Well, we made it to the last year of the 80s. To the underground, a challenger approaches and establishes dominance frighteningly quick. The last year of metal's ultimate decade is very much a harbinger of the sounds to come. You will find very quickly this list is dominated by one sub-genre and it is NOT the one you think of if you are a "That Metal Show" type. Like 1987, 1989 seems like a dead year as the previous year the A-leagues put out albums and spent the next two years touring for it. If you truly think that, well that's your opinion, but don't you go spouting that mess on any online forum or they'll take your favorite glam vinyl and shove it up your hiney. So time to assess whether or not RYM has the pulse on the metal culture for 1989. Let's go holy diving....
1. Morbid Angel- Altars of Madness
I mean, goes without saying. The greatest death metal album ever made. Hell, if you follow the liner notes it declares itself a combination of death, black and speed metal. Honestly, it's not wrong. I have heard people refer to this as black metal, mostly because of the lyrical themes. It could be argued that this is the heaviest album of the 80s, period. Then again, it's usually at the end of the decade where the most cutting edge and intense stuff occurs. If Altars of Madness isn't on top of a 1989 list, it better be top 3, and the two albums above it better be lethal in their own fashion.
Should this be in a top 10 list: Yes
Would this be in my top 10 list: Yes
2. Sepultura- Beneath The Remains
…. And this better be one of them. If all you know about this band is Attitude or Territory prepare to have 10000 bowling balls dropped on your head. This is also only one of maybe 2 or three albums that can be claim to be heavier than Reign In Blood. Warp-speed, towering, twisted steel is what this is. Is it death? Is it thrash? Who cares! Its a cornerstone of extreme music, and it more than belongs here.
Should this be on a top 10 list: Yes
Would this be on my top 10 list: Yes
3. Pestilence- Consuming Impulse
So when I was referring to “the three albums of 1989” in another entry, I was referring to the previous two albums, but this was not the third one. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely adore Consuming Impulse. Fantastic Dutch death metal. I will also throw out that this is the greatest album Martin Van Drunen sang vocals (and played bass) on. It is also Patrick Mameli’s finest work.
Should this be on a top 10 list: Yes
Would this be on my top 10 list: No
4. Autopsy- Severed Survival
This also wasn't the third album I had in mind, but I understand why someone would think so. As great as Consuming Impulse is, and I have no issue with it being ranked higher than Severed Survival, at the end of the day, it's another fast death metal album. This album however, introduces the idea of playing death metal slow. Doom metal slow. The first drop in the death-doom bucket if you will. I do feel like the slowness is more pronounced and lasting on Autopsy’s follow up, however.
Should this be in a top 10 list: Yes
Would this be in my top 10 list: No
5. Coroner- No More Color
THIS was album #3. This is also the first non-death metal album to show up on this list. This album is unquestionably thrash, but it's extreme enough in its own way to hold its own against Altars and Beneath. You want riffs? You want riffs that will twist your mind like orange sunshine acid? You want riffs so reality altering that when scholars tell you how progressive and experimental No More Color is, you act surprised because they are so fucking unhinged you cant possibly comprehend how they can focus on anything else? No More Color IS that album dear reader. Thats how you move metal forward and NO OTHER WAY. The greatest album to come out of Switzerland not made by Celtic Frost. Now that I think about it, if this is what Into The Pandemonium ended up being (throw "Inner Sanctum" in there for good measure), Celtic Frost would gained a much higher power ranking. Not just saying that as some silly contrarian semantic, this certainly has avant-garde ideals that Warrior was shooting for.
Should this be on a top 10 list: Yes
Would this be on my top 10 list: Yes
6. King Diamond- Conspiracy
I’m just now realizing “Them” isn't on the 1988 list….and I agree with that. This one of those deals where the sequel is much better than the original. At least musically it is. “Them” was half great and half filler. Conspiracy, while it doesn't quite reach the heights of Abigail, is at least a stronger musical statement. Still, not entirely convinced this is top 10 of the year. Even if it is Mikkey Dee's final album with King.
Should it be on a top 10 list: No
Would it be on my top 10 list: No
7. Bolt Thrower- Realms of Chaos
Ay-yi-yi. People, I’ve tried. I’ve really tried to “get” Bolt Thrower. But they really should be called Boring Thrower cos this band bores the crap out of me. I gave this band waaaaaay too many chances (as in I actually bought their albums because fuck Spotify) and they just aren't that good. ERMEGERD death metal about a board game! Neato. 90% of their songs are still forgettable. That said, Realms of Chaos: Slaves To Darkness is probably their most interesting album, mainly because of the grindcore influences, i.e. blast beats. And I'll admit it's fun to shout WOOOOOORLD EAATTTTEEEERRR, but that does not make it more important that "Chapel of Ghouls," "Zombie Ritual," or "Dead By Dawn" Rolling Stone magazine.
Should this be in a top 10 list: Yes
Would this be in my top 10 list: No
8. Godflesh- Streetcleaner
Streetcleaner is yet another album I keep meaning to get/hear but have dragged my ass on doing so. I've just never been much of an industrial fan. It's not my favorite, but not on my shitlist either. That could change, but I couldn't tell you anything about this other than it's what Justin Broderick did after leaving Napalm Death. Industrial does have a respectable foot-hold in heavy music, and this album is one of many reasons why.
Should this be in a top 10 list: Yes
Would this be in my top 10 list: No
9. Running Wild- Death Or Glory
Ah yes, my beloved pirate captain, Rolf Kasparek. However, I've expressed my feelings about this album before, and I stand by them. I honestly think this album's acclaim comes from the same place that Overkill's The Years Of Decay does: MTV Headbangers Ball nostalgia. From what I understand, "Bad To The Bone" was a minor staple on Headbanger's Ball. Presumably, this made enough people go out and buy Death Or Glory, and nine times out of ten people will call a band's best album the one they heard first. Fair enough, but Running Wild have made better albums before and after this. Unfortunately, I don't predict we'll see them again after this year. Sad, because they would become truly S-tier in the next decade (Blazon Stone is my second favorite metal album of the 90s, after the immortal Rust In Peace). Still, this is a great album, and if you want to get a good measure of this band, as well as find out the true difference between speed and thrash metal, listen to opener "Riding the Storm."
Should this be in a top 10 list: No
Would this be in my top 10 list: Yes
10. Terrorizer- World Downfall
The second greatest grindcore album ever made, after Repulsion's Horrified. As you can see, we've reached the end of the top 10, so it does not make this list. More on that in a minute. Hey kids, did you like Altars Of Madness? Did you think Pete Sandoval and David Vincent were the rippinest rhythm section ever? Well here they are again, but this time supporting two young Hispanic whippersnappers with a passion for the extreme! Vocalist Oscar Garcia offers one scathing capitalism criticism after another, which you can only understand 15% of because rule #4 in death metal vocals is "Diction, what's that?" Then there's guitarist Jesee Pintado (R.I.P.) who proves to be such a blacksmith of black-matter heavy death-grind that none other than Napalm Death themselves would draft him as a second guitarist which he would remain for over a decade. In a perfect world, this would be one of the great one-offs.
Should this be in a top 10 list: Yes
Would this be in my top 10 list: No
There's your 1989 kids. Decent enough top 10. On the commercial front, I think an honorary mention should go to Motley Crue's Dr. Feelgood, which is in fact, their best selling album, so if you want to play the gateway game, you can't leave them out of the discussion. Not to mention, sonically, Feelgood hits like a fucking truck. Matter of fact, there is a strong argument to be made that the production from Bob Rock (yup) changes the course of metal history. On the death metal front, I would have liked to see Repulsion's Horrified, as it's one of the most perfectly disgusting things you well ever heard. I also would have liked to see Obituary's Slowly We Rot, if for no other reason that extreme music can in fact be made in standard tuning. Not too much thrash here, I'm sure some Jersey boys are wondering where the hell The Years Of Decay is.
I'm also gonna throw out there that 1989 is where Tormentor's legendary Anno Domini demo/mixtape/album whatever-you-want-to-call-it rears it's terrifying head. (I'm not kidding, this album will scare the shit out of you). That release is what I like to call "1.5 wave black metal." That weird interim period where the first wave of black metal is over and done with but before a whole bunch of Norwegians decide to turn metal into Jerry Springer.
My alphabetized top 10:
BLACK SABBATH- HEADLESS CROSS
CANDLEMASS- TALES OF CREATION
CORONER- NO MORE COLOR
MORBID ANGEL- ALTARS OF MADNESS
OBITUARY- SLOWLY WE ROT
REPULSION- HORRIFIED
RUNNING WILD- DEATH OR GLORY
SCANNER- TERMINAL EARTH
SEPULTURA- BENEATH THE REMAINS
TORMENTOR- ANNO DOMINI
Next time, the nineties begin, yet it still strangely feels like 88-89.
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