Death Metal is a sub-genre of Metal that’s heavier than Metal — that’s probably the simplest way to describe it. So if you’ve heard, say, Metallica… this goes quite a bit further. It is extremely loud music. It’s not the only genre I listen to, but it’s the one genre I can listen to in any situation, any mood.
Musically, death metal hasn’t directly influenced the music I’ve written with my band Puppen — maybe the occasional riff here and there that felt right. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
Before you read further: I have zero interest in debating genre classifications. For me at this point, genres are just a tool for organizing catalogs on Spotify. So if you’re looking for an argument, you’re on your own.
It’s also somewhat unusual for me to write a list post and review albums. The last time I did this regularly was 10–11 years ago, when I was contributing to surf and skateboard magazines. Reviews tend to generate debate, and I never quite understood why an album review needs to become a fight. It’s just one person’s opinion.
That said, any responsible list needs a framework. Here’s mine:
- The album must be on Spotify — meaning I can still enjoy it today.
- This is a personal opinion based on what I’ve heard and felt, not a history lesson in death metal. Don’t complain if Venom isn’t on here.
- This is the best of the best. If I could only listen to 10 death metal albums for the rest of my life, these would be them.
- Production matters to me. As a guitarist and producer, I can’t separate how a record sounds from how good it is. Great material poorly produced doesn’t make my list.
- One album per band.
So after months of revisiting records on Spotify and remembering how I fell in love with death metal in the first place, here they are:
- Entombed – Clandestine — It’s painful to pick just one Entombed album when Wolverine Blues and Left Hand Path are both incredible. But Clandestine is the most special — it’s their transition record, the bridge to modern Entombed. For me, it’s the greatest death metal album ever made. And “Crawl” is the greatest death metal song ever made.
- Dismember – Death Metal — Of all the albums on this list, this Swedish band’s record is the most recently released, so the production is more modern. But that doesn’t make it any less classic. For guitar-obsessed listeners like me, this album never gets old.
- At The Gates – Slaughter of the Soul — Their final album before a long hiatus, and before their comeback record At War With Reality in 2014. It opens with “Blinded By Fear” — one of the most phenomenal album openers in metal history. Playing melodic guitar over blastbeats with that kind of production takes serious musicianship. This album was never not going to be on this list.
- Napalm Death – Diatribes — This one comes with a story. Puppen was booked for an outdoor rooftop show at Sabuga, Bandung — the Full Moon Cafe series, attended mostly by ITB academics and alumni. The organizers had no idea what kind of band we were. At the technical meeting, they asked our manager Arian: “Does Puppen play rock with acoustic or electric guitar?” He kept a straight face and said, “Electric.” We had prepared “Greed Killing” from this album as our opener. On the day of the show, we even did our soundcheck with a quiet song so as not to raise suspicions. When we finally hit the stage, by the end of the first minute, most of the front row had cleared out. Classic.
- Strapping Young Lad – City — Not sure if this technically counts as death metal, but it’s absolutely brutal. And I got to meet Devin Townsend at Golden Gods 2013! m/
- Carcass – Heartwork — A tough choice between this and Swansong. I went with Heartwork because it’s heavier and connects more directly to their final album, Surgical Steel. Top to bottom, it’s a perfect record.
- Deicide – Deicide — I got this one on cassette from Rully, a friend from Suaka who had moved to America back in 1992. A true classic.
- Obituary – Cause Of Death — This came out when I was just starting to learn electric guitar in 1990. What grabbed me immediately was John Tardy’s vocals. Absolutely insane.
- In Flames – Colony — Picking a best In Flames album is even harder than picking a best Carcass album. I went back and forth between this, Whoracle, Clayman, and Soundtrack to Your Escape. Colony wins. And I was lucky enough to see them live in London.
- Death – Spiritual Healing — At the time I first heard it, this was the heaviest music I had ever encountered. Legendary.
Honorable Mentions
Three more albums that deserve recognition, even if they didn’t make the top ten:
- Morbid Angel – Altars of Madness
- Cannibal Corpse – Tomb of the Mutilated
- Terrorizer – World Downfall
Like the list? Thanks for reading. Don’t like it? Make your own.