' on the CD 'Nihilist 1987-1989') and reformed and rerecorded many of their works as Entombed. Sweden is renowned for it's development of melodic death metal or "The Gothenburg Sound" but this is not that. This is unhindered guttural brutality. While much death metal sounds the same, I can always tell when this album comes on just by the grimy and heavy as hell guitar tone and Lars Petrov's vocals that seem like listening to Repulsion's Scott Carlson from inside his throat. The single best Swedish death metal release from the most important Swedish metal act aside from Bathory.

ENTOMBED ~ But Life Goes On

8. SUFFOCATION - Pierced From Within

"I AM YOUR SAVIOUR. SHAPELESS TO YOUR PERCEPTION. FOR I AM YOU. PIERCED FROM WITHIN."

I don't usually get into technical death metal. I usually find myself listening to brutal or classic death metal. However, like everything else there is always an exception to the rule. New York City's Suffocation is that exception. While many technical death metal bands just spend their time wanking about and showing off how talented they are (or how eclectic they are ala Atheist's second album 'Unquestionable Presence') Suffocation shows off their chops and complex song structures but also tempers that display with unrelenting brutality in their performance. There are many tempo changes from blitzkrieg death metal assaults to slow or mid pace lapses that build tension but never fall into the lame "hardcore breakdown" territory so prevalent in heavy music today. Complete with cookie monster vocals, it is easy to see how Suffocation was truly a game changer in the world of extreme metal.

SUFFOCATION ~ Pierced From Within

9. OBITUARY - Cause of Death

"THE KILLING GENTLY: DISSECTION OF THE LIGHT. THE ROTTING OF THE SOUL."

Obituary is, along with Death, Massacre, Deicide and Morbid Angel, one of the Florida Death Metal originals. Their first 3 albums, 'Slowly We Rot', 'Cause Of Death' and 'The End Complete' are all death metal classics. Obituary differed from their Florida peers in one key regard however, Obituary was not interested in being heavier and faster than everyone else, they just wanted to be heavier. This is due to a great amount of influence from Switzerland's Celtic Frost who were a thrash band but weren't greatly concerned with speed as they were with menacing presence and heaviness. In fact, their reverence of the Swiss metal gods was so great that they include a cover of Celtic Frost's classic song 'Circle of the Tyrants'. While this cover certainly illustrates the creative influences owed to Thomas Gabriel and company it also showcases their unique brand of death metal and John Tardy's inimitable growling style.

OBITUARY ~ Circle Of The Tyrants 

10. MORBID ANGEL - Altars Of Madness

"GATHERED FOR A SACRED RITE. SUBCONSCIOUS MINDS ALLIED. CALL UPON THE IMMORTALS. CALL UPON THE OLDEST ONE TO INTERCEDE."

Last but certainly not least is the debut of one of Florida's finest, Morbid Angel.Led by lyrical stylings of David Vincent (Bass) and Trey Azagthoth (Guitar), Morbid Angel is a band that was obsessed with being extreme as possible and as evil as possible. Their lyrics about Satan, Hell, Occultism and ancient immortals (in true H.P. Lovecraft fashion) can give the best of Norway's Black Metal inner circle a run for their money, and the hoarse and deathly vocals of Vincent and Azagthoth make this a perennial winner. Morbid Angel released a few more classics such as "Covenant" and "Blessed Are The Sick" but this remains their master work.

MORBID ANGEL ~ Chapel Of Ghouls

 

Top 5 Pacific Northwest/Rocky Mountain Hardcore Punk Records

The Rockies and Pacific NorthWest have also had their fair share of intense hardcore punk (and other extreme/fringe genres as well). It's a shame that documentaries about the punk scene such as American Hardcore just barely acknowledge the existence of punk/alternative music outside of grunge bands or possibly Poison Idea. Here is where I will try to make a bit of improvement on that situation. There's more to this region than Starbucks and rain. Hardcore punk have very deep roots here and this is just a sample.

Honorable mention: bands that did make to the list include Solger, White Trash and the legendary straight-edge band 7 Seconds

1. POISON IDEA - Pick Your King EP

"SHUT UP. LISTEN TO WHAT THEY SAY TO YOU, CAN YOU BELIEVE ANY OF IT'S TRUE? PHONEY LEADERS STEAL YOUR MONEY, THAT AIN'T FUNNY, THAT'S THE GOSPEL."

Poison Idea is one of those rare bands like Negative Approach that just exude hostility from every pore and are utterly unique from all other hardcore bands. What also makes this band unique is the insightful and poetic lyrics of the late (and rather hefty) singer Pig Champion. While their later albums (such as 'Kings of Punk' and 'Record Collectors Are Pretentious Assholes') benefited from a thicker and heavier production, this album is lean and mean sounding. It is a perfect record without any weaknesses, just pure adrenalin, angst and aggression. The record's cover on one side is the face of Jesus while the flip side has the picture of Elvis. No matter which king you pick, there is one one pick for the kings of Northwest hardcore. Need I say more?

 "I reviewed their demo tape tow issues ago, and now I have a chance to rave again. This soon-to-be-released EP has thirteen thrashing songs which run into each other at breakneck speed. Keep your ears peeled."
-Tim Yohannon (from Maximum Rock'n'Roll, March/April 1983)

POISON IDEA - Pick Your King [Full EP]

2. ACCÜSED - The Return Of Martha Splatterhead

"LIFE SHOULD BE UNCHAINED A PLEASURE WITHOUT DOUBT KEEP MATERIAL WEALTH I'D RATHER HAVE MENTAL HEALTH."

 AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! Okay, the Accüsed are an amazing band. Like really amazing. The are one of the forgotten cornerstones of crossover thrash. Hey, my own band is straight up Accused/Cryptic Slaughter worship. That's how much me and my friends love this band. And there's good reason. The drums are pounding, the guitars are grinding, the bass is galloping (as the bass player this excites me greatly) and the vocals are batshit crazy!!! Lyrics range from teenage angst to politics to gore and the music ranges from hardcore attack to thrashing assault. Also, they are made of the who's who of Washington Punk Rock including former members of The Fartz and Solger. And they are still going today. 

"You missed last time, so don't miss this chance, 'cause this firebomb rips with that kind of crazed ferocity of speed, lightning-paced and raw deliverance that cranks the rug out from your feet. The dentist rips teeth from your jaw as Blaine tugs at his frenzied vocals in a passionate form of chaos, and the band giggles with nerve-smashing thrash. The original plus eight new tracks to light up your neighborhood."
-Pushead (from Maximum Rocknroll, June 1986)

 ACCÜSED ~ Return Of Martha Splatterhead

3. SEPTIC DEATH - Need So Much Attention

"FROZEN IN IGNORANCE I CAN'T UNDERSTAND. SCREAMING ON THE SCREEN SHOUTING ON THE TUBE. GOT TO GET OUT OF HERE HAVE TO BE FREE. THAW!!!"

Brian 'Pushead' Schroeder is a talented visual artist, record producer, music critic and musician who has been one of the world's greatest connoisseurs of extreme punk music. Many people have said, with alarming accuracy, that critics are the ones who have failed at the art they review or are pretentious assholes. Well, I have no idea if Pushead is an asshole or not but he doesn't just review records, he's a fan and a student of records and he really did his homework combining the best of the best and adding his own colorful touches to the palate of what is known as Septic Death. Totally unique yet straight forward. A classic in every sense and an awesome listen. [This was later repackaged with extra tracks and reissued as "Now I Have The Attention, What Do I Do With It? under his own label Pusmort Records.]

"Heh, heh. After Pushead's wisecracks at the beginning of his column, I can't wait to review his band's record. Unfortunately, it's good. Oh, well. Actually, it's ferocious. It combines the manic attack of the Boston bands with the recklessness of the best Finnish and Swedish thrash groups. Being a perfectionist, the Pus has worked long and hard on his debut, with excellent results. It should serve as a lesson for many young bands--wait until you've got it together before going public. This shreds."
-Tim Yohannon (from Maximum Rock'n'Roll, March 1984)

SEPTIC DEATH - Thaw

4. THE FARTZ - Because This World Fuckin' Stinks

"YOU'VE GOT A BRAIN, YOU'VE GOT A BRAIN, YOU'VE GOT A BRAIN. USE IT!!!"

The Fartz are generally known as one of two things. 

1: That band the guys in the Accused played in. 

2: That band Duff McKagan (Guns n' Roses, Velvet Revolver) played in back when he was a punk.

Even though they have a really juvenile name, The Fartz are actually quite a political band with a serious message and a passionate hatred of Reagan. Their fast, raw and precise thrash attack is truly something wonderful and they deserve to step out of The Accused's/Duff McKagan's shadow and get the props that they so richly deserve. [Alternative Tentacles rereleased this record with their World Full Of Hate record and other tracks with the comprehensive career CD 'Because This World Still Fuckin's Stinks' which is totally worth getting.]

"My favorite release of 1981, and that's saying a lot given the quality of the competition. The Fartz thrash so hard and fast that they leave most hardcore bands behind in a cloud of dust, but they still manage to exercise a lot of brainpower. This EP is as intelligent, frenetic, and intense as any you're likely to hear, so get it now before it's out of print."
-Jeff Bale (from Maxumum Rock'n'Roll, July/August 1982)

THE FARTZ ~ You Got A Brain

5. BUM KON - Drunken Sex Sucks

"IT'S A SLOW DEATH... I WANNA DIE..."

Colorado's Bum Kon is one of those bands that even punk aficionados can go a lifetime without ever hearing about. But the people that know about Bum Kon (named after a Korean serial killer) LOVE them. They're another lo-fi thrash punk band but they are quirky too. There are lots of little things that they do that are outside the box that makes them so enjoyable and these experimental tendencies were explored later on their following albums and it is a damn shame that they are hardly remembered at all. Thankfully, however, Maximum Rocknroll magazine saw fit to re-release it with a whopping 20 bonus tracks and advertise it in their fine pages and spread the word about this forgotten band that never wuite got the attention they deserved all those years ago. Check it out. You'll be happy you did.

"Raw thrash emanates form Colorado's Bum Kon. They have a frenetic instrumental attack and intense vocals, but the generally poor production doesn't always highligh their potential--note, e.g., the variation between the muddy title song and "The Draft," which has a much hotter sound."
-Jeff Bale (from Maximum Rocknroll, June 1984)

BUM KON ~ Forced Away

Top 5 Midwest Hardcore Records

When people think about hardcore punk, they think of L.A., N.Y.C., Boston and D.C. When you think of the Midwest, other than Detroit and Chicago, you think of "amber waves of grain", farmers, Bibles and, as Die Kreuzen said, "Cows and Beer".

Kinda like this...

Anywho, the Midwest not only had a punk scene (like 1977 original punkers the Dead Boys) but some of hardcore's most important bands came from here! And of course there were sizable scenes in Chicago and 'Detroit Rock City' there were many other bands spread all over that used their isolation to their advantage and created their own loud fast sounds and did not follow what was fashionable in the "scene" with great results.

Honorable mentions must go out to Screeching Weasel, Hüsker Dü, The Replacements, Zero Defex, The Pagans, Big Black, The Effigies, The Fix, Crucifux, Meatmen and Impulse Manslaughter (whose album 'He Who Laughs Last, Laughs Alone' is a real thrashing treat).

1. NEGATIVE APPROACH - Negative Approach EP

"DON'T ASK ME STUPID QUESTIONS I DON'T HAVE THE ANSWERS TO. DON'T TELL ME ABOUT YOUR PROBLEMS CAUSE I'LL JUST IGNORE YOU. SICK OF TALK. I'M SICK OF TALK. DON'T TALK TO ME AT ALL."

Okay, let's get this over with... UGLIEST FUCKING COVER EVER!!! When I look at Linda Blair's face on this it scares me more than when I was actually watching that scene in The Exorcist! Whew... that's over. Now... Negative approach lives up to it's name. Very angry, spiteful and pessimistic. Not unusual for hardcore but like fanzine writer Barbara Rice from Truly Needy stated "something sets N.A. apart from the others... the band is great but John Brannon's vocals stand out. His voice sounds like a fleet of Mac trucks rumbling down a gravel road." Enough said. This music isn't just angry, it's straight up HATEFUL and MEAN. Negative Approach doesn't want to be your friend, they want to club you over the head like a baby seal. [You can find this EP and their excellent LP 'Tied Down' on their complete discography CD 'Total Recall' released by Touch & Go Records.]

"Another Touch & Go midwest classic along the lines of the Fix and the Necros. All then songs are manic, even when they aren't totally fast, but, uh... the lyrics will make you understand their name, because they're sick sick sick of all this pressure pressure pressure or something something something."
-Tim Yohannon (from Maximum Rock'n'Roll, January/February 1983)

NEGATIVE APPROACH ~ Can't Tell No One

 2. DIE KREUZEN - Die Kreuzen LP

"I DON'T THINK FOR YOU. YOU DON'T THINK FOR ME. I WON'T CHANGE YOU. AND YOU, YOU CAN'T CHANGE ME!!!"

This is an album that defies easy description. Apparently Tim Yohannon at Maximum Rock'n'Roll thought so too since is the review he wrote of it (and I quote) "This is fucking great! This is fucking great! This is fucking great! This is fucking great! This is fucking great! This is fucking great! This is fucking great! This is fucking great! This is fucking great! This is fucking great! This is fucking great! This is fucking great!" Well... what can you say after that? Squeling feedback, vocals so raw you can almost hear blood splattering the mic, complex bass-lines and song arrangements all thrown together at blinding speeds and even when they aren't breaking the sound barrier with their untamed velocity they remain powerful and intense. After this they became a sort of mellow post-punk band. I really don't know what to say about this album because it just seems to be shallow and pale compared to the listening experience it gives.

"This is probably one of the most savagely brutal assaults of thrash ever recorded. Very fast and powerful music with vocals that are about as raw as you can get without vomiting blood. There are 22 songs here including reworkings of all 6 songs from their "Cows and Beer" EP and the 3 cuts they have on the "Master Tape" LP. There is no letting up on this one - turn it up!"
-Greg C. (from Task, March 1985)

DIE KREUZEN - Rumors

 3. ZERO BOYS - Vicious Circle

"WELCOME TO THE VICIOUS CIRCLE!!! WELCOME TO THE VICIOUS CIRCLE!!!"

Zero Boys started out as garage/punk combo with their EP "Living In The '80s". While that was a pretty sweet record, this is where the Zero Boys truly took off. What you get is the snotty 1, 2 punch of the Circle Jerks blended with some amazing pop sensibility and melody. This album is not only great but it is a really fun album to listen to. Any time. It's a shame that a band this good and catchy is nearly forgotten by the world. One of the best forgotten classics of American hardcore. [The reissue of this album includes 8 tracks from compilations and some of the stuff from their old EP]

"The best band from Hoosier territory since the Panics and the early Gizmos. The Zero Boys have managed to combine elements from the 60's punk-Stooges axis of their first EP (especially the great vocals) and 80's thrash without losing anything in the process. This well-recorded album is varied enough to hold the interest of punk aficionados from all eras, no small achievement."
-Jeff Bale (from Maximum Rock'n'Roll, July/August 1982)

ZERO BOYS ~ Vicious Circle

4. ARTICLES OF FAITH - What We Want Is Free

"BAD ATTITUDE'S WHAT I'VE BEEN TOLD SINCE I WAS JUST FIVE YEARS OLD. AND DIDN'T BUY WHAT THEY HAD SOLD. RIGHT IN MY PLACE."

YEOW!!! Articles of Faith is a helluva band and this, in my opinion, is their best ever and that is saying a lot. Very political writing and impassioned singing from vocalist Vic Bondi. Articles of Faith has one characteristic other than their viciously catchy and fast political thrash attack that makes them unique. Their production is such a close facsimile of the high-treble yet crystal clear production of D.C.'s Dischord Records (run by Minor Threat frontman and straight-edge originator, Ian MacKaye) that you could almost swear that they were signed to Dischord as well! Dischord style production is amazing for straight-forward speed of sound punk rock without any metal influence. It doesn't make the music suffer as it would with a more metallic punk band such as Discharge or Broken Bones who require low frequencies for full power. It gives a crystal clear picture of the sound and vocals which is great for this record since the songwriting, performance and lyrics are sheer class. [This record can be found on Complete History Vol. 1 which when combined with Vol. 2 collects all of AoF's recordings from the 1980's.]

"A really solid guitar-bass-drum attack anchors these highly intelligent blasts by a new Chicago band arising out of the ashes of Direct Drive. The singing is gravelly as hell, the music fast yet tight, and the songs infectious. A sure winner."
-Jeff Bale (from Maximum Rock'n'Roll, November/December 1982)

ARTICLES OF FAITH ~ Bad Attitude

5. NECROS - IQ-32

"STUPID CORN ALL IN ROWS, SIT AROUND AND WATCH IT GROW. YOU'VE GOT NOTHING TO SHOW. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, IQ 32!!! IQ 32!!!  IQ 32!!! MIDWEST FUCK YOU!!!"

 Like Articles of Faith, this band has a very speedy and treble heavy hardcore attack. However, unlike AoF, the Necros were signed to Dischord but suffers from lower production values even though it was recorded by Ian MacKaye himself. That does not stop the Necros high speed and infectious rants about high-school, prejudice, peer pressure, war and how much their hometown sucks from bringing the rage and ruin to your eardrums. Teenage attitude on vinyl and it's great. Also, make sure to check out their first full length LP 'Conquest For Death' which has a better quality (and heavier) production and some killer songs to boot!

"This isn't very original, it's very DC-influenced but the Necros really are a great band. They have a lot of energy and they have progressed a great deal since the last single. "Race Riot" is one of the best songs of the year by far."
-uncredited (from Decline of Art, 1982)

NECROS ~ IQ-32 EP

Top 5 Grindcore Albums

Grindcore is the last logical extreme in the evolution of punk's love affair with extreme metal. Guttural vocals, down-tuned and speedy guitars, blast-beats and lyrics concerned with either gore or sociopolitical themes (sometimes both). To the uninitiated, grindcore can appear to be just a lot of noise, I will admit that it seemed that way to me at first. Then I listened to 'You Suffer (But Why?)' by Napalm Death. I was pretty amused by the World's Shortest Song. Then I listened to the rest of the 'Scum' album... I was blown away. I never heard anything like it before or since. This is a very short list of my Top 5 Grindcore Albums. As you will notice, I am a fan of the rawer and less technical side of grindcore. [Honorable Mention: Again, there will be deserving bands and albums left off this list (Brutal Truth, Assück, Noisear, Nasum, Impetigo, Electro-Hippies, Doom and Pig Destroyer to name a few).] And so it all begins...

1. TERRORIZER - World Downfall

"THE DEAD SHALL RISE FROM THE GRAVE TO DESTROY ALL MANKIND!!!"

'World Downfall' is a special album. It makes a shift in a genre, a place in time and a moment of musical perfection. This band was only together for a year but was enormously influential, so much so that Chuck Schuldiner of Death came all the way to California from Florida to try forming a band with their members. After the break up it's members went on to join the bands Nausea (not the New York crust band), Morbid Angel and Napalm Death. Interestingly enough, it was Shane Embury of Napalm Death (a undying fan of Terrorizer's 2 demo tapes) who persuaded Earache records to approach the members of Terrorizer spread across the nation from Cali to Florida to come together and record an album that would stand as a legacy to their power. It delivers in spades and then some. 'World Downfall' is heavy as hell, clear without giving up any sense of rawness and unrelenting in its brutality. While Napalm Death's "Scum" is my first love with grindcore, this album is the ultimate expression of the genre.

Terrorizer ~ Fear Of Napalm

2. NAPALM DEATH - Scum

"YOU SUFFER, BUT WHY!?!?"

An album that is recorded by one band but each half is recorded by a different lineup. An album that has a production fidelity that makes "Welcome To Hell" by Venom sound pristine. Raw and sloppy speed at a breakneck pace. This is Scum. This is the single greatest grindcore album of all time. While Napalm Death's sound and abilities would become developed and refined over the next 20+ years and grindcore as a genre would acquire a great deal of technicality and precision and leave behind its sloppy and raw beginnings this is still a monumental work that could never be duplicated. On this album, Napalm Death took their influences from all forms of extreme metal and punk, their radical political doctrines and fused it into a sonic monolith. While grindcore may have been already been in existence (although without the name) with bands like Repulsion, Extreme Noise Terror, Electro-Hippies, Carcass and Napalm Death forging this new sound, "Scum" was the album that put the stamp on the genre and would define it forever. Sure, "Horrifed" by Repulsion came first and there were many other albums and bands around at this time, but this album was the one that pulled everything together and gave it a definitive shape.

Napalm Death - You Suffer But Why? [Guinness world record for shortest song]

3. REPULSION - Horrified

"WORMS IN YOUR HEAD, SOON THEY WILL BE DEAD. NOTHING TO FEED ON IN YOUR EMPTY SKULL."

Some people criticize Repulsion as being a two dimensional band. Not much in the way of substance or style. And to a certain degree, they would be right in saying this. There is nothing subtle about this band. The artwork is of a decomposing human head. The album title and band name are one word terms of disgust and shock. The lyrics consist of gruesome depictions of gore and brutality in simple rhymes. The music is a high speed, distorted and down-tuned blur that blends together quite often. However, this album is too primitive yet too ahead of it's time, just simply too awesome to be dismissed as such. This album is truly a definitive album from the first grindcore band. All of these songs existed on tape as demos under the name Repulsion or Genocide but like Terrorizer Earache resurrected this defunct band to record a true album. Besides being the ground zero for grind, it was a significant influence on death metal (several members of this Flint, Michigan band moved to Florida to temporarily join Chuck Schuldiner's legendary and pioneering band Death) and also was the first gore-grind band (a sub-genre that would gain recognition with the band Carcass). This album just blisters your ears and leaves you bleeding from the forehead from banging your head against every conceivable surface due to its brutal excellence. Enjoy or may "Pestilent Decay" and "Festering Boils" visit your mortal frame!!!

Repulsion - Stench Of Burning Death

4. EXTREME NOISE TERROR- A Holocaust In Your Head

"TWELVE YEARS ON HAS ANYTHING CHANGED? LAUGHED AT, RIDICULED, TAKING THE BLAME. SCREAMING FOR CHANGE WITH AN IGNORED VOICE. FREEDOM OR REPRESSION WE OFFER THE CHOICE."

 Extreme Noise Terror were the originators of a trend within grindcore of having dueling vocalists. They are also unique in their total rejection of the grindcore label saying; "We were known as hardcore punk. Then it became this 'Britcore' thing that Sounds and NME came up with, with the Electro Hippies, Napalm, Carcass and Bolt Thrower all rolled into one, all playing the same shows and then [Napalm Death] made the word 'grind' up. But they were always a bit more metal than us and we didn't really know what this word 'grind' meant." Saying that Napalm Death was "a bit more metal" was an understatement. Extreme Noise Terror was raw hardcore punk taken to the extreme ends and was coupled with a strong vegan/P.C. stance which they later toned down as they gained non-vegan members and become a little more open minded and realistic in regards to political correctness. However, ENT remained political as ever and thank God for that!This is as punk and political as grindcore gets and man is it tasty!

Extreme Noise Terror ~ Bullshit Propaganda

5. Carcass - Reek Of Putrefaction

"SALIVATING - SANGUIS, PHLEGM, FROTH AND FOAM. MASTICATING - YOUR MANDIBLE STRIPPED TO THE BONE"

Let me start this one out by saying that I nearly had to do a coin toss to decide whether I selected this album or "Extreme Conditions Demand Extreme Responses" by Brutal Truth. Both are enormously influential, important and damn excellent. Carcass' "Reek of Putrefaction" won out simply because of its utterly unique qualities. This is the album that prompted the creation of the term "Gore-Grind". While they were most certainly influenced by Repulsion, Carcass approached the subject of gore from a medical angle (apparently to forward a vegan message by showing how terrifying gore and carnage is) which made for some interesting usage of English as they tore their lyrics from professional medical volumes and adorned their album's cover with the goriest autopsy photographs they could find. Example: The song I quoted above is "Oxidized Razor Masticator" which literally means "Rusty Razor Chewer". They also down-tuned the guitars and bass so low on this record and pitch shifted the vocals to make them even more guttural than their peers that the vinyl was pressed at lower volumes to avoid cancelling out the higher frequencies. The members of Carcass have frequently complained of the mastering of this album but that is up to the individual listener but a remastered version of the album would be most welcome so that we could finally see what their original vision was.

Carcass ~ Oxidized Raxor Masticator

Top 5 Japanese Hardcore Albums

I don't exactly know what it is that makes Japanese punk music (or any of their forms of heavy music) so weird, extreme and powerful. If one was to be crass they could say that maybe it is the result of being heavily dosed with radiation after we went nuclear on their asses in World War II. Or maybe living in fear of imminent destruction at the claws of Godzilla and other such monsters inspires them to take everything to the extreme while they still can. Who knows why the Japanese do what they do? 

What isn't in question is that when it comes to Japanese hardcore there are two things that almost certainly a factor. The hallmarks of any great "Jap-core" release are speed and extremity combined with (likely intentional) hilarious English-as-second-language grammar. It seems to me that these groups received scores of bootlegged punk and extreme metal tapes and decided to take them and make it all their owm. Prepare for a Godzilla sized ear-rape from the land of the rising sun and read on!!! 

[Honorable Mention: This is a very short list of my very favorite Japanese hardcore records but there are many other amazing records and bands that don't appear here such as Disclose, Nightmare, Zouo, Systematic Death, Brain Death, Crow and especially Confuse (whose bootleg discography is well worth finding online for its Lo-Fi Disorder style thrash attack).]

1. S.O.B. - Don't Be Swindle

 "SPEAK MOUTH FUCK YOU!!!"

There is a DEFINITE reason as to why the first track is titled "Raging In Hell". Along with their debut EP "Leave Me Alone", S.O.B. (which stands for "Sabotage Organized Barbarian") created a sound that rivaled D.R.I., Siege and Napalm Death in sheer velocity. In fact, two years later (1989) they released a split EP with Napalm Death and toured with them across Japan. Following this release S.O.B. morphed into a grindcore band of world class caliber. While they also tackle some sociopolitical themes ("Look Like Devil"), some of the songs exhibit a fun loving, don't-give-a-fuck attitude that keeps them from being a downer ("Let's Go Beach"). However, even the thematically heavier songs are buoyed by the absolutely ridiculous use of the English language (see lyric sample above). This is the album that made me fall head over heels for Japanese punk music and remains my all time favorite Japanese music release.

S.O.B. ~ Raging In Hell

2. LIP CREAM - 9 Shocks Terror

 "KICK OUT JAM!!!"

Nonsensical English lyrics? Check. No sense of dynamics? Check. Horrendous artwork? Check.  Every song sounds the same? Check. Blindingly ferocious speed? Check. Unappealing name that for some reason makes me think of herpes? Check. Now, after stating all of that, one might think I was ripping this album apart out of contempt and hatred, but that is not the case. There are a million records that have had parts (or even all) of this approach put into them that have utterly failed because of that one missing thing. An 'X' factor that you cannot quantify or explain other than complete badass-ness. "9 Shocks Terror" is one of those albums where the whole of it is greater than the sum of its parts. The vocals in particular are hoarse and raw in the best way possible. Its 9 terrifying songs (or "Shocks") blend together with a fury that is absolutely overwhelming and makes for an amazing listening experience and ranks with the absolute best of what the Japanese punk scene has to offer.

Lip Cream ~ 9 Shocks Terror [Entire Album]

3. OUTO - 正直者は馬鹿を見る (AN HONEST MAN WILL SEE THE FOOL)

 "I'M A FREE MAN!!!"

Outo's 3rd release and and only full length LP is a scorcher. As with other Japanese bands, speed is a definite factor in the sonic makeup of this album but there are a few things that make this record stand out. The most obvious thing is the recording quality. The album has a remarkable amount of clarity and polish for a Japanese record where buzzing distortion, uneven levels and raw sound quality is the norm (which isn't in any way putting that approach down). Also, while this is very much a punk record there is a thrash metal influence that is very apparent and almost moves this record into the arena of crossover thrash. Outo is also not afraid to have a little fun as short joke songs like the country-esque "Mt. Osabishi Broken Fuckers" which might be more hilarious if they were in English. Also, the fact that it has some bitchin' artwork featuring a cartoon punk being devoured by little demon dudes and a rad lookin' bamboo styled logo doesn't hurt. But the true star of the show is the fast, metallic thrashcore tunes that Outo pumps out in rapid succession.

Outo ~ In My Head

4. G.I.S.(M). - Detestation

"ENDLESS BLOCKADE. ENDLESS BLOCKADE. ENDLESS BLOCKADE FOR THE PUSSYFOOTER."

"Detestation" is a decidedly ugly album by a decidedly ugly band. You don't even need to hear the songs to know that this is an ugly affair. The cover is a black & white collage that features (among other things) a Nazi parade and a skull with knives piercing both eye sockets. The songs are tastefully labeled with names such as "Death Agonies and Screams" and "(Tere [sic] Their) Syphilitic Vaginas To Pieces". But that is nothing compared to the SOUND that these metal damaged punks (or maybe punk damaged metalheads?) craft here. The bass and drums are overwhelmed by the the outrageously distorted guitars that buzz and whine like a hive of angry bees that just got smacked with a hockey stick! The vocals are gruff, guttural and raw in a way that outstrips even the most extreme grindcore vocalists. This is a tough listen at first but is a totally unique release not just in Japanese or punk music but in all of music in its entirety! [The reissue of "Detestation" has 12 bonus tracks taken from compilations and live shows for a grand total of 20 outrageous and gruesome songs.]

"Churning metal-punk, or perhaps even speed-metal, depending on where you draw the distinction. GISM are undoubtedly a heavy metal band who've been heavily influenced by hardcore, but the music is so intense and the vocals so ominous that even I'm in a state of shock. These guys make Venom sound like the Knack, especially on side one."
-Jeff Bale (from MaximumRockNRoll, July 1984)

G.I.S.(M). ~ Endless Blockades For The Pussyfooter

5. GAUZE - Equalizing Distort

"MAKE ENEMY MORE AND MORE. DON'T COMPROMISE TO LIE. BE ALIVE TO BE HATED."

As you will probably gather from the posts on this blog, world renowned artist, record company owner and Septic Death frontman Brian "Pushead" Schroeder was an immense fan of anything loud and fast. It is for this reason that he was a big supporter of the Japanese scene and in particular this band: Gauze. Just like its equally powerful predecessor "Fuck Heads", this is a Japanese thrashing assault with very little metal influence but with a high octane punk velocity and bass heavy production with whining guitar leads reminiscent of Discharge's early EPs and rawer Scandinavian d-beat. Gauze's lyrics are centered on a radical sense of fierce (and even violent) individualism in a very rigid society with tradition, capitalism and ritual on one side and gangland intrigue from the Yakuza on the other.

"Raw-edged straightforward thrash with gravel-laden vocals continuing the excitement on this second LP. Japan's answer to non-stop chaotic destruction, finely tuned and well-mixed with great back-up choruses, throwing chunks of havoc everywhere. The first LP was good, this is a great one and melts my brain at every listen."
-Pushead (from MaximumRockNRoll, June 1986)

 Gauze ~ Distort Japan