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

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ANOTHER 5 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…..

Morpheus Descends – Ritual Of Infinity [USA] (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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Amboss – Those Who Have Lost The Right to Exist [Germany] (1993)

A progressively-minded cult masterpiece lost to the annals of time, Amboss’ Those Who Have Lost The Right to Exist positively overflowed with ideas with relatively straight-forward death metal aggression jostling impressively with Amboss‘ off-kilter sensibility.

Elements of this bewildering beast recalled the avant-garde nature of Celtic Frost’s Into the Pandemonium, and with siren-like female backing vocals working their way into the mix – alongside levels of ambience, acoustic intros and a tenacity for turning the tables on expectation – Those Who Have Lost The Right to Exist was certainly good enough to make waves in the scene.

Fans of obscure cult oddities – which reveal a myriad of unexpected surprises – should relish this release for the ahead of the curve curio hindsight has revealed it to be!

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Morgue – Eroded Thoughts (1993) [USA]

Morgue‘s only full-length album sure ain’t the perfect old school death metal album – with originality not exactly its strongpoint – but Eroded Thoughts still retains its power to pummel you into submission with its Autopsy-esque excursions into crushing death metal supremacy!

The slowest, heaviest grooves informed much of Eroded Thoughts 7 tracks; with an Asphyx meets the aforementioned Autopsy approach adopted for the majority of the album. However, the 90’s burgeoning obsession with technicality soon reared its head on the ferocious likes of “Plagued Birth”, as Morgue proved that they could deliver speed, precision and contorted riffs to rival the work of Pestilence and early Gorguts.

A melting-pot of influences, Eroded Thoughts may lack clarity in its compositions but its disparate charm still lies in its ability to deliver high-density riffs with a schizophrenic sense of dynamics!

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Rottrevore – Iniquitous [USA] (1993)

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!

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Infester – To The Depths, In Degradation [USA] (1994)

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!

Also in this Series: 

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

Old-School Death Metal: 5 MORE 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