A new decade is here and metal is officially 20! A lot has changed in the two decades that have passed since those foreboding church bells rang on February 13, 1970. Saxon, Angel Witch, and other titans of the NWOBHM were now about as prehistoric as their heroes were a decade earlier. Even thrash, the relatively fresh offshoot of the NWOBHM and hardcore punk, had now peaked creatively. After a co-headlining global arena jaunt by Slayer and Megadeth, it would peak commercially as well. Death metal was here to stay, and so was black metal for that matter. All of these changes and more are reflected in what may be our most stylistically diverse list yet, our Top 10 Metal Albums of 1990.
10. Death – Spiritual Healing
There are people who argue that Death is the ultimate death metal band and I understand why. The evolution of the genre itself is reflected in each subsequent release. Scream Bloody Gore showcased death metal at its rawest and most primal. Leprosy refined these already established songwriting and musical traits to unleash an even deadlier attack. And Leprosy, well…let’s just say this album singlehandedly paved the way for technical death metal. Sure, Nocturnus’ The Key and Hellwitch’s Syzygial Miscreancy would play a major role in the subgenre’s development later in the year, and test pressings of Atheist’s Piece of Time had been floating around since 1989. However, it was Leprosy that showcased the creative potential of death metal to a widespread audience like no other release up until this point. Cuts like “Living Monstrosity”, “Within the Mind”, and the title track owe as much to classic prog rock and jazz fusion as they do death metal.
9. Kreator – Coma of Souls
Here lies Kreator: 1985-1990. I’m not saying these Teutonic thrashers went to shit after the release of Coma of Souls, but…they did. I’ve heard some people say even this album is “too polished” for their liking and I can understand why. It’s neutered in comparison to the youthful savagery of Endless Pain (1985) and Pleasure to Kill (1986). But instead of comparing Coma of Souls to its predecessors, we should look at it for what it is, and that’s a damn fine thrash album. I don’t care how “cool” or in denial of your thrash phase you are these days. “Mental Slavery”, “Twisted Urges”, and “People of the Lie” remain mosh pit anthems to this day. Hell, I’ll argue “When the Sun Burns Red” unintentionally invented melodic death metal and I’ll die on that hill.
8. Napalm Death – Harmony Corruption
When it comes to late 80s punk and metal, there was no band faster, angrier, or more socially conscious than Napalm Death. Their sonic blur of blast beats, sloppy riffing, and death growls made thrash sound slow and crust sound clean in comparison. While their first two full lengths, Scum (1987) and From Enslavement to Obliteration (1988), drew heavily from the farthest reaches of hardcore (specifically early thrashcore and powerviolence), their 1989 EP, Mentally Murdered, incorporated more structured metallic riffing, signaling things to come. This deathgrind oriented vision was fully released on their third (and best) album, Harmony Corruption. For me, this is the album where it all came together for Napalm Death. The band realized they could still rage against the machine, long before those rap metal bozos were doing so, yet without senselessly being fast for the sake of being fast. Their songs actually boasted proper riffs and *gasp* hooks, with most even surpassing the 3 minute mark. This template would set the tone for almost every Napalm Death release to follow, save for the mid 90s foray into alt metal.
7. Zar – Live Your Life Forever
Here’s the part of the list where you sit in confusion asking “Who?” while I explain to you not only why this album belongs on this list, but in your life. Anyone with a little more than surface knowledge of 70s metal is aware of John Lawton. He spent the first half of the decade as the singer for Lucifer’s Friend, and the second half filling the iconic David Byron’s shoes in Uriah Heep. In other words, his voice was everywhere. The 80s were a different story. Despite a spirited reunion attempt (Mean Machine is a hidden gem), Lucifer Friend made little to no headway with the early 80s NWOBHM crowd. Lawton would go on to sing for an aspiring German metal act named Rebel, who would also go virtually unnoticed. This all changed in 1990 with the unexpected arrival of a melodic metal outfit fronted by Lawton, Zar. Who am I kidding? Their debut album, Live Your Life Forever, is as forgotten as the other two albums I just mentioned. Yet what it lacks in commercial sales and influence, it makes up for in creative brilliance. Live Your Life Forever so seamlessly strides the line between neon lit AOR and fiery euro metal. Had it come out four years earlier, it would’ve been a platinum seller and “Heart of the Night” would be featured in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.
6. AC/DC – The Razors Edge
By 1990, AC/DC’s star had long faded in America. Although they were still an arena headliner with a rabid fanbase, their last three studio albums, Flick of the Switch (1983), Fly on the Wall (1985), and Blow Up Your Video (1988), only managed to go platinum. These numbers wouldn’t be bad…for a midlevel band. For AC/DC, these figures paled in comparison to the monolithic Back in Black (1980), and even For Those About to Rock (1981) which sold more than all three of these albums combined. The Aussie bad boys needed to do something and fast. They’d be damned to go the same commercial wimp-out route as so many of their peers before them (i.e. Aerosmith, KISS, Van Hagar, etc.). So they did what they did best: three chord rock n’ roll anthems played at full power. The result was their strongest and most cohesive work with Brian Johnson to date, The Razors Edge. Aside from the overplayed “Thunderstruck”, there isn’t a dull moment on this album. Cuts like “Fire Your Guns”, “Shot of Love”, “Rock Your Heart Out”, and the unusually dark (by AC/DC standards) title track are sure to get your blood pumping every time.
5. Bathory – Hammerheart
What do you do after perfecting and practically inventing an entire genre? You perfect and practically invent another one! This is exactly what Bathory, the creative vessel of Quorthon, did on 1988’s Blood Fire Death, and expanded upon further with Hammerheart. While Blood Fire Death retained many black metal tropes, Hammerheart abandoned the genre altogether, aside from perhaps a smattering of riffs here and there and an overall raw production value. Don’t let these unintentional blackened undertones fool you. The compositions on Hammerheart are firmly rooted in all things epic, progressive, and doomy. Even Quorthon’s vocals are, well, not “clean” per se, but they aren’t the throat ripping rasps that had now been co-opted by the Norwegian scene. Over 30 years later and Hammerheart remains the pinnacle of viking metal, both musically and lyrically. Close your eyes and you can imagine yourself upon the raging waters of the Baltic Sea.
4. Pantera – Cowboys from Hell
Before I delve into a brief history of this album, let me just say for the record that Pantera was a massive gateway band for me growing up. Hearing Cowboys from Hell at 10 years old opened my eyes and ears to a whole new world of heaviness, so despite being the catalyst for “modern metal” (a realm that’s frowned on at best and forbidden at worst as far as this outlet is concerned) as we know it, Pantera will forever hold a place in my heart. And it’s easy to understand why. Unlike subsequent releases which would shift focus towards thuggish vocals and neanderthalic breakdowns, Cowboys from Hell took the finest elements of Judas Priest, Metallica, and Slayer (all bands I loved already), and turbocharged them. We hear Phil Anselmo actually singing as opposed to grunting and growling his way through the 90s. As far as I’m concerned, his performances on “Cemetery Gates” and “Shattered” are among the finest in metal history. The rest of the band kills it too, from Dimebag Darrell’s shredtastic solos and thrashing mad riffage, to the rapid fire rhythm section that is bassist Rex Brown and drummer Vinnie Paul. As much as I appreciate Vulgar Display of Power (1992), Far Beyond Driven (1994), and so forth, one can’t help but wonder what would’ve been if they had stayed down this path.
3. Suicidal Tendencies – Lights…Camera…Revolution
Around the same time I picked up Cowboys from Hell from a local CD shop, I picked up this here too. Lights…Camera…Revolution was unlike any thrash record I had heard up until that point. Master of Puppets, Reign in Blood, Peace Sells, those albums made me wanna mosh. This? This album made me wanna mosh…and throw my fists around…and curb stomp a mutha…I’ll let Samuel L. Jackson finish that line. To this day, I don’t think a single thrash album exists with harder riffs, harder mosh sections, harder anything (sorry Demolition Hammer). The production is immaculate, and I mean that in the best sense of the word, with Rocky George’s lethal riffs and solos leading the way. As if cuts like “You Can’t Bring Me Down” and “Give It Revolution” didn’t warn you already, George is a BAD man.
2. Trouble – Trouble
I’ve said it several times and I’ll continue to say it. In a perfect world, Trouble’s self titled fourth album would’ve been the double diamond selling behemoth that Metallica’s Black Album was the following year. This album has it all: hard rocking hooks, down and dirty doom, psychedelic flourishes, and introspective lyrics, all wrapped up into a ball of Beatles meets Zeppelin meets Sabbath genius. Yet Trouble wasn’t trying to sound like any of these bands. They were trying to sound like themselves, and did an amazing job doing so. Unfortunately, in a world that was so preoccupied by glam, thrash, and other strict metal typecasts, Trouble didn’t stand a chance because it didn’t check either box. It instead took the late 60s/early 70s approach of music first, image second. If for some reason you or a friend haven’t heard this album yet, do yourself a favor and put it on. It’s never too late to get into some Trouble.
- Judas Priest – Painkiller
After spending the first half of the 80s as the undisputed metal gods, Judas Priest lost their footing come the decade’s second half. A misunderstood attempt at pop metal (1986’s Turbo) took may diehards by surprise, disillusioned that Priest had abandoned them for the big haired and makeup clad pastures of Poison and Bon Jovi. 1988’s Ram It Down was a slight step in the right direction, but still suffered from musical inconsistencies. Priest needed to comeback and they needed to comeback strong, lest they start playing the chili cookoff circuit alongside Nazareth and Blue Öyster Cult. Fully aware of the thrash revolution they planted the seeds for with classics like “Exciter” and “Rapid Fire”, Priest embraced the genre’s speed and technicality with open arms on Painkiller. Not only this, but just as Stained Class defined 70s metal and Screaming for Vengeance defined 80s metal, Painkiller would define 90s metal, if only for being a “last hurrah” of sorts for traditional metal on that scale. It’s when we examine these songs further that the genius of Priest shows itself. Each track is equally potent and memorable. Every riff, every solo, every drum fill, every scream, and so forth is permanently etched in the brains of every person who’s ever listened to it. Would I call it Priest’s crowning achievement? Personally, I wouldn’t, but I understand why members of Priest themselves do so. When it comes to metal in 1990, you “can’t stop the Painkiller”!!!
Honorable Mentions
- Danzig – Danzig II – Lucifuge
- Entombed – Left Hand Path
- Megadeth – Rust in Peace
- Obituary – Cause of Death
- Queensrÿche – Empire
Would I call it Priest’s crowning achievement? Yes, I absolutely would! 🤘