The 10 Greatest Death Metal Debuts Of The 1990’s

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Death metal conquered all in the 1990’s, shaking the metal world with its uncompromising stance on just how ‘heavy’ metal could really be…..and these are the death metal DEBUTS from the 1990’s that really mattered!

10. Deicide – Deicide (1990) [USA]

Deicide’s debut is a true classic of the genre, completely devoid of mercy and intent on bludgeoning its blasphemous rhetoric over your head until you submit…it’s fuckin’ brilliant in other words. With a terrifyingly tight approach to satanic slaughter, Deicide unleashed insane blastbeats, demonic growls, howls, screeches and barks and riffs that were creative, coruscating and as fiery as Hell itself.

Classic followed classic as “Lunatic Of God’s Creation”, “Sacrificial Suicide”, “Dead By Dawn” and “Carnage In The Temple Of The Damned” blurred into a swirling vortex of noise and religion-despising diatribes.

Deicide‘s commitment to causing offence remains completely believable – and generally disturbing – as vocalist Glen Benton channeled demonic possession to the point of lascivious lunacy!

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9. Dismember – Like An Everflowing Stream (1991) [Sweden]

Alongside Entombed’s Left Hand Path, Dismember’s Like An Everflowing Stream is one of the most crucial documents of the pioneering Swedish death metal scene. Often replicated in a fruitless attempt to invoke the same response this primitive beast induced back in 1991, legions of bands are still trying to capture its magic to this very day.

Featuring obligatory down-tuned, ultra-distorted guitar and bass riffs – ably backed by Matti Karki’s feral barks, inhuman gurgles and animalistic roars – Like An Everflowing Stream is the sound of Scandinavian death metal perfected and each and every song on this all-time classic still slays, ably grinding its way into your sub-conscience with each serrated buzzsaw riff.

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8. Cryptosy – Blasphemy Made Flesh (1994) [Canada]

None So Vile will always be Cryptopsy‘s masterpiece but Blasphemy Made Flesh was an undeniably outstanding debut from this most extreme of bands!

Already teetering on the edge of brutal death metal, Blasphemy Made Flesh instantly marked out Cryptopsy’s stall as ultra aggressive and technically gifted madman. With Lord Worm’s vocals and Flo Mounier’s drumming already tailor made to impress, this devastating double act carried much of Blasphemy Made Flesh‘s considerable weight.

A relentless barrage of inhuman noises, percussive cacophony, sinister groove and brutality incarnate awaits the uninitiated, while those in the know fully understand what a devastatingly effective and impressive debut this album really was!

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7. Gorement – The Ending Quest (1994) [Sweden]

Gorement‘s The Ending Quest is god-tier death metal from a band who sadly failed to follow-up this genre defining moment.

Not many albums earn the accolade of being flawless but The Ending Quest is one such album. From production to song-writing, atmosphere to lyrical content, Gorment were masters of their craft and this devastatingly heavy, yet strangely melancholy exercise in sonic brutality is a unique moment in Swedish death metal history.

The perfect companion piece to Entombed‘s Left Hand Path, Gorement left an indelible mark with their one and only album and its standing as a landmark in the underground Swedish death metal scene remains undiminished.

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6. God Macabre – The Winterlong… (1993) [Sweden]

God Macabre’s only album arrived fully formed in 1993, and while they never managed to record a follow-up, it is testament to the quality of this obscure gem that we’re still talking about it all these years later.

God Macabre’s reign may have been short but it was decidedly sweet and The Winterlong’s occult horror atmosphere – enriched with a diversity often found wanting in death metal – means this intricate, varied, complex and bold album retains its allure.

True connoisseurs of death metal know exactly how good this one of a kind album really is….while a welcome surprise awaits the uninitiated!