90's metal - Tracks I Liked, part 2: Deep Cuts
The 90's weren't the best of times for heavy metal, but some orthodoxies were overturned and interesting developments occurred. |
| 1 |  | Sentenced
Down
1996 - "Bleed"
Corny hard rock? Maybe, but catchy as hell. |
| 2 |  | Gorefest
False
1992 - "Get-a-Life"
You can just about dance to this one. |
| 3 |  | Evereve
Stormbirds
1998 - "On Lucid Wings"
I miss those early goth-metal bands. This whole album rocked. |
| 4 |  | Voivod
Negatron
1995 - "Reality?"
Probably my favorite band of any genre ever. This album wasn't their finest moment, but I still like stripped-down thrash of this song and love the chorus. |
| 5 |  | Morgoth
Odium
1993 - "Under the Surface"
A substantial departure from the previous album, but at the exact halfway point to their next one. The Killing Joke influence was already beginning to appear. |
| 6 |  | Opeth
Morningrise
1996 - "To Bid You Farewell"
Absolutely beautiful. The first utterly essential Opeth track. |
| 7 |  | Emperor
In the Nightside Eclipse
1994 - "Towards the Pantheon"
There are several striking cuts on their debut, this one hits a special nerve for me. |
| 8 |  | Rapture
Futile
1999 - "While the World Sleeps"
Sure, they were basically doing Brave Murder Day all over again, but I think this record was even better. |
| 9 |  | Dark Tranquillity
Projector
1999 - "Nether Novas"
A lot of their fans were pissed off about all the melodic singing, but I wasn't. Michael has a very distinctive, emotive sound. |
| 10 |  | The 3rd and the Mortal
Painting on Glass
1996 - "Dreamscapes"
Ann-Mari Edvardsen's beautiful singing was perfect for their Post-Metal-Before-Post-Metal-Was-A-Thing. |
| 11 |  | My Dying Bride
34.788%... Complete
1998 - "Under Your Wings and into Your Arms"
A divisive, and not great, album. It does, however, have some unmitigated gems. |
| 12 |  | Strapping Young Lad
City
1997 - "Underneath the Waves"
Furious, frustrated, pure passion. |
| 13 |  | Gamma Ray
Land of the Free
1995 - "Salvation's Calling"
One of the most uplifting metal albums ever, easily my favorite of the power metal subgenre. |
| 14 |  | Anacrusis
Screams and Whispers
1993 - "My Soul's Affliction"
Proof that thrash could be emotionally moving without sacrificing a single moment of headbanging. |
| 15 |  | Tiamat
The Astral Sleep
1991 - "I Am the King (of Dreams)"
Nothing sounded quite them: part death metal, part gothrock, part black metal. Primitive, yet way ahead of its time. |
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