Ranked: 1990 in Death Metal
Well, this one was certainly the longest. I debated doing two separate lists for LP's and EP's/demos since it would look at lot tidier, but I prefer to have it all in one place. None of these rankings here are intended to be "hot takes", so if something seems irrationally or unexpectedly low, check some of the items around or above it that you may be unfamiliar with. I tried to come up with the best intersection of personal preference and laudibility I could. When the EPs are taken out, the full-lengths may take on a better sense. Got a lot to add here and will do some write-ups and links so I'll be working on it for the next hour. |
1 | | Deicide Deicide
'Lunatic of God's Creation'.
Sorry; that really played a bigger part than I was expecting in choosing the 1. |
2 | | Atrocity Hallucinations
Perhaps the secondmost "replayable" record on this list. |
3 | | Convulse Resuscitation of Evilness
[EP]
The near five cannot be overstated enough. |
4 | | Entombed Left Hand Path
Drowned. |
5 | | Abhorrence (FIN) Vulgar Necrolatry
[EP]
Heavy as balls.
https://youtu.be/esXI8FbaQ9U |
6 | | Opprobrium Beyond The Unknown
This record really got the ball rolling for me to keep digging deeper into dm in the beginning. |
7 | | Gorguts And Then Comes Lividity
[EP]
Man, I almost put this over Left Hand, but I didn't want to get my ass kicked. |
8 | | Pungent Stench For God Your Soul...For Me Your Flesh
Fuggin' completely forgot about this until after I had listened to the last album on the list. Glad I caught it |
9 | | Death Spiritual Healing
*quotes song here* |
10 | | Cancer To the Gory End
Tell me!! to what end!!!??! |
11 | | Cannibal Corpse Eaten Back to Life
Edible |
12 | | Paradise Lost Lost Paradise
All I can say is, I guess it's underrated? I just love the whole tone and atmosphere of this album. Early staple for me, but obviously it has some differences. |
13 | | Impetigo Ultimo Mondo Cannibale
This gets more flak than it should, it is pretty crazy, don't be desensitized |
14 | | Nuclear Death Bride of Insect
your dying bride. |
15 | | Massacra Final Holocaust
Just freakin delivers. |
16 | | Goreaphobia Morbidious Pathology
[EP]
What a ripper. Like Jack the Ripper wrote these riffs. |
17 | | Funebre Demo 90
EP]
Mad good. |
18 | | Dismember Reborn in Blasphemy
[EP]
I was never real big on Dismember but this demo is fucking ass-kicking and hits way harder for some reason.
https://youtu.be/1DsC_eywaO4 |
19 | | Vulcano Ratrace
Liked it, loved it. |
20 | | Acrostichon Prologue
[EP]
I didn't know they had those two early EP's, before. |
21 | | Bluuurgh Pious Decay
[EP]
I just remember this being good, but not anything specific atm. |
22 | | Conjuration Reality of Life
[EP]
Very nice gem sort of find.
https://youtu.be/P8_fcz5MxnI |
23 | | Disgrace (FIN) Inside the Labyrinth of Depression
fucking a, filthy riffs all over this place.
https://youtu.be/L5Vnrpt3oC0 |
24 | | Merciless The Awakening
Another early one I got into when I first was looking at death metal. |
25 | | Morta Skuld Gory Departure (demo)
[EP] |
26 | | Obituary Cause of Death
Fun Fact: Slowly We Rot was my #1 choice for the year prior. |
27 | | Cadaver Hallucinating anxiety
I wouldn't spin this often or all the time by any means, but it is notable for being as punishing as it is, for it's time. A little too nonstop in my opinion, but still notable. |
28 | | Carnage Dark Recollections
Not the biggest fan, sorry! |
29 | | Dragon Fallen Angel
Did a soundoff for this. |
30 | | Demolition Hammer Tortured Existence
A band I'm still recently getting around to a bit more than in the past, but my favorite tracks where I thought this was really good was from 6 to 8. |
31 | | Jumpin' Jesus Demo
[EP]
Whew. |
32 | | Crematory (SWE) The Exordium
[EP] |
33 | | Carbonized Recarbonized
[EP]
This band has almost all "A" marks up to this point. |
34 | | Morta Skuld Prolong the Agony (demo)
[EP] |
35 | | Mercyless Vomiting Nausea
[EP] |
36 | | Phantasm Lycanthropy |
37 | | Hellwitch Syzygial Miscreancy |
38 | | Thanatos Emerging from the Netherworlds
Another one I listened to really early on but afterward didn't listen all too often. Kind of about the same way as it is now haha, but it's still cool. |
39 | | Napalm Death Harmony Corruption
I still liked 'From Enslavement to Obliteration' a lot more. |
40 | | Carbonized No Canonization
[EP]
What I think is their "weakest" of their early demos. |
41 | | Sinister Putrefying Remains / Spiritual Immolation
[EP]
I have to spin this again cause I don't really remember it after making the list. |
42 | | Blasphemy Fallen Angel of Doom
a 3.5 for now. I don't really crave this kind of black metal often. It's balls out fast and heavy and all, with some fairly distinguishable structure to boot, but sometimes it's just too unrelenting. I much preferred the second half to the first. I could see me raising this up to a 4 in time but as it is I still don't think it would move up in my rankings too much since there's so much more here that qualifies for osdm on this list. Have to make some sacrifices, figure this is at least a good album to do it with. |
43 | | Messiah Psychomorphia EP
[EP]
I really like early Messiah |
44 | | Morgoth The Eternal Fall
[EP]
Sometimes I can't tell if I like it or not, but then I do, then I don't, and then I do. |
45 | | Rottrevore The Epitome of Pantalgia
[EP]
this was going to be a 3.5 but Track 3 'Actions for Loss' goes so hard that it bumps the entire rating up a .5 |
46 | | Agressor Neverending Destiny
perhaps pushing toward the verge of *too* thrash in terms of this list. |
47 | | Putrifact Rehearsal 7/21/90
[EP]
has Craig Pillard on this as a second guitarist and backing vocals. |
48 | | Suffocation Reincremated
[EP]
I probably did this one a little dirty, but Involuntary Slaughter is my least favorite early Suffo song, and the recording of the title track is a little subpar. I do like the demo version of Human Waste a lot though, as one should. |
49 | | Grotesque Incantation
[EP] |
50 | | Hexx Watery Graves
[EP]
This band like an album or EP or two before this, made a noteworthy genre shift from some kind of decent speed metal to a more regular osdm kind of band which is neat. |
51 | | Disembowelment Mourning September (Demo)
[EP] |
52 | | Gibbed Promo Demo 90
[EP]
Not as much grind as I anticipated.
https://youtu.be/_eyFKHrrokQ |
53 | | Nocturnus The Key
I might be one of the few to say this, but this just never grabs me. |
54 | | Rot (GA) Diabolus (The Unholy Rot)
[EP] |
55 | | Paineater Hypersexual Psychoviolence
[EP]
it's like industrial metal mixed with The Curator from Portal. |
56 | | Dissection The Grief Prophecy
[EP] |
57 | | Incantation Entrantment of Evil
[EP]
I'll need to listen again, with a few more of these, but I feel like I might have missed something with this. For some reason this just didn't strike out to me as being anything much other than being ordinary. |
58 | | Protector Leviathan's Desire
[EP]
Some good/great Protector tunes. |
59 | | Therion Time Shall Tell
[EP]
definitely impressed. |
60 | | Funebre Brainspoon
[EP] |
61 | | Delirium (NL) Zzooouhh
This must be the sleeper hit for me. Couldn't really ever ship this one. |
62 | | Genocidio (BRA) Depression |
63 | | Prophecy of Doom Acknowledge the Confusion Master
I think it gets better after a couple of listenings. |
64 | | Mindrot 1990 Demo
(death/doom metal)
[EP] |
65 | | Mortician Demo #1 '90
[EP]
https://youtu.be/SIfAY_ILCvU |
66 | | Derketa The Unholy Ground
[EP] |
67 | | Unleashed The Utter Dark
[EP] |
68 | | Mid-Evil Unconscious Predator
[EP] |
69 | | Disharmonic Orchestra Expositionsprophylaxe
honestly this is something that's an example of just being too heavy to be wholly enjoyable, imo. There's not much characterization between the tracks as say, Prophecy Of Doom has. |
70 | | Lobotomy When Death Draws Near
[EP] |
71 | | Human Remains Demo 1990
[EP]
gonna have to give this one another relisten to remember, cause I kind of already forgot it. |
72 | | Necrophobic Slow Asphyxiation
[EP]
Eh, cold. |
73 | | Winter Into Darkness
[EP]
(it seems that I have not particularly warmed up to this release. I like 'Goden' the most though.) |
74 | | Morticious Genetic Blurr
[EP] |
75 | | Tiamat Sumerian Cry |
76 | | Malignant Day of the Lord
[EP] |
77 | | Necrosanct Equal in Death |
78 | | Master Master |
79 | | Benediction Subconscious Terror |
80 | | Adversary (Swe) The Blood of Those Who Failed
[EP]
don't let this being this far down fool you. This band peaks in '92 with the absolute unit of a monster of a dm EP that is "Remains of An Art Forgotten." If you're interested, I'd try and get your hands on the newly released comp. |
81 | | Abhorrence (FIN) Abhorrence
[EP]
One of the *few* instances where the production here for me actually effects the score a (-) .5 or more. Absolutely stunned this has a higher average over the previous Vulgar Necrolatry demo, as it is a decline in that regard. But if you've heard Vulgar Necrolatry, then you can expect the same/similar riffs, style and "atmosphere" here. As that was suffocatingly tight, this is more open, somber and mournful, as the dissonant melodies and riffs seem/feel a little less compacted other than the static tension that exists amongst over the ionized and indistinct reverberal recording alone. |
82 | | Cianide Funeral
[EP] |
83 | | Abhorrence (GER) Six Feet Under
[EP] |
84 | | Homicide (CL) Time of Destruction
[EP] |
85 | | Vader Morbid Reich (demo)
[EP] |
86 | | Absurd Conception Receptacle of Nonsense
[EP] |
87 | | Unleashed ....Revenge
[EP] |
88 | | Bluuurgh Suffer Within
[EP]
Weirdly and evidently punkier even though this was the same year as their other sledgehammer osdm ep release. The only new track is the second cut "Deceived" and in that one the audio quality takes a major dip for some reason, as the other tracks sound rerecorded. |
89 | | General Surgery Erosive Offals (Malignant Necrotomy)
[EP] |
90 | | Shub Niggurath Horror Creatures (Demo)
[EP]
Crazy how it's so hard to hear anything, but underneath it there was some winnable grooves |
91 | | Napalm Death Suffer the Children
[EP]
It's not bad, it's just that the two main songs are found elsewhere. |
92 | | Revenant Demo 1990
[EP]
https://youtu.be/eKIUy28wxY4 |
93 | | Sadistic Intent Impending Doom
[EP] |
94 | | General Surgery Internecine Prurience (Rehearsal Demo 9/90)
[EP] |
95 | | General Surgery Pestisferous Antrhopophagia
[EP] |
96 | | Ripping Corpse Glorious Depravity
[EP] |
97 | | Dark Half Death Comes True
[EP] |
98 | | Posthumous (NLD) Deterioration
Added late after I made the list
Edit: This needs to go in the 19 - 23 range.
Foul/filthy crust-punky death metal
https://youtu.be/PsieFw7n0t4 |
99 | | Gorefest Horrors in a Retarded Mind
Discovered late, after I made the list
3.5/4.0. Definitely not bad and the soundoff for it here is pretty silly and stupid. This fits somewhere between the 50-60 range on this list.
https://youtu.be/VcFwMh4lHtQ |
100 | | Cerebral Fix Tower of Spite
This was honestly a little bit strenuous to listen to. Never should have been a full length. |
101 | | Dr. Shrinker The Eponym
3.5 https://youtu.be/X3on_sCSEHI
Additional albums that can't fit on the list:
Enormity - Slaves of Death - 4.0. link: https://youtu.be/vaJloWUvMNs
Slow Death - Deadly Visions - 4.0/3.5. still a chill rip. link: https://youtu.be/w17Wz8F9p5g
Enbryonic - The Land of the Lost Souls - listening on YouTube now and it's already fucking sick a minute and a half in, but it's not even on metal archives lol. 4.0
Baphomet (DE) - Baphomet - https://youtu.be/wD8YGxH_rU4 just listened but I don't feel like adding at the moment. 3.5
Agoraphobia - Premature Inhumation 3.5/4.0 (GER) btw. https://youtu.be/ro3ZOMbujGE
Slesk - Moulding Odour 3.5/4.0. Check the soundoff. Worth the quick listen. https://youtu.be/odYvP2AllLY
Xerasia - Rehearsals '90 - 4.0/5
Additional 1990 albums not yet listened/added to site:
Accidental Suicide - Flesh Parade
Desultory - From Beyond |
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