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30 Albums That Made 1991 The Greatest Year In Death Metal History!

Here lies death metal greatness.....

Cannibal Corpse – Butchered At Birth [USA]

Butchered at Birth by Cannibal Corpse: Amazon.co.uk: CDs & Vinyl

Cannibal Corpse had already announced their arrival with thrashier debut Eaten Back To Life(1990) but it was with Butchered At Birth that the world truly took notice of this death metal powerhouse. 

Extreme metal had found its new poster boys and Cannibal Corpse weren’t about to miss an opportunity to out-gross, out-heavy and out-manoeuvre their death metal brethren at only the second time of asking. 

Appropriately savage, the likes of “Meat Hook Sodomy” and “Gutted” delivered gore galore and with the band content to hammer home their message with precious little finesse, it was actually the lack of diversity and 100% commitment to brutality that endeared Butchered At Birth to the masses. 

Simplicity in its most horrendous form. 


Gorefest – Mindloss [Netherlands]

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The dutch have never shied away from death metal’s delights and Gorefest ranked alongside Asphyx and Pestilence in the quality stakes, with debut album Mindloss proving particularly effective and decidedly memorable.

As direct a death metal album as you’d hoped to find, Mindloss forgoes experimentation for a more standardised appropriation of both the Scandianvian and Floridian sounds of the era, culminating in an album that hit hard with both Jan-Chris de Koeyer’s’s undeniably ferocious vocals and riffs that bulldozed their way into your brain. 

One for the completists maybe but still another prime example of the quality emerging from the death metal ranks in 1991!


Master – On The Seventh Day God Created… Master [USA]

Master – On The Seventh Day God Created...Master (1992, CD) - Discogs

When it comes to death metal, Paul Speckmann is a god amongst men and Master‘s second official full length album, On The Seventh Day God Created… Master, remains a highpoint in what has been a formidable career that is still going strong!

With Master historically operating primarily on the fringes of barbaric thrash, it’s most notable that On The Seventh Day God Created… Master found the band, in death metal terms at least, at both their most brutal and most technical.

It can be no coincidence that the arrival of Cynic‘s Paul Masvidal on guitar helped push On The Seventh Day God Created… Master into the realms of ‘must-hear’ status but this was still very much Paul Speckmann’s show…..with his triumphant guttural bellow effortlessly leading the charge!


Unleashed – Where No Life Dwells [Sweden]

Unleashed – Where No Life Dwells Lyrics | Genius Lyrics

Unleashed cannily unleashed the ultimate in hellish groove with their outstanding debut album, Where no Life Dwells, an album that showcased a band whose skill lay in perfectly alternating speed with an ominous atmosphere and no end of memorably brutal songs. 

Unleashed‘s lyrical focus on Viking culture and folklore wouldn’t be fully realised until 1993’s Across The Open Sea. However, there’s no doubting that, even on their debut, Unleashedsounded like a pack of marauding vikings with “Before The Creation Of Time” and “If They Had Eyes” rampaging their way through your earholes with little to no mercy. 

One of the big four of the Swedish death metal scene for bloody good reason, Where No Life Dwells was just the start for a band who’ve gone on to be the most reliable band in Swedish death metal history!


Carbonized – For The Security [Sweden]

CARBONIZED „For the Security“ CD : Iron Pegasus Records

Death/grind masters, Carbonized may be somewhat of a Swedish secret but those in the know understand that few bands from the Swedish scene were embracing such a progressive, polyrhythmic attitude combined with the most primitive, yet organic, blast beats around!

With all 3 members of Carbonized having intrinsic ties with Therion, it should come as no surprise that with For The Security, boundaries were being unceremoniously broken and a progressive attitude to death metal prevailed!

Technically advanced yet wallowing in urbanised filth, Carbonized were a shrieking, guttural shock wave of influences; with this Swedish version of UK d-beat punk – spliced with grind and formative death metal – proving both revolutionary and unique among Swedish death metal bands of the early 90’s.

About Chris Jennings (1987 Articles)
I love metal. Always have. Always will. As editor of Worship Metal - a site dedicated to being as positive about metal and its myriad of sub-genres as possible - my aim is to 'worship' metal through honest reviews, current news and a wide variety of features; offering the same exposure to underground bands as we do to mainstream/well known acts. Our mantra; the bands are partners and we exist to serve the bands \m/

12 Comments on 30 Albums That Made 1991 The Greatest Year In Death Metal History!

  1. Good list without a doubt. But you need to edit it, becuase you say that Finland is part of Scandinavia, which they aren’t and never have. They’re part of the Northern countries. Scandinavia has always only consisted of Sweden, Norway & Denmark.

    • Chris Jennings // June 24, 2017 at 12:26 pm // Reply

      Geography was never my strong point Tom! Pity they didn’t teach death metal history at school instead!! Now corrected. Thanks for reading and commenting \m/

  2. Donnie Campbell // November 17, 2017 at 2:16 am // Reply

    Great list,Pestilence are such an overlooked Death Metal band and I’m glad you put them on the list.

  3. Should have been a Top 30 and included the following…

    Asphyx – The Rack
    Benediction – The Grand Leveller
    Cancer – Death Shall Rise
    Cannibal Corpse – Butchered At Birth
    Edge Of Sanity – Nothing But Death Remains
    Gorefest – Mindloss
    Gorguts – Considered Dead
    Grave – Into The Grave
    Morgoth – Cursed
    Paradise Lost – Gothic
    Pungent Stench – Been Caught Buttering
    Sentenced – Shadows Of The Past
    Sepultura – Arise
    Therion – Of Darkness…
    Unleashed – Where No Life Dwells

  4. Honestly insane that Butchered at Birth only got an honorable mention. It’s the only album from 91 that goes toe to toe with EotF in terms of pushing brutality. Way ahead of it’s time.

  5. Really nice List my friend. Every comment in this list is very true. The death metal is so powerfull ?
    Cheers ?

  6. TIAMAT – The Astral Sleep
    where the fvck are Tiamat ?!?!?
    personally I’d dropped Jumpin’ Jesus and I’d pick-up Liers in Wait

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