When Your Debut is Your Best Album: Flotsam and Jetsam

I have been thinking about bands whose debut is their best work for a little bit of late.  It is generally well-accepted that a lot of metal bands tend to peak early on their first couple of albums.  That is true of a lot of the giants in metal music, including very obviously Metallica and Black Sabbath.  But it is also true of a lot of lesser bands as well.  Now, I still think it is at least somewhat rare for a band's debut album to be universally considered their best work, but there are a few out there.

One of the more obvious examples of this is Arizona power thrashers Flotsam and Jetsam.  Their debut album Doomsday for the Deceiver is an absolute monster, featuring catchy riffs and infectious hooks.  It is one of the best thrash metal albums of all time.  Yet the band was really not able to build upon that early success.  I like the follow-up No Place for Disgrace quite well, but I really do not think it holds a candle to the raw thunder of Doomsday.  And from then on, most of the albums by the band have been well below the standard set by the first two.  In fact the band went through a number of stylistic changes before at least attempting to return to their former glory.

Now there is a very clear demarcation between Flotsam and Jetsam's debut and everything that came afterwards, and pretty much anyone with a reasonable knowledge of metal knows exactly what I am talking about.  Jason Newsted, who rose to fame as Metallica's bassist after the untimely death of Cliff Burton, was originally in Flotsam and Jetsam.  In fact, he was the principal lyricist and a major factor in the songwriting.  His bass work on the album is absolutely killer and often drives the songs.  And he left very soon after the debut was released.  It really is a shame that Metallica never really allowed Newsted free reign to write some stuff for the band because his work on Flotsam and Jetsam is incredibly impressive.

After Newsted left, the band moved forward.  Newsted was not really a founding member of the band, but his absence loomed large.  They have never been able to adequately replace him in my opinion.  As I said, the sophomore album is damn good, but it's no Doomsday, and the band has not been able to come close since.

Cataloguing My Metal Collection Pt. 15

ARTIST:  Various
ORIGIN:  Various
TITLE:  Metal Mayhem
LABEL:  Priority Records
YEAR:  1993
GENRE:  Various
FAVORITE SONG:  Flotsam and Jetsam: "Iron Tears"
NOTES:  I started picking up some cheap various artist compilations early on in order to find new bands to check out.  This was one of the first ones.  It included songs by Flotsam and Jetsam, Prong, Gwar, Voivod, and Pro-Pain that I eventually checked out, partially on the power of these songs.  Suicidal Tendencies and a few non-metal bands appeared as well.

My 100 Favorite Metal Bands Pt. 44: Flotsam and Jetsam

Flotsam and Jetsam is a bit of an overlooked thrash metal band from the 1980's. Most of their exposure comes from the fact that they were Jason Newsted's band before he left to replace Cliff Burton in Metallica. The band was from Arizona, so they really were not a part of any of the major thrash metal scenes. Nevertheless, Flotsam and Jetsam is a damn good band. Combining thrash and American power metal, they were more on the melodic side than many of the other bands of the era. Singer Eric A.K. is a great vocalist with a soaring voice and the guitar work of Edward Carlson and Michael Gilbert has been underrated. Their debut is a great album, and also the only full-length with Newsted.

FAVORITE ALBUM: DOOMSDAY FOR THE DECEIVER

Year in Metal: 1986

Bet you were expecting Metallica's Master of Puppets right? Wrong. I don't want to cover that one because it has been discussed to death by many people who believe it to be the greatest metal album ever. Who's to say they're wrong? But, this is my blog, and I want to do albums that are not as well-known. You won't see Slayer here either today.

CANDLEMASS: EPICUS DOOMICUS METALLICUS
Candlemass's debut album is still their strongest in my opinion, despite the fact that their most notable vocalist Messiah Marcolin had yet to join the band. Vocals on this album were handled by Johan Langqvist, who did have some solid vocals, but did not have the same emotional sound that Messiah did. The songwriting of Leif Edling is amazing and always has been. This album did feature the classic "Solitude", which is one of my all-time favorite doom metal songs.

DARK ANGEL: DARKNESS DESCENDS
Debate rages about what the greatest all-time thrash metal album is. I have heard this album mentioned many times during those discussions. While I do not believe it is the answer to the question, it is certainly in the running. Dark Angel took the brutality and speed of prior thrash metal bands and kicked it up a notch. This album is incredible, featuring some of the best thrash metal riffs ever. This album certainly deserves its place in the pantheon of legendary thrash metal albums. It's a shame the band is not better known.

FLOTSAM AND JETSAM: DOOMSDAY FOR THE DECEIVER
The debut album from Flotsam and Jetsam is also still their strongest album. This is also the only album with Jason Newsted on bass, who would later of course join Metallica to replace Cliff Burton. This album is more of a power/thrash metal album with its soaring vocals and emphasis on melody over aggression. It is still clearly a thrash metal album though, based solely on the riffing style. Newsted actually wrote most of the lyrics on the album, proving that he was vastly underused in Metallica.

KREATOR: PLEASURE TO KILL
I have mentioned it before on this blog, but I have a difficult time picking favorites in the German thrash metal scene. However, picking my favorite album is easy. It's this one obviously. I believe this is where everything came together for Kreator. Their prior material was a little uneven, and that still shows on this one, particularly with the use of two vocalists. But the songwriting and riffing tightened up considerably. This album was also instrumental in the formation of death metal with its extreme aggression and powerful riffs. A classic. If you only hear one German thrash metal album, make it this one.

SEPULTURA: MORBID VISIONS
The roots of death and black metal came up in a variety of places that would seem a little unusual given the two genres most famous scenes. Sepultura, the Brazilian thrash metal band, released their debut album in 1986, and what a debut it was. The album can arguably be considered a very early example of death metal and it helped to influence the still burgeoning black metal scene as well. This is som raw, filthy stuff here. Sepultura would tone down this sound over the next couple of albums, emerging as a more refined thrash metal band, but then would constantly change their sound over the years to fit the current trends. But on this album, they were ahead of the game.

Honorable mentions: Carnivore: Carnivore, Destruction: Eternal Devastation, Iron Maiden: Somewhere in Time, King Diamond: Fatal Portrait, Megadeth: Peace Sells...But Who's Buying?, Metal Church: The Dark, Metallica: Master of Puppets, Motorhead: Orgasmatron, Ozzy Osbourne: The Ultimate Sin, Slayer: Reign in Blood

Bands that formed in 1986: Bolt Thrower, Grave, Immolation, Prong, Vader.