Classic Tech Death Album: ‘Pierced From Within’ By Suffocation
WHO: Arguably the single most important band in the development of modern Death Metal, Suffocation have influenced/inspired so many aspects of the genre taken for granted these days; death growling, slams, exploration of the blast beat, speed, intensity, the list goes on and on. Since 1990, Suffocation have simultaneously defined and revolutionized Death Metal with each release. However, many fans are split on the question of their very finest work. There is no such thing as a bad Suffocation album of course but deciding which of their downright mythological accomplishments is the most astounding takes time and lots of reflection. Having taken the time and reflected as much as I possibly could, I decided on ‘Pierced From Within’. Not only is it Suffocation’s finest release but it’s also Death Metal’s finest release. Yes, I wrote exactly what you think I just wrote; ‘Pierced From Within’ is the greatest Death Metal album of all time from the greatest Death Metal band of all time.
Read MoreClassic Tech Death Album: ‘Cross Species Transmutation’ By Malignancy
WHO: One of the most innovative and criminally underrated technical death metal bands of the modern era, Malignancy has been releasing material since April of 1993. Their first full length, ‘Intrauterine Cannibalism’ was indeed a fantastic debut and is still a recording to be reckoned with. However, it wasn’t until 2003 with the release of this EP that Malignancy fully defined their wholly original and utterly divisive modern sound. Many fans of ’Intrauterine Cannibalism’ think of ‘Cross Species Transmutation’ as the moment Malignancy completely lost their mind, rendering them incapable of anything except pinch harmonic abuse. As someone who discovered their recent work first (‘Inhuman Grotesqueries’ to be exact) I can say without hesitation that ‘Cross Species Transmutation’ is entirely deserving of reverence, respect and canonization as an American Death Metal classic.
Read MoreClassic Tech Death Album: ‘Killing On Adrenaline’ By Dying Fetus
WHO: One of the most influential and genre defining bands in all of Death Metal, Dying Fetus has been separating the metalheads from the posers since 1993 and to this day shows no sign of stopping. Although enduring many line up changes throughout the years, many fans (including myself) will maintain that Dying Fetus’ golden age was between the release of their first independent EP ‘Bathe In Entrails’ and their third full length ‘Destroy The Opposition’. Their very best material is a subject that many different metalheads have countless opinions on. Most maintain that ‘Destroy The Opposition’ was their pinnacle. Others have said that after ‘Purification Through Violence’, the band went soft and sold out. Almost no one maintains that ‘Stop At Nothing’ or ‘War Of Attrition’ is their best with any knowledge of the band’s previous work.
Read MoreClassic Tech Death Album: ‘None So Vile’ by Cryptopsy
CRYPTOPSY
None So Vile (1996)
Canada, Wrong Again Records, Brutal Technical Death Metal
1996 has always been one of my favourite years in humanity’s shoddy history, for 2 reasons specifically. The first reason is that I was born in 1996, so I have to celebrate it as the year that I first entered the world and first starting pissing people off. The second reason is this album. It stands out more than any other album I’ve ever heard, except maybe for Cephalectomy’s An Epitaph To Tranquility. In fact, this album was released just 20 days before I was.
Read MoreClassic Tech Death Album: ‘Colossal Titan Strife’ By Kronos
WHO: A shining example of the astounding creativity omnipresent in French Death Metal, Kronos formed in 1994 as a Slayer influenced Thrash outfit. After a change in line up, they began to play the crushing technical/brutal Death Metal their fans know and love. 2001 saw the release of their debut LP ‘Titan’s Awakening’ from the now defunct record label ‘Warpath Records’. ‘Titan’s Awakening’ is to this day a fantastic release, but it wasn’t until 2003 that Kronos released ‘Colossal Titan Strife’, which many fans (including myself) regard as their masterpiece. Uncompromisingly brutal, technical without showboating and with a key understanding of musical progression to boot, ‘Colossal Titan Strife’ is responsible for turning more metalheads away from the mythological stylings of Nile than any other band I can think of.
Read MoreClassic Tech Death Album: ‘Nespithe’ By Demilich
WHO: The best example of a group disbanded much too soon, Demilich hailed from the eastern region of Finland, although their music leads me to believe this was simply a recorded excerpt from an unfathomable alternate dimension. Despite ‘Nespithe’ being their only full length release, Demilich are hailed as one of the best technical death metal bands in the history of the genre and rightfully so; across eleven tracks, dissonance, atonality and brutality merge to create not only fascinating material, but some of the most wholly original work in all of metal music.
Read MoreClassic Tech Death Album: “Focus” by Cynic
Cynic – Focus on the Spiritually Progressive
WHO: Cynic, the quintessential artisans of jazzy sand spacey progressive death metal. Focus featured Paul Masvidal (vocals, guitar, guitar synth) and Sean Reinert (drums, keyboards), both famous for recording on Death’s Human. The album also featured Jason Grobel (guitar, guitar synth) from Monstrosity’s Imperial Doom and Sean Malone (bass, chapman stick).
Read MoreClassic Tech Death Album: “Unquestionable Presence” by Atheist
Atheist – Unquestionably Present in the Past and Future of Death Metal
WHO: Atheist, the quintessential innovators of progressive and technical death metal from the early 90’s. Beginning in the late 80’s as Oblivion and then R.A.V.A.G.E. (Raging Atheists Vowing A Gory End), Atheist had a 17 year gap (1993 – 2010) where no studio material was released. This incarnation was Kelly Shaefer on vocals/guitar, Randy Burke on guitar, Steve Flynn (Gnostic) on drums, and Tony Choy (Pestilence, Cynic) on bass. Choy was brought in to play lines written by Roger Patterson, who tragically died in car crash before recording the album.
Read MoreClassic Tech Death Album: “Obscura” By Gorguts
WHO: One of the very finest examples of a band that pushed the limits of an already provocative genre, Gorguts. Starting from high expectations with their debut, they proceeded down the path that would ultimately lead them to this work of art. Unfortunately, Roadrunner Records saw fit to drop the band after not garnering the necessary attention due to the second wave of Black Metal kicking into full gear. This would prove to be a grave mistake.
WHEN: After a five year hiatus that some presumed to be the death of Gorguts, resilient frontman Luc Lemay returned in 1998 with a brand new lineup to shake metal music itself to the very core.
WHERE: After recording the album in Studio Victor, Montreal the disc was distributed by Olympic Records. Thankfully, the impact was felt beyond the regional scene of Canadian Death Metal, which had already given the metal world other classic bands like Cryptopsy.
Read MoreClassic Tech/Prog Death Album: “Individual Thought Patterns” by Death
WHO: Death himself. Fronted by Chuck Schuldiner, the man often cited as being the father of death metal, this dream-team incarnation of Death also consisted of Steve DiGiorgio on bass, Andy LaRocque on guitar, and Gene Hoglan on drums. For those unfamiliar with the band, Chuck passed away in 2001 after a battle with brain cancer.
WHEN: Originally released by Combat Records in 1993, Individual Thought Patterns is a landmark in death metal history. The album has also recently been re-released in a three CD deluxe addition featuring a live set from Germany (in 1993) and a full album of demo tracks.
WHERE: Hailing from Florida, this album was recorded with Scott Burns at Morrisound Recording Studios. The production carries his signature, as well as showcases Death’s roots in Floridian death metal.
Read More
Now Playing
Get Feed’ed!
- EP’s Mayhem: Antikathera – Sunspot Effigy 05/16/2012
- Technical Tuesday – “Hi, yes, I was interested in Cattle Decapitation?” 05/15/2012
- Review: Cattle Decapitation – The Harvest Floor 05/12/2012
- Review: Saprogenic – The Wet Sound Of Flesh On Concrete 05/07/2012
- Review: Sentenced To Dissection – Between The Worlds 05/07/2012
- Rings Of Saturn: Five Minutes Of New Album? Aliens. 05/07/2012
- Review: Gorod – A Perfect Absolution 05/06/2012
