Top 10: Metal Albums of 1995

We’re halfway through the 90s and metal is officially a quarter of a century old! We’ve sure come a long way from the hazy, burnout days of Black Sabbath and Deep Purple. Hell, we’re even a world away from metal’s commercial domination of the 80s. By now, extreme metal has established itself as the dominant style; clean singing and melodic leads being all but extinct…or so you’d believe. As our this week’s list will prove, there were still a handful of veteran purists holding their ground among the growing black and death metal hordes. I should also note that there are (at least) two albums on here whose inclusion are bound to cause a collective shitstorm among those on the metal interweb. Whether you agree or disagree with their inclusion on this list, all I can say is have fun duking it out in the comments and enjoy our Top 10 Metal Albums of 1995!

10. Rainbow – Stranger in Us All

When we last heard from Rainbow, they had 180’d from proto-power metal pioneers to AOR mega-sellers, scoring rock radio hits like “I Surrender”, “Stone Cold”, and “Street of Dreams”. Of course, the inevitable Deep Purple reunion arrived not long after and Blackmore hopped from one gravy train to another. But over the course of a decade, the Mk. II reunion too ran its course. Ian Gillan walked in 1989, only to come back in 1993. Needless to say, this was not a “honeymoon stage” for the band. They recorded one more album in The Battle Rages On… before Blackmore left for good. With nothing else to do, Blackmore did what he did best: Assemble a new incarnation of Rainbow.

Alongside veteran musicians Greg Smith (bass), Paul Morris (keyboards), and John O’Reilly (drums), and a new rising star singer in Doogie White, Blackmore and company released Stranger in Us All. For those disillusioned by Rainbow’s later radio-friendly fare, this album was a strong return to form; channeling the energy of those classic Dio era albums and standing toe to toe with the biggest power metal names of the era. Standout cuts include the vicious “Wolf to the Moon”, the gutsy “Cold Hearted Woman”, and of course the neoclassical metal classic, “Black Masquerade”. It’s a shame this lineup (AKA Blackmore) couldn’t keep it together for a follow-up release. There’s no telling what ground this iteration of Rainbow could’ve broken.

9. Iron Maiden – The X Factor

“Is he really going there?” You bet your ass I am. For years and years I have remained silent, listening to braindead morons lament over how their sacred Maiden went to the dogs come the latter half of the 90s. Really? How? Did they spinelessly hop upon the neo-thrash, cargo short, tough guy metal bandwagon? Oh wait. That was Judas Priest. No, Maiden continued to be Maiden. If anything, The X Factor saw the one-time English metal kings improve drastically. The band did not start the decade on a good foot, to put it lightly. 1990’s No Prayer for the Dying paled in comparison to their 80s output, and while 1992’s Fear of the Dark was a step back in the right direction, it lacked the focus and fire that made Maiden so lbeoved.

Enter Blaze Bayley. Although filling Bruce Dickinson’s shoes proved to be a damn near impossible task, Bayley gave it his all on his studio debut with the band, The X Factor. Musically speaking, this album is Steve Harris’s baby. They’re all Steve Harris’s babies, but it’s The X Factor that firmly established the prog metal formula the band would follow for the remainder of their career, for better or worse. Emboldened by its intricate arrangements and dark production, The X Factor boasts many Maiden classics like “Man on the Edge”, “Judgement of Heaven”, and the epic “The Sign of the Cross”, still a staple of Maiden’s setlists to this day.

8. Savatage – Dead Winter Dead

By the time Savatage released Dead Winter Dead, they were virtually unrecognizable when compared to the band who dropped Hall of the Mountain King (1987) nearly a decade earlier. Matter of fact, they bore little resemblance to the band who released Streets: A Rock Opera (1991). Sure Jon Oliva remained at the songwriting helm, and producer Paul O’Neill steered the ship, but with each subsequent Savatage release, the band grew more bombastic, dramatic, and, for a lack of better terminology, less metal. Dead Winter Dead is arguably the band’s first album where metal takes a backseat to the growing symphonic and operatic influences. This, however, does not undermine its quality.

An ambitious concept album chronicling the ongoing Bosnian War, Dead Winter Dead saw Jon Oliva return to the mic, albeit for a couple songs. Vocalist Zak Stevens continued to hold his own, while newcomers Chris Caffery and Al Pitrelli faced the immeasurable task of filling Criss Oliva’s shoes. Granted, Caffery did play in the band a few years earlier, accompanying them on their Gutter Ballet Tour, but now the time had come to prove himself in the studio. Although there’s only one Criss Oliva, Caffery and Pitrelli did an excellent job bringing Oliva’s magnificent rock opera to life. Little did they know they’d be paving the way for a side venture that would soon turn into a fulltime job (Trans-Siberian Orchestra).

7. UFO – Walk on Water

Rainbow weren’t the only 70s legends who came back with a vengeance in 1995. So did UFO, and the classic lineup at that! Singer and founding member Phil Mogg kept the the band going through various personnel changes in the 80s and 90s. However, general interest among headbangers had waned after the departure of Paul “Tonka” Chapman in 1983. It was seemingly out of nowhere that the lineup of Phil Mogg, Michael Schenker, Pete Way, Andy Parker, and Paul Raymond reassembled for a series of acclaimed shows, and an equally acclaimed album, Walk on Water.

Despite not making an album together in nearly 20 years, Walk on Water saw UFO pick up right where they left off with Obsession (1978). Schenker’s riffs and solos packed tremendous bite, Mogg’s vocals were fired up as ever, the pocket of Way and Parker played together with jazz-like precision, and Raymond yet again proved himself to be UFO’s secret weapon, laying down lush organs and guitars for atmospheric effect. I’ll go as far to say every song on this album is as good as anything UFO released in their prime. From the moody “Venus” and muscular “A Self-Made Man”, to the swinging “Dark Days” and ethereal “Dreaming of Summer”, there is not a dull moment on Walk on Water.

6. Darkthrone – Panzerfaust

Here’s a scenario for you: What do you do after establishing yourself as the defining band of black metal’s second wave? Throw it back to the first wave, of course! Labeled by Fenriz as his “Celtic Frost worship album”, Panzerfaust saw Darkthrone strip things down to the days before black metal became synonymous with blast beats, tremolo riffs, and Norway. Sure you’ve got your typical early 90s black metal in cuts like “En vind av sorg” and “Hans siste vinter”. However, there’s no denying the bleak doom, primal atmosphere, and general sense of despair evoked on “Triumphant Gleam”, “The Hordes of Nebulah”, and “Beholding the Throne of Might”. For those who felt Celtic Frost never properly followed up To Mega Therion (1985), look no further than Panzerfaust.

5. Blind Guardian – Imaginations from the Other Side

Quite truthfully, I’m shocked that this is the first time Blind Guardian is making an appearance on one of these Top 10 Metal Albums of *insert year here* lists. Their first four albums are top notch power/speed metal affairs, classics in their own right, albeit overshadowed by at least 10 other releases from 1988, 1989, 1990, and 1992 respectively. Come 1995, the brilliance of Hansi Kürsch could no longer be ignored. Blind Guardian’s fifth album, Imaginations from the Other Side, marked a major turning point for the band. One foot remains firmly planted in the aggressive, yet melodic speed metal of their past. The other treads carefully forward towards a bombastic, anthemic, power metal future. If you prefer your metal to be larger than life, it doesn’t get much larger than songs like “The Script for My Requiem”, “And the Story Ends”, and the unforgettable title track. 99% of the bands who have taken the Wacken stage in the past 25 years owe their career to this album.

4. Opeth – Orchid

The mid 90s were a time of evolution for extreme metal. Bands were becoming more technical, symphonic, atmospheric, melodic, and quite simply, progressive. Although the progressive rock giants of the 70s were now seen as undesirable and dated as the metal and hard rock bands of the same era, one would have to be a fool to deny their influence on extreme music as a whole. And no 90s extreme metal band showcased a greater love of Yes, Genesis, Jethro Tull, and so forth than Opeth. Their debut album, Orchid, fused death and black metal in a melodic way, similar to some of their peers. What set them apart was their unorthodox songwriting and incorporation of pseudo-ambient soundscapes that featured acoustic guitars, piano, and more. Whoever said death metal couldn’t be progressive couldn’t have been more wrong.

3. Dissection – Storm of the Light’s Bane

If The X Factor‘s inclusion on this list isn’t enough to start a riot, surely Dissection’s Storm of the Light’s Bane NOT making #1 is. In all fairness, I firmly believe any one of these next three albums are fitting #1s, so bear with me. Hot off the heels of their revolutionary debut album, The Somberlain, Dissection wasted no time getting to work on their follow up, Storm of the Light’s Bane. The album’s name was not for nothing. The theme of darkness permeated both the lyrics and music. Not only this, but the album was “composed and arranged during hours of darkness between 1993 and 1995”. If Emperor’s In the Nightside Eclipse singlehandedly established black metal as a form of high heart, Storm of the Light’s Bane reemphasized such and then some. “Night’s Blood”, “Unhallowed”, “Thorns of Crimson Death”: These weren’t songs. These were suites, and brilliant ones at that.

2. Ulver – Bergtatt – Et Eeventyr i 5 capitler

Only in a post-Euronymous world could a band as radical as Ulver thrive. Here was a black metal band who was less concerned about being “black metal” and more concerned with defying any and all established norms within metal as a whole. Ulver may not have invented atmospheric black metal, but as far as I’m concerned, they perfected it on their debut album, Bergtatt. The band’s alluring combination of black metal riffs, dark folk passages, (mostly) clean vocals, and an unforgiving sense of winter was unlike anything heard in metal before. My fondest memories of this album is blasting it through my earbuds while walking through the cold and snow on my way home from my freshman year of high school. Granted, the northside of Chicago isn’t nearly as picturesque as the forests of Norway, but no other album could match the snow that towered to my knees, the sight of my own breath, and the piercing cold against my skin.

1. At the Gates – Slaughter of the Soul

If any album is responsible for keeping Hot Topic in business for the past 25ish years, it’s this one. All kidding aside, At the Gates’ Slaughter of the Soul is one of the most important yet controversial albums in metal history. After three brilliantly dark death metal albums, At the Gates stripped down to their barest elements, an unholy conjuration of twisted thrash riffs, slick melodic leads, and pure misanthropy, on what would become the final album of their initial run, Slaughter of the Soul. Its impact did not go unnoticed. Although AtG folded just a year later in 1996, the template for all melodic death metal and metalcore to follow was born.

While I can’t stand 99.9% of the bands who have knowingly or unknowingly ripped off Slaughter in the decades to follow, I can’t deny my love of this album, especially in high school. There’s just something about that sick, undying rage permeating every last element of this album: The lyrics, the vocals, the guitar tone, the composition. Yes, it still rules today, but my adult brain processes this album far more differently and (for better or worse) analytically than it did at 16. And because I firmly believe even the most cynical, cold-hearted bastard has a teenager living somewhere in them, it’s with that in mind I proclaim Slaughter of the Soul the greatest metal album of 1995.

Honorable Mentions

• Absu – The Sun of Tiphareth
• Gamma Ray – Land of the Free
• Moonspell – Wolfheart
• Morbid Angel – Domination
• Summoning – Minas Morgul