10 Under-Appreciated Classics Of Early 90’s American Death Metal!

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Worship Metal casts its critical eye over 10 under-appreciated classics of early 90’s AMERICAN DEATH METAL and you can forget the big guns of the genre, as we’re focusing on those albums that tend to slip under the radar!

So, you’ll find no Morbid Angel, no Death, no Deicide, no Cannibal Corpse, no Suffocation, no Obituary….not even Malevolent Creation!

Enough has been said about these classic acts already.

Instead, this feature is here to highlight just some of those early 90’s American death metal classics which deserve far more love and attention.

Morpheus Descends – Ritual Of Infinity (1992)

New York death metal par excellence, Morpheus Descends may not be as well known outside of niche death metal circles as Immolation but in 1992, these guys were the superior act, with Ritual Of Infinity proving to be a proto-tech death album of unrivalled complexity and shattering talent!

Dank, dark and decidedly devilish, Morpheus Descends were capable of nerve-severing ferocity while still maintaining a level of ‘catchiness’ which would appeal as much to the neck-muscles as those over-stimulated cerebral’s. With one foot in the old-school and one in the still-opening door of technical death metal’s future, Morpheus Descends certainly paved the way for those bands who morphed traditional death metal into ever-changing sounds as the decade drew on.

Morpheus Descends were there at the beginning though, and Ritual Of Infinity – their only full length album – remains a milestone of relentless, jaw-dropping intensity.

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Paralysis – Patrons Of The Dark (1992)

The howling winds of unholy death metal greet those who venture into the abstract darkness of Paralysis‘ one and only album.

Lurching into death/doom territory, Patrons Of The Dark (and weren’t they just!) also added a grind element to deliver  a sound that was fundamentally abhorrent, while maintaining sledgehammer grooves accompanied by the lower than low vocals of one Ben Falgoust (Soilent Green / Goatwhore). 

Home to a cavalcade of horrifyingly catchy rhythms, this work of primeval filth appears to be shrouded in some Lovecraftian hell-mist, ready to unleash its ‘monsters’ on an unsuspecting world at any given moment.

Brutal, guttural, sinister: Patrons Of The Dark was the work of some seriously deranged human beings and remains as caustic as ever!

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Deteriorate – Rotting In Hell (1993)

The apocalyptic soundtrack to every human atrocity, Deteriorate‘s Rotting in Hell is a full blown excursion into pure evil from a band who simply wanted to ‘out-heavy’ their peers at every step!

Pure intensity carries this oft-ignored album along at breakneck speed as this pummeling death machine rose to the challenge and eviscerated its peers. Appropriately sloppy, the raw and organic nature of Rotting in Hell disregarded death metal’s mid-90’s penchant for experimentation (think Cynic, Death, Atheist etc) and went straight for the throat; gnashing and clawing its way to the grisly viscera that lurks beneath the skin.

No tears please, it’s a waste of good suffering!

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Infester – To The Depths, In Degrdation (1993)

If degradation and wallowing in the unfathomable depths of human existence floats your death metal boat then the deliciously sick, maniacally twisted, utterly perverted and deeply, deeply disturbing To The Depths, In Degradation is the album for you!

Infester‘s one and only full length album, To The Depths, In Degradation can quite rightly be regarded as one of the most truly evil sounding albums in death metal history. Astonishingly barbaric and completely lacking in formulaic structure, the essence of pure bestial vengeance seeps forth from every track, as each ‘song’ suffocates the listener with endless shape-shifting patterns of ambient, hellish noise, punishing doom metal slogs, shuffling grooves, ear-piercing tremolos, clattering percussive blasts and a technical nerve that belies the primitive nature presented throughout much of the album.

Only the likes of Incantation, Immolation and Morpheus Descends can rival the dark despair of To The Depths, In Degradation and that should be enough of a recommendation to check this album out….if you haven’t already!

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Killing Addiction – Omega Factor (1993)

Hailing from Florida – always a good sign when talking death metal – Killing Addiction sprang to life way back in 1988 and their debut full length album, Omega Factor, was a lethal killing machine which combined grind, thrash and death metal to thrilling effect.

With the kind of death/thrash riffs that Malevolent Creation used to (and still do) excel at – alongside the kind of intricate solo’s Uncle Chuck introduced into Death’s repertoire circa Spiritual Healing onwards – there was always an enjoyably clean and crisp sound to Killing Addiction’s brand of death metal.

And, while the brutality was clear to hear, so was that all important groove; relentless savagery laced with an old-school energy and catchiness that demanded neck-snapping head movements of the most furious kind!

***Killing Addiction‘s new album, Mind of a New God, was released on CD, 12″LP, Cassette and Digital on April 6th 2021 via Xtreem Music***