Old-School Death Metal: 5 MORE Of The Greatest One-Album Wonders

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MORE old-school death metal classics from bands with a ‘one and done’ attitude. 

Presented in order of release as opposed to any kind of ranking…..

Authorize – The Source Of Dominion (1991) [Sweden]

Authorize may have been a flash in the pan (they belched forth just the one album) but The Source of Dominion positively sizzled with primitive, meaty death metal goodness.

After a relatively misguided ambient opening, Authorize settled on smashing skulls with a typically Swedish knack for melody and groove hidden beneath the relentless chug of driving riffs.

Authorize weren’t really a band who excelled at complex time signatures but their knack for taking thrash tempos and adding an extra layer of diabolical evil carves The Source Of Dominionout as an also ran….but one that deserves to be acknowledged for at least being in the race!

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Desecrator – Subconscious Release (1991) [UK]

Dan Seagrave cover art, a raw and aggressive sound, technicality matched by brutality; Desecrator‘s Subconscious Release should have been huge!

Instead, this cult item is merely a footnote in death metal history but it deserves to be held in considerable high regard for delivering a focused lesson in classic death metal violence.

Following a similar path travelled by Death (Leprosy-era)and Sweden’s Dismember, Desecrator‘s groove heavy onslaught revelled in muscular, lengthy and, above all, catchy songwriting.

While a slight sense of repetition sneaks in when absorbing Subconscious Release in its entirety, the same accusation can be made of many a death metal album that bludgeoned the listener with ostensibly the same sound – Deicide being one of them – and nobody gave two shits!

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Funebre – Children Of The Scorn (1991) [Finland]

Finland’s Funebre may not be as revered as fellow countrymen Demigod, Demilich, Amorphis and Convulse but Children of the Scorn deserves to be remembered as an impressive slice of experimental death metal from the genre’s heyday.

With impressively integrated and almost progressive bass-lines, Funebre revelled in combining grinding death with a more technical outlook and Children Of The Scorn is home to an abundance of chaotic crazy riffing. That’s not to say that Funebre couldn’t deliver a focused assault – check out the insanely catchy “Grip Of Insanity” for a quick fix – but Funebre‘s skill lay in an off-kilter attitude and an ability to conjure forth a sound that bordered on otherworldly.

Often settling into a mid-tempo groove that resulted in an eerie ambience, tracks such as “Blood On White” remain both effectively chilling and unique.

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Jumpin’ Jesus – The Art Of Crucifying (1991) [Germany]

Jumpin’ what now?! Jumpin’ fuckin’ Jesus that’s who! And no, we’re not talking about the great bearded one fannying around on a pogo stick, this is Jumpin’ Jesus from Germany…..and they kicked ass!

Despite saddling themselves with a god-awful (pun intended) band name, Jumpin’ Jesus played some seriously skilled and brutally complex death metal. With a sound that wasn’t too far removed from that coming out of Florida’s Morrisound Studios there was enough (typically German) eccentricity to stand Jumpin’ Jesus out from the pack.

Unafraid to throw some curveballs into the mix and simply be plain fuckin’ weird at times, it’s the freakish time signatures and odd noises that made The Art Of Crucifying so intriguing. Highly technical and with a distinct dual guitar attack, Mike Gage and Oliver Ulrich were a seriously unhinged pairing who unleashed a torrent of incredibly wild riffs and solos on this, Jumpin’ Jesus’ only album.

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Paralysis – Patrons Of The Dark (1992) [USA]

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.

Also in this Series:

Old-School Death Metal: 5 Of The Greatest One-Album Wonders

Old-School Death-Doom: 5 Of The Greatest One-Album Wonders

Old-School Death-Thrash: 5 Of The Greatest One-Album Wonders

Old-School Thrash Metal: 5 Of The Greatest One-Album Wonders