I was aware of this phenomena within metal previously, but it wasn't until just recently that I realized just how much of a banner year '91 was for death metal; I mean, Soulside Journey, The Rack, Mental Funeral, Where No Life Dwells, Like An Ever Flowing Stream, War Master, Blessed Are The Sick, Dawn Of Possession, Into The Grave, Unquestionable Presence, Effigy Of The Forgotten, Considered Dead, Human, Necroticism, and Clandestine all coming out in the SAME fuckin' year. Both the tech death AND the death/doom sub-sub-genres saw some very important releases, the Swedeath scene obviously saw the same thing, and even Norway/The Netherlands got in on all that action a little bit themselves. Good thing too, as most thrash was about to go into hibernation (so to speak) after that year in the humongous wake of The Black Album, as a lot of the old staple-bands splintered away from their original style to try out their own things, so death was there to definitely pick up the sub-genre movement slack some.

Anyway, so what years do you pick as peaks for particular sub-genres, and why? Use whatever criteria you see fit to decide; even if a year really only saw two significant releases in a genre, if those 2 records still seemed just so good/influential to you, don't be afraid to go with it. And don't be afraid to get specific with the genres, either, like with sub-sub-genres; you got a good peak year thought up for melodeath, tech, whatever, feel free to talk about it. Don't be afraid to list/explain honorable mention years either if you want to, too.

I know 1986 is always one that people use as the peak year for thrash. I can certainly see why with Master of Puppets, Reign in Blood, Peace Sells, Darkness Descends, Pleasure To Kill, Doomsday For The Deceiver, The Dark, and plenty more to consider.

I think it's rather pessimistic to say that the "peak years" for metal sub-genres have already occured - it implies that there aren't many awesome albums awaiting us in the future

I know there are great records awaiting us in the future within each and every sub (and sub-sub) genre, I just wanted people to list what they feel have been the peak years to date; that isn't to suggest that there won't be some even better year for it in the future sometime. But still, there IS just this certain magic after you've had a really big year in a genre relatively early in its existence, when the majority of the trailblazing bands of a genre are still active in that style and still helping to establish its tenants, that you'll just never be able to replicate again in a genre that's already been established. It just isn't gonna feel the same again, y'know?

Obviously 1994 is the peak year for black metal, with Transilvanian Hunger, Hvis Ljuset Tar Oss, De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas, Pentagram, Vikingligr Veldi, Frost, In the Nightside Eclipse, For All Tid, ...Again Shall Be, Dark Medieval Times and The Shadowthrone.

The peak year for black metal is yet to come.

Perhaps a tricky one, but I think the peak years of doom/death metal were from 1995 until 1995. A bit hard to say, I guess, as most bands either:

1: broke up after one album (the case with some Dutch doom/death metal)
2: changed so drastic over the years.

Feel free to back me up on this.

If history for metal tells us anything, I think it is not such an unintelligent thing to say. Usually it seems that the peak years for a genre is shortly after that genre is established and before too many bands jump on the bandwagon, or start taking the genre into new directions partly due to the saturation of bands playing the same style. Thrash into groove and death metal into brutal and melodic death are the first to come to mind. Of course this is just my opinion. Take thrash for example, having been established in 1983 and really coming into its own in '85 and '86. Most people would say thrash peaked around '86 to '89

For thrash I would go with 1986 or 1987.

In 1986 there was:
Slayer - Reign in Blood (A lot regard this as the peak of thrash. It is certainly one of the most intense thrash albums recorded without branching out into other genres)
Metallica- Master of Puppets (I wouldn't consider this one of the best albums of the 80s like many think but it is still a great thrash album)
Destruction - Eternal Devastation (Their best album in my opinion)
Sodom - Obsessed by Cruelty (My favorite by them)
Megadeth - Peace Sells (Toss up between this and RiP as their best)
Kreator - Pleasure to Kill (Overrated in my opinion but a lot of people regard it as one of the pinnacles of thrash)
Dark Angel - Darkness Descends (Incredibly fast and Doty's manic vocals are very fitting although a lot of people dislike him)
Sepultura - Morbid Visions (Very raw and more like the other Cogumello bands than their later output)
Possessed - Seven Churches (One of the pioneering releases for death metal. I find this closer to thrash than death metal personally)
Exumer - Possessed by Fire (Only a few songs really get my attention like Fallen Saint but this is certainly the band's peak)
Onslaught - The Force (Their best album in my opinion)
Nuclear Assault - Game Over (One of my favorite thrash bands at their best)
Flotsam and Jetsam - Doomsday for the Deceiver (One of my favorites. Great blend of traditional metal and thrash)
Holy Moses - Queen of Siam (Solid debut but the follow up in 87 is better)
Metal Church - The Dark (USPM, and an excellent album that many people regard as their best)
Tankard - Zombie Attack (Not their best album but still decent from one of the most consistent thrash bands)
Razor - Malicious Intent (It sounds like Razor, not much else to say)
Angel Dust - Into the Dark Past (Pretty good speed/thrash before this band went more into the power metal direction)
Hallow's Eve - Death and Insanity (Good album of bay area sounding thrash, though not the band's peak)
Deathrow - Riders of Doom (one of my favorites for Teutonic speed/thrash)
Carrion - Evil is There (Always liked this one. Fairly sloppy Swiss thrash,and quite dirty and raw)
Detente - Recognize no Authority (Known for being female fronted with Dawn Crosby, and their sole album. Good stuff)
Iron Angel - Winds of War (Hellish Crossfire is better but this is still worth a mention)
Sacrifice - Torment in Fire (Not as good as Forward to Termination but still good. Pretty dirty thrash that reminds me of Slayer though a little sloppy)
Vulcano - Bloody Vengeance (One of the best thrash albums to come out from Brazil. They helped start that raw dirty sound associated with Cogumello records)
Mortal Sin - Mayhemic Destruction (Can be overrated but I love Lebanon)
Nasty Savage - Indulgence (Decent but not as good as the debut)
Messiah - Hymn to Abramelin (They get a mention now and then and is some very good proto-death metal)
Flames - Merciless Slaughter (Good punky thrashy speed metal. Surprised this one doesn't get more recognition)
Cyclone - Brutal Destruction (not amazing but decent enough)
At War - Ordered to Kill (Some love it and some find it average)
Mysto Dysto - The Rules have been Disturbed (Released this before changing the name to Mandator. This is some good speedy thrash that is a little on the technical side and deserving of more attention in my opinion)
Wrath - Fit of Anger (I prefer the follow up Nothing to Fear from 87')
Sentinel Beast - Depths of Death (Female fronted speed/thrash. Shame this was their only album)
Hexx - Under the Spell (Thrashy USPM. Not sure why it doesn't get more love. Metal Church fans should dig it.)
S.D.I. - S/T (follow up is better but worth a mention for speed/thrash)
Turbo - Kawaleria Szatana (This is often regarded as an underrated classic. I don't tend to listen to it due to the language barrier but it is some yummy thrashy traditional metal)
Taurus - Signo de Taurus (From Brazil but does not sound like Cogumello bands but closer to the bay area. It's all in Portuguese I think as well. Very underrated band in my opinion)
Lobotomia - S/T (Crossover that is a little sloppy and not as good as their follow up but worth a mention)
Necronomicon - Necronomicon (A lot of people regard this as just a forgettable b-rated Destruction or Sodom clone but I like the album)
I was going to do a list for 1987 but this took longer than expected for 1986. Perhaps later. However, this does represent the sheer volume of thrash albums coming out in '86 and there are others that I didn't feel made the cut.

No man, I get it - I just think that there are still loads of great albums coming out and that to establish peak years is silly. Sure, the 80s were the decade of the heavy metal explosion - but it was still just the beginning...

Establishing a peak year does not mean that there are no more good releases coming out after that year. It just means it has the most or highest percentage of good releases, or contain your favorite releases within that genre, or some other criteria you want to use.

edit: Also there were still genres that became more established in the 90s and even 2000s depending on how specific you want to get with sub-genres. It was not just about the 80s. I just mentioned thrash which just so happened to be a genre that came about in the 80s. Brutal Death metal, metalcore (the modern kind), Death/doom, sludge etc are all sub-genres that did not develop until after the 80s.

Thanks for the back-up AW, and real nice, in-depth list you have there for '86 thrash, but uh... do you just not like old-school Slayer, or something?





No one's trying to "establish" a peak year here in the sense that we'll flat-out refuse to consider at all a year being better for a sub-genre in the future, we're just trying to talk about PYs as they appear at the moment. Of course there are still tons of good metal records coming out now, and forever, really.

And IMO, though the 80's were an important decade for the sound, the 90's were just as enjoyable, probably more so, to be honest.

I edited in Reign in Blood. Somehow I missed that one. Also added in Necronomicon which I also forgot and deserved a mention.

Whew, you really had me worried there for a sec

Autopsy are the first death/doom band. Also, without Autopsy, Swedish death metal wouldn't exist. I get this info from Dan Ekeroth's book. Severed Survival came out in the 80s.

I mean death/doom like My Dying Bride but you are correct that Autopsy is death/doom. I should have clarified. Doesn't change my point though.

It is also difficult to draw the line as to where doomy death metal turns into death/doom. Some would say Autopsy is on the doomy death metal side rather than doom/death, but this is getting too far into semantics. A lot would say that diSEMBOWELMENT pioneered death/doom and they got their album out in '93. They certainly took it further than Autopsy did into doom territory.

I feel like there will be another peak year for thrash very soon. There have been quite a few great albums in the last 4 years or so.

I think 1986 is the peak year for heavy metal in general, don't you think? That's what Sam Dunn said in his documentary on metal, it seems about right.

'91 was a good year,no a great year. The last one for DM actually. There were still some good albums in '92 and '93 but DM died a sudden death after those years. Bands changed style,disbanded or just
released albums that sucked. But let's not forget 1989 and 1990;Sumerian Cry,Left Hand Path,Consuming Impulse,Slowly we rot,Spiritual Healing,Realm of Chaos,Symphonies Of Sickness,
Severed Survival,Lost Paradise,Into Darkness,The Key.....

To people who think those times come back;dream on. All classics in metal have been released....years...decades ago.
It is virtually impossible that there will be an album released in the future with as many great riffs,solo's,hooks and vocals,played with the youthful charmes,passion,fire and hunger for recognition,like the ones we already have in our collections. Be it thrash,doom,heavy death or black metal.

No disrespect intended, but I don't agree with this at all. 92-94 was absolutely the peak years for 2nd wave black metal. While there have been some excellent albums released since, I haven't heard a BM album in recent years that can hold a candle to things like In the Nightside Eclipse, De Mysteriis..., Under a Funeral Moon, etc, etc. Others will disagree, but this is only my opinion.

I'm curious what a peak year for speed and power metal might be. A lot of the stuff I listen to is from the early eighties, but I find I enjoy stuff later in the eighties and even in the oughts.


Oh, you kvlt frosty one, you!

I agree with vengefulgoat. With the genre and its conventions firmly established it is no longer incumbent on black metallers to forge a new aesthetic, so they can focus their talents and skills on working the received orthodoxy into new and creative forms while remaining true to the core of black metal.

I can't tell if you are trolling. While death metal did have many great releases in those years it is just silly to think there wasn't anything good released after, and you may just be looking for people to argue with you.

Immolation - Close to a World Below
Incantation - Mortal Throne of Nazarene
Vader - De Profundis
Cryptopsy - Blasphemy Made Flesh (Never was a fan of the vocals but this is considered one of the best death metal albums)
Bolt Thrower - For Victory
Gorement - The Ending Quest
Amorphis - Tales from 1000 Lakes
Crystal Age - Far Beyond Divine Horizons
Infester - To The Depths
Phlebotomized - Immense, Intense, Suspense
Detest - Dorval
Exoto - Carnival of Souls
Uncanny - Splenium for Nyktophobia
Mangled Torsos - Drawing of the Dead
Horror of Horrors - Sounds of Eerie
The Chasm - From the Lost Years


Those are just a handful of death metal albums released (mostly from 94-96) that are very good in my opinion. It is also very silly to say that there hasn't been anything great for decades in metal.

I would agree to that, though it doesn't seem like any genre quite matched thrash in its own terms. Of course, we did have Somewhere In Time, Epicus Doomicus Metallicus, Born Too Late, Awaken The Guardian, and plenty of others.

I would like to figure out when the peak year for doom was. I want to say it was sometime in the early 90s but I could be wrong.

Like what? (if you cite Vektor you're getting a slap)

I tend to go a couple of years after the generally accepted "peak years", since I tend to like the bands which expanded on the early classics more than the early classics themselves. Looking at those lists of death and thrash from their agreed upon best eras I actually dislike/am indifferent towards many of them. I'd take 1993 and 1994 death metal like Nespithe, Screams of Anguish, Inquitous, Elapse, Necromantic Love Songs, Erosion of Sanity, Dreams of the Carrion Kind, Sermon of Mockery, Inside the Unreal, Indecent and Obscene, Musta Seremonia, The Winterlong/Mortal Throne of Nazerene, A Pale Debilitating Autumn, Solstice of Oppression, Splenium For Nyktophobia, To the Depths in Degradation, Blasphemy Made Flesh, Abstract Divinity and Chronicles of the Shadowed Ones over quite a few of the names dropped earlier. A similar thing happens for me in thrash where I tend to prefer the more frenzied and technical efforts that starting coming out in 1987 onwards, like Sadus, Hellwitch and Sepultura's second and third albums, although I don't really know of any groupings to give me a preferred year.

That's one thing which is hard with deciding these sort "best" years sort of things, you have to weight the level of greatness with the quantity. 1991-93 certainly pack in more numbers of good releases than what followed, but at what point does quantity outweigh quality? Look at 1996 for instance, while not a great year overall, in None so Vile, Psychostasia and Here in After the year packed in three of my top 8 death metal albums, easily making it the most important year for my personal top end for the genre. Now look at something like say, The Rack. The Rack is a good album, it's a very good album, in fact it would exist somewhere around my top 50-60 all time at a guess. How many The Racks is a None so Vile worth for me personally? 2? 3? 5? How about all the solid but not brilliant albums which are worth a listen but not all time classics, like say Considered Dead, how many of these would there need to be to make up for a "best thing ever"? 10? 20? 50??? These are the sorts of things I have trouble with when trying to figure out a year to conclusively claim was the best ever. Obviously there needs to be a balance, I just don't know where it is exactly, I tend to fall back on '93 as the most fitting in both of these criteria, but yeah, I couldn't claim it with any certainty.

And as an extreme metal fan, there is no fucking way I'd call 1986 the best year for metal ever.

I only came into this thread to respond to the first post and the one by AcidWorm that 1) Dawn of Possession fucking sucks and 2) Darkness Descends is one of the most worthless metal albums ever.

Okay, why?

I agree as well. Lots of my favorite black metal is post-2000 stuff, and a huge portion of that is very recent. Lots of really promising new bands, too, who I feel absolutely have masterworks in 'em that they've yet to release.

Opinions are fine and all but 10 reviews and 91% suggests many people disagree with you. I haven't heard Dawn of Possession myself.
Darkness Descends, well a lot of people love it and see it as pinnacle of thrash in terms of intensity, and a lot of people find it boring. I can see why people dislike it but arguing over what albums are good or not good is not exactly the point of this thread, particularly when you just say something sucks with no further explanation.

Nahh. Trolling is something i don't see the value of. I grew up with those releases in the late '80's-early '90's so i guess i just turned somewhat bitter that it ended so abrupt,that classic
streak from 19989 thru 1991. Bands changing style,quitting talking bullshit about their early releases. And the ones that continued roughly in the same style,released material
that was just a shadow of their glorious past. I have/had a lot of those albums in the list you made below. None made a dent in the deathmetal scene back then. Trust me,i was there.
Not that they are bad but come one,be honest,compared with the above mentioned releases these are b and c grade albums,and some of the bands too.
I wish i'd find them just as entertaining as the others but it just isn't so.

-Immolation - Close to a World Below-
A solid band with a sound and vocalist of their own. I ditched this album because of the annoying peeps at the end of the riffs.
But i still own and like the material that preceded it. And live they're good too,when i saw them a few years ago. Newer songs
seemed good too. I might check out their latest releases.

-Incantation - Mortal Throne of Nazarene-
A band i only recently warmed up to. I owned their first 4 or 5 albums but the mess of guitarsound and the low growls
were not pleasant to my ears so i sold those a long time ago. Might have clinged onto them in hindsight. Again an old band with a own style.
No classics released though. They didn't have the great riffs and hooks for that.

-Vader - De Profundis-
Good follow up but cannot reach the set standard of the awesome "Ultimate Incantation". And the horrible drumsound ruins it somewhat.
I have every Vader fullength and can enjoy them all but production and composition wise their debut really was their ultimate incantation. Just like Morbid Angel
never again reached the depth of their ABC albums.


-Cryptopsy - Blasphemy Made Flesh (Never was a fan of the vocals but this is considered one of the best death metal albums)-
A mediocre band. Soulless. The socalled "Brutal" deathmetal sucks nine out of ten times. I also don't like bands like Cannibal Corpse,Suffocation
and their ilk.

-Bolt Thrower - For Victory-
Good album but they had their pinnacle on the first four. This is something of a decent rerun. I love this band though and they kill live.
Karl Willets is one of those vocalists with a own sound. Just like Speckman,Tardy,De Koeyer,Van Drunen,Schuldiner,Vincent,Reifert etc.
Most DM vocalists these days are faceless. There are good ones of course.

-Gorement - The Ending Quest-
I must admit i missed this album back then and bought the rerelease. Decent scandinavian DM but that's it. Nothing that stands
out now,nor would it have back in the days,had it been properly distributed and flyered. However
even the lesser gods of yesteryear sound fresh compared with many of today's oldschool revival bands.

-Amorphis - Tales from 1000 Lakes-
Of all the albums in the list,this might be the best sold,together with the Bolt Thrower. Is it still DM? Yeah in a way i guess. Good melodies. good album.
it got a ten out of ten back then in Aardschok magazine. The album was hyped. And it is easy to hear why.

-Crystal Age - Far Beyond Divine Horizons-
Hehe. With the thinnytall Hammerfall guitarist. More in the Gothenburg direction. Another album i ditched,because in the end it is nothing special.
The only Gothenburg style band i liked was early Dark Tranquillity and Dissection (well they were thrown upon the heap of Gothenburg bands because
none could place their sound at the time) In Flames stink.

-Infester - To The Depths-
I can't remember if i ever heard this album and decided not to buy it. I'll check some songs out on the jewtube.
Album cover looks familiar.

-Phlebotomized - Immense, Intense, Suspense-
Sold it again after a year or so . Should have kept it as it seems quite rare these days. Takes some open mind to
enjoy this. I might've been too conservative 20 years ago. Though i always listed music in good or bad music. not in too soft or too noisy.

-Detest - Dorval-
Cannot say anything about this. Something i missed. I've seen the album several times though now that i checked the cover in the archives.

-Exoto - Carnival of Souls-
My belgian neighbours. Hehe. Sounded a bit like Dead Head. Yet another album i gave away. The songs just don't go anywhere composition
wise. There are some cool ideas on the cd though. I also owned their second album. Maybe i would like it now more than when it came out.

-Uncanny - Splenium for Nyktophobia-
Aha. Still have this one. decent but no classic.

-Mangled Torsos - Drawing of the Dead-
-Horror of Horrors - Sounds of Eerie-
-The Chasm - From the Lost Years-

Would have to listen to those before judging. Never heard them. Though the Chasm is not my cup of tea. Maybe a few tracks and than i
get bored by that style. I never heard a full album of them though.



Well decades is a bit too much yes. I guess i'm just bitter and sour that i don't find any REAL 9.5-10 out of 10 records anymore for over 15 years.

The last album i would rate a solid 10 would be Death's Individual Thoughtpatterns from 1993. A 9,5 for Absu's;The Sun of Tiphareth and,maybe,Gamma Ray's Land of
the Free from 1995. That's the end of the real killer albums for me.

Some new DM bands i find very good would be Sulphur Aeon and Horrendous. And several others. But they'd get in the 8,5-9 range. So while good nothing that can stand
against the old classics. Same goes for Black and heavy metal. Though i really love the new Inquisition.

That's harsh. Dawn of Possession is certainly no classic but still a good album. Even original compared with other DM bands. Darkness Descends is great. One of the few albums that
can rival the intensity of Reign in Blood (Sadus' debut is another;that one might even surpass R.I.B in terms of craziness and going all out.)
It may not have the same level of aggression and production but it is a awesome album. Had you said that Leave Scars and Time does not Heal
were worthless i'd completely agree with you. That's not Dark Angel anymore. Awful vocals and songs that just...well...ehhm....i don't even now how to describe those utterly boring
slabs of riffs. I wouldn't call them songs or compositions however,absolutely not.

My favourite genre's are Black Metal, Thrash Metal and combinations of the two... and classic Heavy Metal...

Straight up thrash has had it's day... or years anyway, and that was it's early days... 1982ish through to 1990... there are very few bands who released good thrash albums post 1990... Sodom, Kreator, Megadeth & Overkill being the only worthwhile mentions I can think of...

Black Metal for me is consistent, personally there are gems from it's birth in 1984 (my opinion) right up until now... think the reason for this is the substance within the music and there is a real truth within the elite of the genre that has always kept it real...

...and as always the best music is hardly ever on the top sellers lists.

I made this a long while ago for an article I wrote:



The actual article is here :

http://www.avantgarde-metal.com/content/stories2.php?id=57

While my ideas on the evolution of the technical detah metal genre have changed quite a lot since then, the diagram , being cold hard fact remains quite valid. And accordingly, I still think 1991 and 1993 were the peak years of the 1st (and best) wave of technical death metal.

Folk-rock / psychedelic rock: 1967-1970 (from the first Doors album to Hendrix's death)
Punk rock: 1977-1982 (from the Sex Pistols to GBH)
Thrash metal: 1984-1986 (from Haunting the Chapel to Reign in Blood)
Death metal: 1987-1990 (from the first Nihilist demo to Left Hand Path)
Black metal: 1992-1995 (peak of the Norwegian scene)


By the way:


Seven Churches was released in October 1985.

Sorry for mentioning Malevolent Creation for the third time in an hour, I'm usually more versatile.
However, several lists of 1991 death metal albums and not a single mention of The Ten Commandments? Shame on you!

Even though it was in it's infancy, 1989 for death metal was the peak year:

- Cannibal Corpse - Cannibal Corpse (5-song demo cassette) - I loved that death thrash sound they had and wish they did more with it.
- Autopsy - Severed Survival
- Entombed - But Life Goes On (demo)
- Atheist - Piece of Time
- Grave - Anatomia Corporis Humani (demo)
- Macabre - Gloom
- Morbid Angel - Altars of Madness
- Morgoth - Resurrection Absurd
- Obituary - Slowly We Rot
- Pestilence - Consuming Impulse
- Repulsion - Horrified
- Sepultura - Beneath the Remains

...now that I think about it, it was a pretty damn good year for thrash too with stuff like - Agent Orange, Gutter Ballet, The Years Of Decay, Face of Despair, Extreme Aggression, Thrash Zone, Alice In Hell.

1984. Look it up. The last bastion of pre-thrash glory.

Psst, thrash had already happened by '84. Ya fuckin' moran.

I would find it troubling if black metal had not yet peaked at least once over the span of nearly thirty years existence...

1993 has to be one of the peak years for death metal, especially for more experimental albums. The Erosion of Sanity, Individual Thought Patterns, Focus, Elements, Spheres etc...and around the same time the likes of Thresholds, Breeding the Spawn, Todessehnsucht, Solstice of Oppression...all of them pushed the envelope in their own way.