We’re 3 years into the 90s and while metal has fallen out of favor with the mainstream crowd, it’s alive and well in the underground. It’s specifically thriving within the realm of black metal, which absolutely dominates this week’s Top 10. But as you’ll soon read, there’s more to this list than inverted crosses and audio perversions. There’s also a few brushes with death (metal), flirtations with prog, a glam metal singer’s solo foray, and the return of a legend largely responsible for the decade’s black metal boom. If variety is the spice of life, it doesn’t get spicier than our Top 10 Metal Albums of 1993!
10. Carcass – Heartwork
Our list kicks off with one of the most controversial albums in metal history, Heartwork by Carcass. Having already established themselves as the world’s premiere goregrind (Reek of Putrefaction, Symphonies of Sickness) and death metal (Necroticism – Descanting the Insalubrious) band, Liverpool’s second greatest musical export wanted to do something completely different, so they did! Much to the ire of traditionalists and purists alike, Heartwork saw the band incorporate the unthinkable into their sound: melody. Many of the riffs, hooks, and solos have more in common with 80s giants Priest, Maiden, and even Metallica than any other 90s death metal band. And let’s not forget the hard rock swagger of cuts like “Buried Dreams”, “Blind Leading the Blind”, and others. Think of it as death metal’s answer to other bands of the era that were rockify-ing their sound (i.e. Trouble, Armored Saint, every thrash band).
9. Vince Neil – Exposed
Fact: There could not have been a worse time in human history than the 90s to make a glam metal album. The 80s were dead and Mötley Crüe’s name was written upon the epitaph. Yet despite all the odds against him, former singer Vince Neil embarked upon a solo career with an album that blew his old band out of the water, Exposed. Thanks to the six string heroics of Steve Stevens (fresh out of Billy Idol’s band) and razor sharp production of Ron Nevison, Neil was able to make an album far more cohesive and compelling than anything Crüe had done since Shout at the Devil (1983). From the full throttle onslaughts of “Look in Her Eyes” and “You’re Invited (But Your Friend Can’t Come)”, to the hedonistic sleaze of “Sister of Pain” and “Fine, Fine Wine”, not to mention an obligatory cover of Sweet’s “Set Me Free”, Exposed remains one of the finest releases of both Neil’s career and glam metal as a whole.
8. Rush – Counterparts
For orthodox headbangers, the 80s were a rough time to be a Rush fan. After single handedly laying down the blueprint for progressive metal in the 70s, the band traded their guitars for synths, exploring a more new wave centric sound. Albums like Presto (1989) and Roll the Bones (1991) were steps in the right direction, but still owed much to lighter, dare I say, adult contemporary fare. It wasn’t until the release of Counterparts that Rush fully embraced their heavy riffed roots again. Cuts like “Animate” and “Stick It Out” became catalog staples, while “Double Shore”, “Cold Fire”, and the beautifully epic “Nobody’s Hero” display a distinct 90s spin on the traditional prog metal sound, one that would be explored further the following year by…well, I’ll leave that a mystery for now, but I’m sure you can guess (Hint: Their name rhymes with “tween strike”).
7. Varathron – His Majesty at the Swamp
I warned you things were gonna get evil, didn’t I? Despite being historically overshadowed by their corpsepaint clad neighbors in Norway, Greece were absolutely owning black metal in 1993. No one band sounded like the other, but what connected them was a grotesque mysticism that most of the Scandinavian ilk severely lacked. Take Varathron for example. Their debut album, His Majesty at the Swamp, sounds like the evil seed of Hellhammer and Death SS emerged from, you guessed it, a swamp. It’s murky and raw and heavier than sin, penetrating the listener’s psyche with its wicked aura of unease. Yet there’s no blast beats, tremolo picking, or shrieked vocals. Did I really include this album to demonstrate my argument that black metal is more than this copy/paste template? Of course not. His Majesty is truly a work of arcane metal brilliance that deserves to be heard by far more headbangers, but it can also be used as evidence in such an argument.
6. Dissection – The Somberlain
While Carcass was injecting melody into death metal, Dissection did so with another one of extreme metal’s flagship genres, black metal. After a handful of acclaimed demos, the band unleashed their debut full length, The Somberlain, upon an unsuspecting euro metal underground. What’s most insane about this album is that frontman/guitarist/primary songwriter Jon Nödtveidt was all of 18 when he recorded it. The musicianship and songwriting within is light years ahead of its time, having been co-opted by many of today’s biggest underground acts like Watain and Tribulation. As far as I’m concerned, while Quorthon spent the 90s wandering through a creative wilderness, using Bathory as a vehicle to explore viking and thrash metal, the black metal torch was rightfully passed down to Dissection. I’m sure few would disagree.
5. Rotting Christ – Thy Mighty Contract
Of all the bands to come out of the Hellenic black metal scene, none made a greater impact, creative or commercially (if you can say that), than Rotting Christ. Although the band would become famous for their blend of black and gothic metal, it was their debut full length, Thy Mighty Contract, that established them as no-nonsense purveyors of all things dark and diabolical. Yet again, here’s an album that is black metal on paper, but relies primarily on haunting atmosphere and Mercyful Fate inspired hooks. Even the album’s most aggressive moments owe more to thrash à la Sodom than say Mayhem. While subsequent albums saw Rotting Christ expanding their sonic palette, it’s the raw and primal ethos of Thy Mighty Contract that make it #1 in my book.
4. Gorguts – The Erosion of Sanity
Before regrouping in the latter half of the 90s as the be all, end all disso-death band, Gorguts unleashed a beast of an album that went toe to toe with Florida’s finest, The Erosion of Sanity. Although there are flourishes of technicality and brutality throughout, don’t be fooled. This is a meat and potatoes death metal record, with an extra helping of death! In all honesty, part of my bias towards this album is due to the fact it was a staple of my high school years, but the riffs on this album just don’t let up. Not only that, but can we take a second to appreciate Luc Lemay’s unparalleled gutturals? Seriously, until Mikael Åkerfeldt came into the game, this guy had THEE fiercest gutturals in death metal. Well, maybe he and Antti Boman of Demilich who I still believe is a frog in a human suit, but I digress. If you can’t get down to “Orphans of Sickness” and “With Their Flesh, He’ll Create”, I don’t know what to say other than leave this site…NOW.
3. Mercyful Fate – In the Shadows
Like every reunion before and after, “They said it would never happen.”, yet it did. 1993 saw the resurrection of Mercyful Fate, albeit minus classic drummer Kim Ruzz who retired from music. While the subsequent reunion effort, In the Shadows, pales in comparison to the band’s first 3 efforts, it is an excellent slab of dark traditional metal, especially for a time when this music couldn’t have been more unfashionable. From a musical and lyrical perspective, one could argue this is more a King Diamond album than Mercyful Fate, but who cares? It rules from beginning to end, and the black metal crowd welcomed this unholy reunion with open arms. How could you deny the unearthly power of cuts like “Egypt”, “The Old Oak”, and “Thirteen Invitations”, just to name a few?
2. Savatage – Edge of Thorns
1993 marked a dramatic shift for US metal veterans Savatage. After 2 albums of dramatic progressive metal, the band decided it would be best to further explore these musical dynamics with Jon Oliva stepping back as frontman, instead assuming a role as keyboardist, co-producer, and songwriter. Think of it as the heavy metal equivalent of Brian Wilson stepping away from The Beach Boys in a live capacity, but remaining the behind the scenes mastermind creatively. Much to the surprise of fans worldwide, new singer Zak Stevens’ voice fit the Savatage mold perfectly on their seventh album, Edge of Thorns. It would also be the last Savatage album to feature guitarist and co-founder Criss Oliva. By Jon’s own admission, the band would never be the same after this tragedy, but persisted onwards, with the elder Oliva eventually returning to share co-lead vocals with Stevens.
- Morbid Angel – Covenant
Behold: The last death metal masterpiece. OK, that might be a broad assertion, but in this online metal journalist’s humble opinion, there hasn’t been a death metal album that’s touched the brilliance of Morbid Angel’s Covenant since its release nearly 30 years ago. That isn’t to say there hasn’t been great death metal albums since, but as far as beginning to end masterpieces go, this is in a league of its own. While Altars of Madness will always be my personal favorite for essentially being Hell Awaits Jr., and Blessed Are the Sick upped the darkness dial by 11, Covenant combined the best of both albums in an effort that’s lethally infernal. Which is all the more reason why its commercial success is mind boggling. Covenant nearly went gold in America, and spawned two singles that crossed over to MTV and rock radio, “Rapture” and “God of Emptiness”. Those were the good ol’ days when major labels had balls. Not so much anymore kids! Granted, Morbid Angel would’ve made Covenant regardless, major label or not. It was a moment in time, and the greatest metal album of 1993 too.
Honorable Mentions
- At the Gates – With Fear I Kiss the Burning Darkness
- Darkthrone – Under a Funeral Moon
- Demilich – Nespithe
- Dio – Strange Highways
- Overkill – I Hear Black