I promised I'd be back with a few gems of my own, so here I am.
First up, one of the only old school Swedish death metal albums I listen to. Lately it's been mentioned a few times in the rec forum, but generally, it's very rarely I see the name thrown around. Great prog/tech death from '92.
Afflicted - Prodigal Sun, 1992
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foZXBdlXmE4
The Mexican scene is one of my favorites from back in the days. Similar to the Finnish in that it put focus on atmosphere and feeling, though generally more raw and drawn out than twisted. Cenotaph is a great band, and "The Gloomy Reflections..." is an awesome record. Great use of keys, and an absolutely devastating vocal.
Cenotaph - The Gloomy Reflections Of Our Hidden Sorrows, 1992
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yj3nDOsX7bQ
How many death metal bands from Lithuania have you listened to? Not many I'd wager, and me neither. Conscious Rot is just that, however, and what a treat. "The Soil" is their last demo, but it's album length and ridiculously good. Chaotic, slightly technical brutal death metal, very bass heavy.
Conscious Rot - The Soil, 1994
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVD6CFet8AY
Man, I love Lovecraftian death metal, you know, where everything is about absurd, astral horrors. I also love death metal in the vein of Immolation (my favorite band), twisted and jagged. If you're like me, say hello to Eldritch Horror. Only got 2 demos out, and I've only managed to find one of them on the net, but damn the 3 songs on are good stuff. Not as technical as Immolation, but you still get that jagged sense of melody. Great stuff.
Eldritch Horror - Untouched by the Sun, 1993
http://www.myspace.com/eldritchhorror
When people start talking of dark, crushing (American) death metal of the nineties, it's inevitably stiff like Incantation, Immolation and Infester that get mentioned. Why no love for Imprecation? Their only full length is awesome, crushing mid paced death metal with clear black influences. Great atmosphere as well, but pretty raw stuff. Do yourself a favor and take a look at these Texans.
Imprecation - Theurgia Goetia Summa, 1995
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vr4_LsLSp8s
Unlike most, I just can't seem to like most of the death metal coming out of Poland. I mean, Vader really isn't that interesting. However, there is always an exception to the rule, and the exception to my rule of 'Polish death metal sucks' is Kingdom of the Lie. They only released a single demo back in 1993, and it is FUCKING AWESOME. I told you already, I love Immolation, and this is the band that is closest to the sound Immolation had at their peak ("Here..." and "Failures...") I have stumbled upon, and that's from well before Immolation released their best work. Brutal old school technical death. Very twisted and very raw.
Kingdom of the Lie - About the Rising Star, 1993
(Sorry, but I can't find a song online. Do yourself a favor and track the demo down somewhere on the net, it's definitely worth it).
I have plenty more I want to share with you guys, but that has to be later.
Here at the end I'll mention a couple of bands that are pretty well known (and most of them have a couple reviews here on the archives too), but I rarely see mentioned. Most should know the, if you don't - check them out!
Disincarnate - James Murphys (Death, Obituary) band. Awesome.
Gorefest. Old albums are great old school European brutal death. Great sense of melody too.
Miasma. "Changes" is an awesome album. Death/doom, Funebrarum owes a lot to this release. Weird, too.
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