10 Obscure Old-School Death Metal Albums You Need To Hear! (Part 2)

Tweet

Rottrevore – Iniquitous (1993) [USA]

Raw, rancid and utterly reprehensible, Rottrevore‘s debut full length was an ultra-guttural dose of diseased death metal and one which deserved far more acknowledgement on initial release!

Taking their cues from Finnish masters Demilich and Purtenance, the ‘Scandinavian’ aspects of Rottrevore’s sound were stapled to the diabolically dark nature of Incantation, resulting in one of the grimiest death metal albums around.

Fuelled by politics and slathered in hate, Iniquitous should be considered the equal of anything served up by the likes of Incantation, Immolation and Autopsy and remains a highpoint – if under appreciated – example of early 90’s brutal death metal.

Rotten to the core!

---

Violent Dirge – Elapse (1993) [Poland]

These Polish deviants were as technically audacious and brutally aggressive as they come and Violent Dirge‘s debut album, Elapse, remains uniformly impressive and informed by raw technical death metal riffing, erratic solos, jazzy bass-lines and dirty vocals.

With songs that resisted the urge to out-widdle their peers and instead concentrated on displaying their prowess via a terrifying jolt of good old fashioned death metal, Elapse remains a masterclass in balancing audacity and aggression and, it should be said, the bass playing on this beast truly has to be heard to be believed!

A forgotten masterpiece from a truly talented band.

---

Infected Virulence – Music of Melkor (1994) [Germany]

A relatively lo-fi blast of primitive death metal, Infected Virulence’s only full length album may have been lacking in the technical department but they sure as hell harnessed an ear-splitting groove akin to Six Feet Under at their most devilish.

With riffs tossed around with wanton abandon and an overall sloppy feel, Music Of Melkor was definitively old-school from the get-go and despite a Tolkien inspired concept prevailing throughout (The Silmarillion to be precise), Infected Virulence never truly escaped meat ‘n’ potatoes territory. Tasty then, but not an album designed to appease the progressive / technical death metal lovers out there.

That being said, the head-banging mid-tempo grooves come thick and fast and you could never consider Music Of Melkor bereft of ideas or entertainment!

---

Oppressor – Solstice Of Oppression (1994) [USA]

Perfectly balancing brutality with technical audacity and pioneering verve, Oppressor‘s Solstice Of Oppression remains an early to mid 90’s milestone of technical death metal without ever receiving the accolades afforded to Death’s Human, Cynic’s Focus and Atheist’s Unquestionable Presence etc.

An accomplishment easily equal to all the classic albums listed above, Solstice of Oppressioncarved its own particular niche with ultra low gutturals, unyielding brutality and the melodic, experimental, progressive and jazzy influences expected of a 90’s progressive / technical death metal album.

Once you get over the fact that this band eventually became nu-metal chart-botherers Soil (with Oppressor’s Tim King, Tom Schofield and Adam Zadel recruiting Broken Hope’s Shaun Glass in the late 90’s), you’ll be confronted by an album which defines the very nature of 90’s tech death – a shining example of metal evolving at an alarming rate without forsaking its core principles!

---

Dark Heresy – Abstract Principles Taken to Their Logical Extremes (1995) [UK]

Like the death metal version of fellow countrymen Sabbat, these anti-Christian pagans from the UK were a complete anomaly in their respective genre but, sadly, Dark Heresy’s lasting legacy boils down to just this one album.

But, what an album it is!

With concepts as complex as their compositions, these avant-garde, progressive death metallers seemed to throw every single idea into the mix, culminating in a bewildering experience that managed to be both beautiful and brutal in the same breath.

Basically, Dark Heresy sounded like an unholy union between Carcass and Testimony Of The Ancients-era Pestilence (by way of 70’s jazz-fusion perfectionists The Mahavishnu Orchestra!), with their approach to songwriting proving difficult to pin down while ensuring that Abstract Principles Taken To Their Logical Extremes remains an utterly unique experience!

Also in this Series:

10 Obscure Old-School Death Metal Albums You Need To Hear! (Part 1)