Brutality Screams of Anguish- One of the few American death metal bands to really reach a level of melodic articulation on par with the Swedish bands of the time, Brutality still retained the percussive force and rhythmic intricacy of the Florida scene which spawned it. Perhaps the most useful point of reference would be Nocturnus' The Key, but the arrangements are more expansive and the instinct for the epic more finely honed. 9/10
Ceremonium Into the Autumn Shade- A ponderous funereal dirge not unlike Cathedral's first record in spirit, though with a classical sense of melody and structure. Stunningly beautiful once one is immersed in a this personal eulogy for a dying world. 10/10
Falkenbach En Their Medh Riki Fara...- In many ways more an album of European folk music than of metal (in that sense not all that different from similar vintage Graveland, though considerably more technical), this is "viking metal" that is not content just to rehash mid-period Bathory. Vastly epic and possessed of a heathen sensibility rooted in the band's spiritual core (and not in any cheesy gimmicks like synthy horns or kettle drums), it finds a simple beauty in ancient codes of honor with no need to resort to overblown artifice. 10/10
Morbid Angel Altars of Madness- This is an album and a band that has finally clicked with me. In the wake of Slayer, death metal followed two distinct paths, one beginning with Massacra and leading inevitably to At the Gates and, ultimately, Sacramentum, and the other beginning with this album. Morbid Angel build on the techniques pioneered by Slayer and the remorseless logic of violence to create dystopian hymns of alienation. 9/10
Obsecration Aceanum Oblivione- Like a lot of Greek metal, this is simultaneously primitive and sophisticated. Reminiscent of early Pestilence in its leanings toward thrash/speed metal derived riffing and production within a death metal context, but held together with melodic, atmospheric elements. Interesting, but not always coherent. 7.5/10
Rigor Mortis Rigor Mortis- An Ur-metal hybrid that set the stage for most European extreme metal to come. Basically technical but rock based death metal making use of techniques that would come to greatly influence both Norwegian black metal and Swedish death metal in the early 90's, setting the stage for everything from At the Gates to Immortal. The ideas are here, but the execution is not, with most songs consisting of short verse/chorus arrangements held together (or, as is often the case, not held together) by wildly self-indulgent leadwork. 8/10
Ceremonium Into the Autumn Shade- A ponderous funereal dirge not unlike Cathedral's first record in spirit, though with a classical sense of melody and structure. Stunningly beautiful once one is immersed in a this personal eulogy for a dying world. 10/10
Falkenbach En Their Medh Riki Fara...- In many ways more an album of European folk music than of metal (in that sense not all that different from similar vintage Graveland, though considerably more technical), this is "viking metal" that is not content just to rehash mid-period Bathory. Vastly epic and possessed of a heathen sensibility rooted in the band's spiritual core (and not in any cheesy gimmicks like synthy horns or kettle drums), it finds a simple beauty in ancient codes of honor with no need to resort to overblown artifice. 10/10
Morbid Angel Altars of Madness- This is an album and a band that has finally clicked with me. In the wake of Slayer, death metal followed two distinct paths, one beginning with Massacra and leading inevitably to At the Gates and, ultimately, Sacramentum, and the other beginning with this album. Morbid Angel build on the techniques pioneered by Slayer and the remorseless logic of violence to create dystopian hymns of alienation. 9/10
Obsecration Aceanum Oblivione- Like a lot of Greek metal, this is simultaneously primitive and sophisticated. Reminiscent of early Pestilence in its leanings toward thrash/speed metal derived riffing and production within a death metal context, but held together with melodic, atmospheric elements. Interesting, but not always coherent. 7.5/10
Rigor Mortis Rigor Mortis- An Ur-metal hybrid that set the stage for most European extreme metal to come. Basically technical but rock based death metal making use of techniques that would come to greatly influence both Norwegian black metal and Swedish death metal in the early 90's, setting the stage for everything from At the Gates to Immortal. The ideas are here, but the execution is not, with most songs consisting of short verse/chorus arrangements held together (or, as is often the case, not held together) by wildly self-indulgent leadwork. 8/10
