Metallattorney's 10 Favorite Debuts of the Last 25 Years

Spurred by the abomination that was Metal Hammer's list, I decided to do one on my own.

In no particular order:

SEPULTURA: MORBID VISIONS
Absolutely raw and rough around the edges, this is an album that had a very large influence on the formation of death and black metal. It is completely unlike anything the band did afterwards. With an impressively evil atmosphere and some of the most beastly vocals Max Cavalera ever uttered, this is a very chaotic listen. The frenetic intensity of the album is its greatest quality. Sepultura refined their craft quite a bit since this, but this still remains my favorite album by the band.

DISSECTION: THE SOMBERLAIN
Dissection is a group that surpassed their debut album with their sophomore album, but that does not make their debut any less impressive. The band developed a feel for writing cold and merciless melodic black metal and that feel was evident even from their first album. The drumming is the standout on this album as the drum patterns constantly change but never vary their power. As with other groups, Dissection eventually smoothed out some of their rough edges, but they did keep their intensity, particularly on their follow-up.

SWALLOW THE SUN: THE MORNING NEVER CAME
The Swallow the Sun debut was one of my first real experiences with death/doom and I was simply blown away. The album cover caught my eye and I had to pick it up immediately and I was glad I did. Swallow the Sun does somber and yet menacing music extremely well. Their cover of Candlemass's "Solitude" is on par with the original version. I have said it before and I will say it again, the cover art on this album perfectly matches the music.

EMPEROR: IN THE NIGHTSIDE ECLIPSE
The bands of the Norwegian Second Wave of Black Metal almost to a band released great debut albums. Mayhem's debut, Immortal's debut, and Satyricon's debut were all strongly considered for this list, but I ultimately picked just this one. Emperor was always much more grandiose and musical than their countrymen, and this debut is one example. While other bands strived for brutality through simplicity, Emperor tried to find the beautiful in the very ugly. Both sides are very evident in this release, which still remains one of my all-time favorite black metal albums.

IMMOLATION: DAWN OF POSSESSION
Like Emperor for black metal, Immolation's debut is one of a number of great death metal debuts in the early 1990's. Immolation is a band who really helped death metal distinguish itself from thrash metal with their bass heavy slow and lumbering riffs and the deep guttural roaring vocal style. Immolation was a fairly early occult death metal band from the same New York scene that spawned Incantation and Cannibal Corpse among others, but Immolation's debut was more impressive.

DEICIDE: DEICIDE
Deicide rose out of the Tampa, Florida death metal scene and were immediately one of the most frightening death metal bands going. Their lyrics were unapologetically Anti-Christian and often invoked the devil and all sorts of other hellish demons. In addition, their music was fast and loud. Of course this was all eventually revealed to be a big joke, that Glen Benton has a, let's say interesting sense of humor. Their first two albums are excellent pieces of fast-paced, evil death metal.

MORBID ANGEL: ALTARS OF MADNESS
One of the very first death metal groups, Morbid Angel's debut was completely unlike anything ever heard before. Morbid Angel took the speed and intensity of thrash metal and added occult lyrics and growling vocals. This was one of the first death metal albums and a definite influence on a lot of bands that would arrive in later years. This is also still one of my favorite albums by the seminal death metal band, possibly only surpassed by Covenant.

OPETH: ORCHID
Speaking of bands who did something no one had really ever heard before, here is Opeth. Opeth started out as a death metal band with a little bit of an interesting twist, they incorporated a lot of 1970's progressive rock elements to their music. They were a little bit long-winded and this album was still something of a work in progress, but the ideas were definitely there and they were definitely fresh. Opeth just needed to build on them some more.

AMON AMARTH: ONCE SENT FROM THE GOLDEN HALL
With this album, Amon Amarth began their long career of releasing basically the same album. This one is a little bit further along the death metal lines than some of their later releases, and it is a little heavier as well, but other than that Amon Amarth has made a career out of re-releasing this album. Which really is not as problematic as one might think. That is how truly great this album really is. It is hard to pick a favorite album by this band, the debut is certainly a worthy choice.

SUFFOCATION: EFFIGY OF THE FORGOTTEN
Suffocation rose out of the same New York scene as Immolation, but their music was decidedly different. Suffocation incorporated a lot more technical elements to their sound and also emphasized brutal breakdowns. Their influence can be felt in slam death, brutal death metal, and technical death metal. All three subgenres owe a massive debt of gratitude to this release. Suffocation has continued with the sound that they developed, but this is still probably their best.

Year in Metal: 2003

DIMMU BORGIR: DEATH CULT ARMAGEDDON
2003 saw Dimmu Borgir break through to the mainstream. I actually bought this album at Target of all places. This is by no means a great album, though it is still my favorite from the Norwegian symphonic black metal band, but it was instrumental in my interest in black metal. It was an album that caused me to look deeper into the genre. There are some damn good songs on it though and I do remember it completely freaked out my girlfriend (who later became my fiancee).

ENSLAVED: BELOW THE LIGHTS
The seventh album by Enslaved is more of a mix of their earlier black/Viking metal style and their later more progressive sound. This album features the haunting "Havenless" which is my favorite song by the band. Enslaved was at the peak of their creativity on this album, crafting several classic songs while retaining the depth and atmosphere of their previous works.

LOST HORIZON: A FLAME TO THE GROUND BENEATH
Yes, the album cover is cheesy as hell, but this is easily one of the best power metal albums of the decade. The Swedish band has thus far only released two albums, this being their last, but it is an incredible album. The vocals really make the album, being technically impressive and incredibly emotive. The music is powerful, majestic, and epic. This is a brilliant power metal album that is unfortunately too often overlooked.

SWALLOW THE SUN: THE MORNING NEVER CAME
I have made my feelings on this album pretty clear for some time. One of my absolute favorite albums in the death/doom genre and a true blind buy. This is the exact opposite of the prior album as it is extremely dark and depressing. It crawls along at a snail's pace and leaves the listener feeling dread and darkness overtaking them. And this was just the band's first album. It also has one of my favorite album covers of all time, perfectly capturing the feel of the album.

THE CROWN: POSSESSED 13
The Swedish death/thrash band released their last album before going on hiatus, the horror-themed Possessed 13. This album featured the return of original vocalist Johan Lindstrand, but was otherwise more of the same from The Crown. Hyper-fast death/thrash that takes no prisoners and leaves the listener reeling.

HONORABLE MENTIONS: Akercocke: Choronzon; Arch Enemy: Anthems of Rebellion; The Black Dahlia Murder: Unhallowed; Children of Bodom: Hate Crew Deathroll; Dragonforce: Valley of the Damned; Lamb of God: As the Paces Burn; Moonspell: The Antidote; Overkill: Killbox 13.

BANDS THAT FORMED IN 2003: Abysmal Dawn, Korpiklaani, Through the Eyes of the Dead.

Favorite New Bands of the 2000's Pt. 8: Swallow the Sun

Today is a Swallow the Sun two-fer. The band was formed early in 2000 and plays melodic death/doom metal with an incredibly haunting atmosphere. The band features lengthy songs with beautiful sweeping melodies, heavy riffing, and deep guttural vocals. It is very slow and incredibly powerful and emotional music. These guys must be really depressed or something.

I own two albums from the band:

For a more complete discussion on The Morning Never Came, look below. This is simply a beautiful album. And I bought it not knowing anything about the band or its music.The band's third album Hope is even more melodic, without some of the heavier metal moments on it. It's still very much a death/doom album, particularly due to the singer's vocals, but it's missing a little something. Not that that makes it a bad album at all. In fact it is a very good album, just not as good as the band's debut. There are more clean vocals this time around. The track "Don't Fall Asleep (The Horror Pt. 2)" is the best track on the album and was one haunting video.The band has released two other albums and some EPs that I have not been able to find yet, but I am definitely on the lookout.

Blind Buy Surprise Albums Pt. 9: Swallow the Sun: The Morning Never Came

This was a blind buy in the truest sense of the phrase. I saw this album at the music store one day when I was on my way to Omaha and seeking some new music to listen to on the drive. I was immediately enchanted by the amazing cover art. Despite not having ever heard of the band, and also not really knowing what doom metal was which was written on sticker on the album (this was very early in my extreme metal days), I picked it up. I was absolutely blown away.

This is some of the most emotional and melodic death/doom metal out there. Containing powerful sweeping guitar and keyboard passages melded with deep death growls. The music is often very slow, but unrelentingly heavy and heartbreaking in its somber atmosphere. The band pulls off one hell of a Candlemass cover as well on the amazing track "Solitude".

The cover art matches the music so well. Such a dark atmosphere with only a little light.

This is easily one of the best pickups I have ever done without knowing anything about the band or the music beforehand. I have since picked up one more album by the group and am always on the lookout for more.

Strange Album Art Pt. 4: Horror Continued Again

Okay, trying to push through this once again.

LORD BELIAL: NOCTURNAL BEAST

Here is Lord Belial with their second entry in this list, the amazing cover to Nocturnal Beast. This is one of my all time favorite covers as it shows some demonic entity ripping someone's chest open. Pretty gruesome.

HYPOCRISY: VIRUS

Hypocrisy is one of the better straightforward death metal bands from Sweden. They also have a lot of sci-fi lyrical themes as shown by several of their album covers including this one. An amazing piece of artwork, it is even more impressive upon closer inspection. This is Hypocrisy's comeback album after a couple of subpar albums.

PHAZM: HATE AT FIRST SEED

Phazm is a pretty decent black metal band out of France, of all places. This album is something of a concept album about trees coming to life and killing people. The album cover reflects this theme. Musically, Phazm plays a genre that has become known as black 'n roll, with classic rock structures invading their black metal riffs.

YYRKOON: OCCULT MEDICINE

Yyrkoon is another band from France. Yyrkoon though plays a style of death/thrash metal. This album is a concept album based on the cult horror classic Re-Animator based on a story by H.P. Lovecraft. The album cover looks like something out of House on Haunted Hill or something like it. An excellent, underrated band.

SWALLOW THE SUN: THE MORNING NEVER CAME

This is probably my absolute favorite album cover, and boy does it match the music. I picked this one up randomly and was absolutely struck by the oppressive sorrow and brutality the album packed. It's an amazing cover and an amazing album. Swallow the Sun is one of the better death/doom bands in the scene today.

Metallattorney's Top 21 Albums of the 21st Century So Far Pt. 5

Well, I have passed Metalsucks now. They won't reveal their number 5 selection until next Tuesday. I will present numbers 5-2. Tomorrow (possibly) I will provide my number 1 album of the 21st Century so far, and it's not likely to be beaten out.

But, for now, here are the rest of the Top 5:

#5. BEHEMOTH: ZOS KIA CULTUS
Behemoth has had a stellar career despite a dramatic shift in style. This album is probably the best example of their more death metal oriented music, although it still contains many traces of their black metal past. Behemoth is at their best on this album, mixing ferocious riffs and intriguing melodies into an atmosphere that can only be described as “evil incarnate.” This is the band’s best work to date.

#4. AMON AMARTH: THE CRUSHER
Amon Amarth, like Behemoth, has never put out a weak album. Unlike Behemoth though, Amon Amarth has never greatly changed their sound. They have always been a melodic death metal band with a big emphasis on the death metal part. The vocals are always harsh, the riffs are always razor-sharp, and the songs are always catchy as hell. The band sticks fairly close to lyrical themes of Vikings, Nordic mythology, and ancient warfare and they even look the part. Don’t call them Viking metal though as the band only shares the lyrical theme in common with that sub-genre. It’s difficult to pinpoint their best album, any of them would fit. I’ll just go with this one because it is just a tad bit more aggressive.

#3. SWALLOW THE SUN: THE MORNING NEVER CAME
In my eyes, this album is the pinnacle of death/doom. Extremely melancholic, but with some very heavy riffs. This is one of those occasions where the album cover art clearly fits with the mood of the album: dark and dreary. The vocals are typically delivered in a very deep death metal growl, but that is where most of the death metal elements end. There are some clean vocals once in awhile. The music is slow and depressing with melodic leads and booming drums. No other death/doom album comes close to this one. The cover of the Candlemass classic “Solitude” is amazing as well.

#2. IMMOLATION: SHADOWS IN THE LIGHT
Immolation was one of the more evil early death metal bands. Their lyrical themes are explicitly anti-Christian and their sound is like a sludgier, more jagged and rough version of Morbid Angel. This album proves that this band keeps getting better as they go along. They have incorporated more melodies into their sickening brand of death metal, without any cost to their normal brutality. Immolation has been very consistent in their career and every album is worth owning.

That's it for today, tomorrow will be #1.