Death Metal Discharge

The Misfits are a band that I was always weary of checking out because their fans were on some bullshit when I was a kid. Now that I'm older and removed from it, I really love the simple brilliance of Danzig and co's brand of fast, catchy punk rock. Check out what's sure to be one of the most hummable records on this list!

I was excited to get into this record after really liking Priest's last record, British Steel. Screaming For Vengeance takes a bit more of a polished, hard rocking approach than the previous record and kinda left me wanting more. Check out my review.

This week we're tackling what I believe to be one of the quinessential NWOBHM records -- Number of the Beast by Iron Maiden. The band reaches a different level on this one in terms of technical and songwriting complexity, laying the groundwork for some of the greatest metal bands to come.

1882 was a pivotal year for underground music, and to kick it off we have one of the most important punk records in history - Hear Nothing by Discharge. This album perfects a simple but effective formula that would go on to be monumentally influential across heavy music.

This week's album is a huge stepping stone that bridges the gap between the NWOBHM and extreme metal -- Welcome to Hell by Venom. This record takes everything Motorhead was doing and ratchets it up in terms of sheer unapproachability. The results are quite fun.

Motorhead's No Sleep Till Hammersmith has the unique distinction of being (to my knowledge) the only live record on this list. That makes it kind of hard to talk about in one sense, but also brings up some unique points to touch on. It helps that this record is the band's highest charting material and is considered by critics to be one of the best live records of all time. Check it out!

The NWOBHM bands are starting to pick up the pace in 81. Killers by Iron Maiden sheds a lot of the classic hard rock stuffiness and meandering that bogged down their first record and goes straight for the throat with speed and heavy production. I think I'm finally starting to come around on some of this stuff.

This week's album is one of the most influential records of the 80's across genres. It had an immediate impact on the hardcore scene, but also brought some ideas into the fold that were so ahead of their time, it would take bands five or six years to catch up. That record is Damaged, by Black Flag. Enjoy!

This week's episode dives into an extremely influential and important record from Motorhead -- Ace of Spades. Unlike some of their British metal contemporaries, Motorhead weren't afraid to get down and dirty with the mix, nor were they afraid of playing at a breakneck speed.

Today we're reviewing one of the most important and so far, to my taste, best NWOBHM albums, British Steel by Judas Priest. This delivers on the promise a lot of its contemporaries showed in 1980 by being straightfoward and having thoughtful production. Check it out!

Joy Division's Closer is a cold, distant album that has been influential and critically acclaimed since its release. When metal music was too afraid to let their guitar tones get out of hand, albums like this were pushing sonic boundaries while proving to be relevant and impactful.

This week's episode is the 1980 self-titled debut by Iron Maiden. I was expecting something a bit different - this has way more classic rock influence than I thought. Still. you can see the early developments that would lead to extreme metal in the works here.

Today we're doing another NWOBHM banger that influenced the shape of metal: Lightning to the Nations by Diamond Head. This wasn't on the original Terrorizer list, but I needed 2 more albums to make it an even 100, so I picked this one after seeing Metallica cover one of the songs live.

Check it out!

Number 3 on the list is a personal favourite of mine as well as a bonafide punk classic, Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables by the Dead Kennedys. This record bridges the gap from punk of the 70s to hardcore of the 80s with excellent lyricism and incredible songwriting.

Check it out!

This week I'm reviewing a New Wave of British Heavy Metal deep-cut, Angel Witch by Angel Witch. There's a lot of bluesy rockin' here but also a fair bit of complex weirdness that foretells some of the technical intensity of extreme metal.

I'd never heard this one before, but now the chorus to the title track is permanently stuck in my head.

The first record of the new season is AC/DC's Back in Black. An absolute classic that has inspired legions of budding rockstars across the world. This album is extremely important for me personally, so I had a blast reviewing it. I know you think it's corny, but give it another shot!

Welcome to the second season of Death Metal Discharge! I decided to count down Terrorizer's top 100 most important albums of the 80's for this season. I chose to do the 80's list for two reasons, 1) the eighties are a foundational period in extreme music and 2) the list has so much cool shit on it. I couldn't turn down the chance to review some of these records.

So strap in! This is gonna be a long exercise but I'm hoping it's worthwhile. Let's trace the evolution of extreme music through its first and arguably most important decade.

This week we have another long-form episode. I'm really exicited about this one.

We've all seen the impact classic death metal had on hardcore over the last few years. Something that's happening in a bit more subtle of a fashion is the influence of deathcore on hardcore. Many new kids have gotten into hardcore from deathcore and heavier metallic stuff over the past 10 years, but it's treated as some sort of unspoken secret.

That seems to be changing as bands like Sunami and the Daze records scene openly embrace deathcore's influence on their sound. With that in mind, I'm joined by Revolver Magazine editor one-time deathcore head Eli Enis to talk about 15 of deathcore's most essential records and how they may have shaped or be shaping hardcore.

Check it out!

The death metal discharge experiment has come to an end. 

So, what did I think about the list? What are my top 10 albums> What would I give to kids hardcore kids as a "starter pack" for getting into death metal?

My friend Odai joins me to discuss all those questions, as well as his personal journey with the genre of death metal.

Check it out!

Number one on the list is finally here! It should come as no surprise to anyone following along that Terrorizer's best death metal album of all time is Altars of Madness by Morbid Angel. This record is on another level of intensity. It came out early enough in the game to set the stage for everything that came after it, and somehow, nothing has captured this record's intense hunger since it dropped.

Number two on the list is Deicide by Deicide. one of the most familiar yet also interesting albums on this list. I don't love using those kinds of paradoxes in my reviews but I think it fits here. The vocals on this one are absolutely out of this world.

Number 3 on the list is Left Hand Path by the Swedish goliaths Entombed. This record influenced so much heavy music. It's literally inescapable. If you love 90's or 90's inspired metallic hardcore you HAVE TO hear this record.

Number four is Leprosy by the Florida band Death. Hear me make the case for why this is my favourite death metal album of all time. The songwriting, playing and production on this record are all top notch.

Number 5 is Carcass' third and highest entry on the list -- Necroticism. It's the missing piece, stylistically, between the two albums we've already heard. It's also a masterpiece in its own right. 

This album explores a lot of lush tones and different melodies while still constructing complex, spiralling songs that push the boundaries of metal songwriting in terms of complexity.

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Number six on the list is Effigy of the Forgotten by New York's Suffocation. This record birthed the slam riff, and as a result is arguably the most influential death metal record on modern hardcore.

I love the riffs on this one, but do the songs stack up? Find out what I think.

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Number seven on the Terrorizer list is Slowly We Rot by Obituary. Another early record in the death metal cannon that charts its own course and influences a lot of what comes after it. Maybe not the superior Obituary album art, but musically, I think it has the edge.

Number eight on the Terrorizer list is Blessed Are the Sick, Morbid Angel's slower, simpler follow-up to their masterpiece Altars of Madness. This album ratchets up the heaviness and also, to me. signals a quiet end to death metal's classic era.

Number nine on the list is Mental Funeral by Autopsy. A really nice breath of fresh air in the approach it takes. There's a lot of Black Sabbath in this one, as well as a raw energy and charm.

Number 10 is the groundbreaking prog influenced Unquestionable Presence by Atheist. This doesn't exactly line up with my taste, but it's clear to see the talent and creativity pouring out of this record.

I also hear some influences shining through that make this record a little bit different from the average death metal release.

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Number 11 on the list is Horrified by Repulsion. This is the missing link -- the archeological proof to my hypothesis that hardcore punk had a big influence on death metal.

But is this a death metal record? Let's debate.

Number 12 on the list is the crushingly brutal masterpiece, Tomb of the Mutilated by Cannibal Corpse. This album is unrelentingly heavy and terrifyingly brutal.

It also broke a lot of ground for Death Metal that would come after it. Despite that, it stands alone atop its imitators as one of the best death metal albums ever.

This week's episode is the album credited with pushing death metal to the next echelon -- Human by Death. This is leaps and bounds ahead of the field in production, songwriting and technical proficiency.

Check it out!

Number 14 is Black Seeds of Vengeance, the sophomore effort by South Carolina's Nile. This record keeps the same artistic vision of their debut, but ups the ante with better production quality and more well rounded songwriting.

Check out my thoughts on it!

Number 15 is Slaughter of the Soul by At the Gates, a high energy, high impact record with an unmistakable sound. Why is this significantly different from other death metal of the time, and what's with all the hard-stop transitions.

Check it out!

Number 16 on the list is Arise by Sepultura. This record is a bit of a level up from their last one, Beneath The Remains, in terms of production and songwriting.

How much did hardcore inform this? More importantly, how much did this inform hardcore? Take a listen!

Number 17 on the list is Realm of Chaos by Bolt Thrower? Grind, death and first wave black metal melded into one sloppy, high energy ass beater of a record.

Definitely check this one out, it's one of my favourites on the list so far.

Number 18 on the list is the groundbreaking, influential gore grind/death metal recard Symphonies of Sickness by Carcass.

This is a big one for modern death metal, especially if you like all the hardcore adjacent stuff you might find on Maggot Stomp or 20 Buck Spin.

Number 19 is a fastball pitch for death metal fans. Massacre's 1991 classic From Beyond. No frills on this one, just classic riffs and great performance.

Check it out.

Number 20 is the legendary Swedish death metal album Like an Everflowing Stream by Dismember. This shit feels like it's on 100 per cent from jump, and also a big step up from the Carnage record, which features a number of the same members.

I feel like this is a must listen for hardcore kids who love 90's metallic stuff like Integrity.

Number 21 is Nile's ambitious debut, Amongst the Catacombs of Nephren-Ka. This album tries very hard to meld technical death metal with the music and instrumentation of ancient Egypt.

There are a few things working against it though, in my opinion.

Number 22 is Beneath the Remains by Sepultura. Right in the middle of the three way Venn Diagram between Death Metal, Thrash and Slayer's Reign in BLood.

Gotta love a band charting their own path, and that's what you get on this one. Check it out.

Number 23 on the list is Carcass's brutal yet melodic masterpiece, Heartwork. A masterclass in melody that doesn't compromise at all on the aggression.

This record blends classic rock and power metal into the formula, creating something timeless in the process.

Number 24 on the list is Testimony of the Ancients by Pestilence. A record that ushered in a new era of death metal along with records from bands like Death and Autopsy.

Check this out if you wanna hear death metal at the highest tier imaginable. 

Number 25 on the list is a weird one, Focus by Cynic. I compare it to Talk Talk, Dream Unending and... Code Orange? Yeah, this one is all over the place.

Check it out, especially if you like prog, djent or jazz.

Number 26 on the list is another Canadian band, Cryptopsy with None So Vile. I think that's a great name for this record because there isn't much else on the list so far that's as vile as this. I mean that in terms of sheer technical brutality. This is an ugly sounding record.

Tech death isn't always my cup of tea, but I gotta give this record props for being manic and crazy, something all good death metal should be.

Number 27 on the list is an album that walks a lot of lines, Cancer's Death Shall Rise. It walks the line between the British style of blasting death and the American style of straightforward thrashing. It walks the line between being an innovative record and perfectly adhering to a formula. The lyrics walk the line between being gruesome and hackishly corny.

Actually the lyrics just suck. But check this one out regardless!

Number 28 on the list is Dark Recollections by the Swedish band Cancer. This record has a distinctly Scandanavian bent, in that it shares a lot of similarities with hardcore from the region and era as well.

Check it out, especially if you love d-beat and crust music.

Number 29 is Obituary's classic Cause of Death, one of the heaviest and grooviest death metal albums of all time.

The riffs on here are banging but this record has never fully connected with me, for a very ... weird reason.

Find out why!

Number 30 on the list is a very significant entry, Scream Bloody Gore by Death. Historians will tell you this is considered to be one of the first ever Death Metal albums to be released. Maybe the very first, depending on how you slice it.

Hear my thoughts on how this record, along with other primordial death metal, compares to thrash of the day, as well as how this record fits into Death's legendary catalog.

Number 31 on the list is one of the most unique records to this point. Harmony Corruption by Napalm Death. This is totally a death metal record, but it's also very grind influenced. A logical step in the ND catalog but also fits right in on this list.