25 YEARS OF DEATH METAL HISTORY.

In 2005 Metal Side Webzine celebrated the 20 year history of Death Metal since the gods Possessed hit the metal scene in 1985 with their debut album ‘Seven Churches’ as the first death metal album in history. As part of observing this metallic milestone, Metal Side Webzine invited select death metallers from the worldwide true metal underground to send their lists of their top ten death metal albums & demos, & top death metal musicians for all time. These results can be viewed at www.deathmetalside.com

It’s now December 2010, & 25 years to the month since ‘Seven Churches’ hit the record stores – that’s right to the month – after all, being a 43 year old veteran of the metal scene, I was there at the time when ‘Seven Churches’ hit the record racks of the local metal record store in December ’85. Following the tradition of Metal Side Webzine, I am now observing the Quarter Century of Death Metal by ranking all time top death metal albums, demos, & musicians. True Death Metallers are invited to list their top Death Metal rankings as part of this observation of Death Metal History.

It should be noted that Possessed’s ‘Seven Churches’ album was not the first ever Death Metal recording – that honour should go to the first demo tape of Death [then called Mantas], ‘Death By Metal’. Rather, Possessed’s ‘Seven Churches’ album was the first Death Metal ALBUM of all time. To be exact, it was the first FULL LENGTH album of Death Metal History, because Sepultura, who themselves started as one of the first ever Death Metal bands, also unleashed their debut record, the legendary ‘Bestial Devastation’ mini album in ’85. What a historic year for Death Metal that was. True Death Metallers should celebrate this milestone of Death Metal History.

Best Death Metal albums / demos of all time.

1. POSSESSED – ‘Seven Churches’ album.

2. DEATH – ‘Scream Bloody Gore’ album.

3. SEPULTURA – ‘Bestial Devastation’ mini album.

4. MORBID ANGEL – ‘Abominations Of Desolation’ album.

5. SARCOFAGO – ‘INRI’ album.

6. POSSESSED – Demo 1984.

7. MORBID ANGEL – ‘Thy Kingdom Come’ demo.

8. DEATH – ‘Reign Of Terror’ Demo.

9. PENTAGRAM [Chile] – Demo II.

10. XECUTIONER [Obituary] – 1986 Demo.

Best Vocalist [Equal first] – Chuck Schuldiner; Jeff Beccera.

Best Guitarist – Chuck Schuldiner

Best Bassist – Steve DiGiorgio

Best Drummer – Pete Sandoval

A list thread? Why not if it's for the celebration of death metal!
I know we're not being restricted to the 80's but for history's sake...

Full-lengths LPs

1. Bolt Thrower - In Battle There Is No Law [1988]
2. Death - Scream Bloody Gore [1987]
3. Autopsy - Severed Survival [1989]
4. Morbid Angel - Altars Of Madness [1989]
5. Carcass - Reek Of Putrefaction [1988]
6. Possessed - Seven Churches [1985]
7. Sepultura - Morbid Visions [1986]
8. Sarcofago - INRI [1987]
9. Obituary - Slowly We Rot [1989]
10. Terrorizer - World Downfall [1989]

EPs/Singles/Demos

1. Hellhammer - Satanic Rites [1983]
2. Sepultura - Bestial Devastation [1985]
3. Mantas [Death] - Death By Metal [1984]
4. Morbid Angel - Abominations Of Desolation [1986]
5. Merciless [Sweden] - Behind The Black Door [1987]
6. Rotting Christ - Satanas Tedeum [1989]
7. Mortem [Norway] - Slow Death [1989]
8. Poison [Germany] - Into The Abyss [1986]
9. Repulsion - Slaughter Of The Innocent [1986]
10. Blasphemy - Blood Upon The Altar [1989]

I've certainly missed lots of other great bands like Massacre and Master but still I'm pretty satisfied with my list. Also, I know that a lot of those bands are not 'pure' death metal - some can be classified as grindcore, black metal, thrash metal...

This list thread reeks of kvlt poser elitism. Count me out.

Are you kidding me? Kvlt? Elitism?
These guys are talking about the best-selling death albums of all time

Over half of the stuff listed are from some of the biggest names in the industry; Morbid Angel, Bolt Thrower, Obituary, Sepultura...

I don't even listen to death metal really outside of a littleh ere and there I have only not heard of Poison and Mortem.

And? They are also albums that have established themselves as genre staples over time, and have proven themselves as genre classics, as opposed to some obscure demo which has only achieved recent veneration. I agree to some extent however, that the blatant Death worship is nauseating, and there is a horrible lack of Suffocation when they could easily take the place of mediocre Deicide.

I never disagreed with that sentiment.

Best-selling or not, the whole "oh, I was there at its inception and I only like the first album and the demos" attitude is fucking bullshit.

my list has no particular order:

Carnage - Dark Recollections
Celtic Frost - To Mega Therion
Death - Human
Cannibal Corpse- Tomb Of The Mutilated
Entombed - Left Hand Path
Atheist - Elements
Nocturnus - The Key
The Chasm - Deathcult For Eternity - The Triumph
God Macabre - The Winterlong
Dismember - Death Metal



hey dude, need a cookie?

I don't know where you're getting that with this thread. It's just a good natured thread to celebrate great DM.

The thread should probably specify that it's only dealing with old school/80s death metal. Cause when I first think of "death metal" and "greatest death metal albums of ALL TIME," my first thoughts are of early 90's stuff. The Swedish Death metal movement, Bolt Thrower's later stuff, Morbid Angel's BatS and Covenant, Abramelin, Jungle Rot, Cryptopsy, etc... Your little magazine thing is great and all, but you're leaving a lot of great music out and need to clarify that.

And Abominations of Desolation over Altars of Madness? Really?

Wow that webzine kills my eyes!

If the lists on their pages do not reveal how relative the term death-metal is to one's age then I don't know what does.

Several people wrote in Iron Maiden, Slayer, Kreator, Destruction, Celtic Frost, Mercyful Fate, Dark Angel, Venom, Sadus, and even Godflesh. There was even some dude who posted 'the whole Tampa, Florida scene' and Metallica. Another posted ND's Scum. And some dude said "Jeff Walker introduced me to the infamous death metal growl.' Another posted Slipknot?


Could it be these records are the most influential?

Jesus fucking Christ, hire a goddamn web designer. Jesus fuck that website. FUCK.

Great listing sir. I especially agree with Bolt Thrower's In Battle There Is No Law being at the top of the list. What an album. This along with the follow-up Realm of Chaos, is some of the most dark and destructive metal ever made. The vocals really are horrifying and abysmally deep. Riffs that take punk and metal and stick in your head and make you headbang, but are so OTT it's ridiculous. Same with the drumming. It's like taking Discharge and mixing it with the best of Massacre, Hellhammer and Slayer. Absolute perfection. I love these records beyond words.

Repulsion and Blasphemy need to be higher on the list though, but that's just me. I rate those dudes along with olde Bolt Thrower anyway...

Sounds more like nostalgia to me.

If this thread is about celebrating 25 years of death metal than it seems strange to me that we're only talking about the first 5 years of the genre in most of these posts.

I love the classics and I'm definitely more into oldschool than newer stuff but what's the point in celebrating every five years if there's no acknowledgment made to anything that's come out recently?

Here's my list of my favorite death metal of the most recent 5 years:
1. Septicflesh- Communion
2. Monolith Deathcult- Triumvirate
3. Belphegor- Pestapokalypse VI
4. Deicide- The Stench of Redemption
5. Tribulation- The Horror
6. The Project Hate- Armageddon March Eternal (Symphonies of Slit Wrists)
7. Nile- Annihilation of the Wicked
8. Behemoth- Evangelion
9. Vader- Impressions in Blood
10. Immolation- Harnessing Ruin

Done more or less off the top of my head so I might be missing something.

Cryptopsy- None So Vile
Entombed- Clandestine
Morbid Angel- Blessed are the Sick
Dismember- Like an Ever Flowing Stream
Bloodbath- The Fathomless Mastery
Suffocation- Human Waste
Deicide- Stench of Redemption
Tiamat- The Astral Sleep
Septicflesh- Communion
Akercocke- Antichrist

In no particular order.

Since everyone is just listing classics, I guess I'll list some releases that I consider to be modern classics.

Malignancy - Inhuman Grotesqueries
Wormed - Planisphaerium
Defeated Sanity - Psalms of the Moribund
Origin - Antithesis
Dripping - Disintegration Of Thought Patterns During A Synthetic Mind Traveling Bliss
Saprogenic - The Wet Sound of Flesh on Concrete

this thread fails because that webzine is actually the most horrid website ever created.



I never knew the interwebs could inflict REAL actual physical pain without inducing a palm-to-forehead smack. God damn.

I bet the writer is colorblind, or blind. That, or he sits and wonders why his webcounter is broken and doesn't ever reach double digits....

I can agree with you on Saprogenic and Defeated Sanity, Saprogenic are fucking beastly. Malignancy are quite possibly the worst death metal band on the planet, and I'm waiting for Wormed to overcome that pile of shit that was Planesphaerium, their last few songs gave me hope.

There are plenty that fit the description "shitty generic death metal" moreso than Malignancy.

Yes, yes. My retinas literally exploded on sight.

Hmm, maybe I'm blind, (or half blind) cause that webzine causes nothing in me.

The don't worry about it. 98% of the worlds population doesn't have good design/readability sensibilities. The colors are fucked and the layout is totally jacked.

Lol FasterDisaster if you have white walls in the house look at that web page and then go look at the wall. You can literally see the text burned in your eyes on the wall.

I know, it's fucking terrible. I will seriously redesign that webpage... for a hefty price, of course.

I know it says "Best ever" but I'm pretty sure its limiting itself to the very early first wave stuff. I'd be more willing to chalk it up to poor wording rather than elitism. However if this is geniunely someones best ever I'd feel pretty sad for them, there's some good stuff there, but death metal got WAY better during the 90's. Either way, maybe some elitism in the form of paying massive homage to the originators and classics, but no kvltness at all. This is the equivelent of calling someone who only listens to Darkthrone, Burzum and Immortal kvult.

i like death metal too much to pick just a several favorites.

Good to see some feedback here since I started this discussion, ha....



Read the original article. I never said anywhere that I only like the first album or demos of any death metal band. I merely listed the first albums / demos of certain bands as my FAVOURITES from those bands. I too disagree with the attitude of 'I only like the first album / demos of said band', if the band continued to record good albums true to their sound. For example, many fans of Possessed, Sarcofago, & Morbid Angel, only like their demos / first albums & nothing further, but I think all their albums are good [to varying degrees].

Also, the comments about my being there when Possessed's first album hit the metal scene was not 'elitist bragging'. It was simply background info to my knowing of when exactly in '85 'Seven Churches' hit the metal scene. Had I simply written that 'Seven Churches' hit the metal scene in December '85, it may have prompted questions such as 'how do you know the exact month of the year that album hit the metal scene, were you there?' I wanted to write it in a way that didn't leave question marks.

Pretty much this

But honestly? The lack of Gorguts's "Obscura" in this thread is disturbing. Pure musical genius.

Also the only Atheist album mentioned has been fucking Elements, which is having a war with Jupiter for their worst album. How the hell is that better than Unquestionable Presence or Piece of Time? Clarification please?

Also, I prefer "Cause of death" to "Slowly we Rot" by Obituary, and "Realm of Chaos" to "In Battle..." by Bolt Thrower.

Maybe I'm just wierd.

I'll leave out all the melodic death metal and Opeth, since it's hardly a subgenre of death metal.

Full Lengths:
1. Death - The Sound of Perseverance
2. Cynic - Focus
3. Death - Symbolic
4. Morbid Angel - Altars of Madness
5. Gorod - Leading Vision
6. Fleshgod Apocalypse - Oracles
7. Cryptopsy - None So Vile
8. Morbid Angel - Covenant
9. Death - Scream Bloody Gore
10. Death - Individual Thought Patterns

Granted, my knowledge of death metal is somewhat limitied, as I haven't thoroughly explored some of the classic bands such as Deicide, Bolt Thrower, Immolation, Obituary, or Atheist.

Good question. 'Abominations of Desolations' does indeed have a unique aura of obscure sounding ancient darkness that is more underground than that of 'Altars of Madness'. For that reason I ranked it as my favourite Morbid Angel album, not that it's a better album than 'Altars of Madness'.

As for the reason why no 90's death metal was listed in my top 10 death metal albums / demos....at first, I followed the listing style of Metal Side Webzine [NOTE - I am not the editor of that Metal Side Webzine, I simply followed their example], which was a top ten listing of favourite death metal albums / demos of all time, & that doesn't leave much space to cover an expanded time frame ['80s / '90's / modern era death metal]. Therefore I have created a new listing of top 20 death metal albums of all time, where there are albums from the '90's & beyond....

1. POSSESSED – ‘Seven Churches’ album.
2. DEATH – ‘Scream Bloody Gore’ album.
3. SEPULTURA – ‘Bestial Devastation’ mini album.
4. MORBID ANGEL – ‘Abominations Of Desolation’ album.
5. SARCOFAGO – ‘INRI’ album.
6. MORBID ANGEL - 'Altars Of Madness' album.
7. IMMOLATION - 'Dawn of Possession' album.
8. ENTOMBED - 'Left Hand Path' album.
9. DEICIDE - 'Deicide' album.
10. ACHERON - 'Rites Of The Black Mass' album.
11. SENTENCED - 'Shadows of The Past' album.
12. AUTOPSY - 'Severed Survival' album.
13. VULCANO - 'Bloody Vengeance' album.
14. VADER - 'The Ultimate Incantation' album
15. ASPHYX - 'Embrace The Death' album.
16. GRAVE - 'Into The Grave' album.
17. INCANTATION - 'Onward To Golgotha' album
18. VITAL REMAINS - 'Forever Underground' album.
19. MORTEM - 'Demon Tales' album.
20. SANCTIFIER - 'Awakened By Impurity Rites' album.

Remember that these rankings are just my top twenty favourite death metal albums of all time, & are not intended as a definitive set of rankings for everyone to follow. Also, I have not ranked best death metal demos of all time here, I plan to compile a separate list for those.

Ok, lets do this. Not really in any order:


Albums
1. Destroyer 666 - Cold Steel for an Iron Age
2. Nile - Annihilation of the Wicked
3. Misery Index - Traitors
4. Fleshgod Apocalypse - Oracles
5. Obituary - Slowly We Rot
6. Cryptopsy - None So Vile
7. Vader - Litany
8. Nunslaughter - Hex
9. Bolt Thrower - Those Once Loyal
10. Morbid Angel - Altars of Madness

Demos/EPs/MCDs
1. Necrovore - Divus De Mortuus
2. Nunslaughter - Impale the Soul of Christ on the Inverted Cross of Death
3. Cerekloth - Pandemonium Prayers
4. Amon - Sacrificial

I tried to only mention each band once per list, just for variety.

EDIT: So, I was in a less than sharp state of mind when I made this list, and labeled Cryptopsy's None So Vile as Phobophile on accident and none of you called me on it. Shame. SHAME!

I must say, GREAT list of all time best death metal albums & demos / ep's there, one of the best lists here, some great titles / selections there, many favourites of mine, & all are worthy.

First time I have seen Cold Steel labelled as death metal...

Normally I wouldn't have put any D666 on there, but if Sarcofago, Sepultura, and Hellhammer count, than I'd say Destroyer does.

Master deserve some credit, although their albums came late, they are one of the first pure death metal bands, their rehearsal demo way back in 85 is pure death metal, but it has the worst production possible.
Their self titled album came out in 1990 and "On The Seventh Day God Created... Master" came the following year.
Classic DM, any DM fan who hasn't heard their first two records is truly missing out.

My list, for what it's worth:

Blessed Are the Sick - Morbid Angel
Human - Death
The Key - Nocturnus
Cause of Death - Obituary
Pleasure to Kill - Kreator
Seven Churches - Possessed
Swallowed in Black - Sadus
Dreams of the Carrion Kind - Disincarnate
Hatebreeder - Children of Bodom
Death Shall Rise - Cancer
Severed Survival - Autopsy
Unquestionable Presence - Atheist
Legion - Deicide
Left Hand Path - Entombed
Master - Master
Schizophrenia - Sepultura
World Downfall - Terrorizer
Hell Awaits - Slayer

MY BEST DEATH METAL DEMOS OF ALL TIME.

Since I rewrote my best death metal albums of all time [an extended list], I have now also written a separate list of best death metal demos. I may extend this list to twenty rankings.

POSSESSED – Demo 1984.
MORBID ANGEL – ‘Thy Kingdom Come'.
DEATH – ‘Reign Of Terror’.
PENTAGRAM [Chile] – Demo II.
XECUTIONER [Obituary] – 1986 Demo.
MORBID ANGEL - 'Unholy Blasphemies'.
GRAVE - 'Sexual Mutilation'.
SARCOFAGO - 'Satanic Lust'.
GRAVE - 'Sick Disgust Eternal'.
NIHILIST [Sweden] - 'Only Shreds Remain'.

True death metallers can contribute their best ever death metal demos lists.