Year in Metal: 1991

ATHEIST: UNQUESTIONABLE PRESENCE
I looked at one of their albums already in this series, it's time to look at a second. As much as I enjoyed the other album, this one is by far my favorite from Atheist. The band on this album further experimented with some of the non-metal influences from their previous albums. There is a very strong jazz influence present from the get-go. The band utilizes complex rhythms and unusual time signatures and even throws in some latin influences as well. This is an extremely original and thoughtful album. Atheist has recently reformed and will be releasing a new album this year. Can't wait.

DARK ANGEL: TIME DOES NOT HEAL
The tagline on this album is "9 songs, 67 minutes, 246 riffs!" I have no idea if that's an exaggeration, but it probably isn't. There are tons of riffs on this monster of an album from this highly underrated Bay Area thrash metal band. This album is extremely intense, but it does not feel quite like over an hour of music. Perhaps that's because the riffs are coming so quickly and furiously that it beats you into submission. No idea, but this is an incredible early 90's thrash metal album.

OVERKILL: HORRORSCOPE
Overkill has never put out a bad album, so picking a favorite album is sometimes difficult. This one is up there for me though. This is an extremely cohesive and powerful album from the East Coast thrash giants. Every single song is a masterpiece. Every single riff is amazing. This is easily one of my favorite albums by Overkill, and quite possibly my favorite. This is an absolute beast.

SEPULTURA: ARISE
Often considered the band's finest hour, this album unfortunately finds Sepultura at the end of the road as far as their thrash metal sound is concerned. But what a way to go. The album featured the same sound as their previous album but with experimentation in industrial and latin percussion. This album features some of the major Sepultura classics such as the title track, "Dead Embryonic Cells", "Desperate Cry", as well as a cover of Motorhead's "Orgasmatron". This album helped Sepultura break into the mainstream and ultimately helped doom their creativity.

SUFFOCATION: EFFIGY OF THE FORGOTTEN
Suffocation completely changed the game in death metal. It was now becoming a race to be the most extreme, the most brutal, and the most traumatizing death metal band. Death metal has never been subtle, but Suffocation took the genre to all new levels of brutality on their debut. The band has never released a bad album, and this was only the beginning. Surprisingly technical as well, there are interesting elements to listen for if you listen close enough. This album completely changed the death metal landscape and we are all the better for it.

Honorable Mentions: Armored Saint: Symbol of Salvation, Bolt Thrower: War Master, Cannibal Corpse: Butchered at Birth, Death: Human, Heathen: Victims of Deception, Morbid Angel: Blessed are the Sick, Ozzy Osbourne: No More Tears, Prong: Prove You Wrong, Soundgarden: Badmotorfinger.

Bands that formed in 1991: Acid Bath, Angra, Behemoth, Belphegor, Burzum, Cradle of Filth, Down, Emperor, Enslaved, Marduk, Nevermore.