Forget the narrative when it comes to '90s metal… there was SO MUCH GREAT STUFF during the much maligned decade.
The underground was bursting with boundary-pushing death metal and thrash, while the sultans of groove crept up from the swamps of NOLA. Just give another listen to these underrated gems from the 1990s.
Crowbar – Odd Fellows Rest
Crowbar is so insanely underrated as a band, even their most heralded album doesn't get enough praise. Odd Fellows Rest is an embarrassment of riffage — thick and crunchy with that unmistakable NOLA in-the-pocket groove. "Planets Collide" is a Top 50 metal riff of all time, but it's the emotion behind each riff on Odd Fellows Rest is what makes it unique. Ever see a 300lb, bald, bearded man cry? Of course not. They do it in private while listening to Crowbar.
Eucharist – A Velvet Creation
Eucharist reign as a pioneers of the Gothenburg melodeath sound, but they leaned extremely heavily on the death part. This isn't your pseudo-poppy, feel-good type of melodeath. It's the subgenre's Black Tooth Grin — death with a little splash of melody to taste. Daniel Erlandsson was already a beast on the drums in 1993, and he anchors this album like a seasoned pro.
Demolition Hammer – Epidemic of Violence
Bands like Demolition Hammer carried metal through the 1990s. Often set aside in favor of the Megadeths and Cannibal Corpses of the day, Demolition Hammer brought the holy trinity of ‘90s metal — thrash, groove and brutality — to Epidemic of Violence. This album deserves to be spoken of with the respect of Kreator's Coma of Souls or Sodom's Tapping the Vein. It's really the best of the early ‘90s.
Convulse – World Without God
Speaking of top-tier early ‘90s records, here's Convulse's filth-obsessed debut, World Without God. These Finnish blasphemers would've been huge if they'd only grown up in Florida. What a fucking guitar tone on this beast! The drums are on full-tilt as well, giving this album an attitude that few death metal bands could stack up to. Flawless execution.
Angelcorpse – Exterminate
War was a constant theme woven throughout ‘90s metal, and few made better of the military industrial complex than Angelcorpse. Pete Helmkamp had the perfect "exterminate everything" voice — absolute napalm from deep in the throat. This one will hold up even after World War 3.
Solitude Aeturnus – Through the Darkest Hour
One of the most soulful doom albums ever put to tape. Vocalists like Robert Lowe seemed to be extinct in the ‘90s — gone the way of Ritchie Blackmore's bluesy riffage and Geddy Lee's hyper-expressive bass licks. Solitude Aeternus did their best to keep the old school new, and they crushed it pretty consistently throughout the decade. Through the Darkest Hour is just one of five great albums the band released between 1991-1998. Just pick one and sink into your couch.
TAD – Inhaler
No way you forgot about TAD. A standout from the emerging alt-metal scene, Inhaler was the band's big major label release… and it ruled! TAD just didn't play well with the big shots over at Warner, and they were ultimately chewed up and spit out by the music industry. TAD still rules though, and Inhaler is a killer blend of absurdity, crunchy grooves and slacker greatness.
Ringworm – The Promise
Starting your album with, "There is no God," in 1993 was actually pretty wild. Ringworm's debut was a definite precursor to metalcore, leaning heavily on ‘80s hardcore while throwing some thrash in the mix. These boys were surely ahead of the curve. Play this for a 2020s hardcore fan and you could convince them this was made in a garage last week.
Exit-13 – Ethos Musick
Enough about Earache Records in the ‘80s… more about Relapse Records in the ‘90s. So much brutal shit came out during this era, and Exit-13 was there from the beginning, just cranking out the filthiest grind while receiving basically no fanfare. It's all good though… the band's social commentary was only dead-on while advocating for cannabis legalization. We didn't deserve Exit-13.
Cancer – Death Shall Rise
James Fucking Murphy, you guys. How many feathers did this guy need in his cap? Crushed it with Obituary, crushed it with Death, crushed it with Disincarnate and Testament… please build a statue of this man in Portsmouth, Virginia. Cancer's 1991 album Death Shall Rise is just another piece of essential metal from the Murph-meister. It's just a great early ‘90s death metal album… simple as that.
