Kai vs RYM metal charts: 1992

     Welcome to 1992, the year that gave us Turtles in Time for the Super Nintendo (it makes me weep that that is a dated reference).  1992 I also feel was the year that set the stage, for better or worse for heavy metal's future; commercial and underground.  I could argue it was the commercially most successful metal year, period (there's a reason America was genetically engineered into hating it in 1993).  Big part of that being fallout from 1991 successes, and another part of it having commercial successes of its own.  Of course depending on how elitist you are, you might consider those successes "not real metal."  Well you probably think only black and death are real metal so go rip entrails from your own virgin cunt, you virgin.....cunt.  I actually have no idea what's gonna end up where in this top 10.  Plus, given past records, I get the feeling a certain fulcrum point won't be appearing here.  I hope I'm wrong.  Let's go holy diving....

1. Rage Against The Machine- Rage Against The Machine

    ....huh.  Wasn't expecting this at all.  But now that I think about it, this is the most obvious #1 pick.  In any case, yes, this is a goddamn metal album.  It's Zach De La Rocha rapping over Tony Iommi riffs.  I don't understand how Morrigan and her lot can't accept that (granted she doesn't accept Van Halen either, go figure).  Much ado has been made about Tom Morello's lead style, but fuck you (I won't do what you tell me) I'm gonna make something about it too:  This should have been the next thing in lead guitar playing.  This should have been what Eddie was to the 80s, what Page was the 70s, etc., etc.  I'm not sure what glitch in the matrix occurred for this not to happen, systematic racism (Morello is black)?  Being so butthurt over a brand-new lead style taking over that the culture at large decides to kill lead guitar playing in general.  Fuck you America.  Fuck you so hard.  This style was taylor-made for the likes of Iowa, White Pony, Toxicity and other assorted mall garbage that is garbage because leads aren't there to anchor it, dividing instead of uniting.  And everyone wonders why metal and rock fractured into individual pieces unsustainable at high commercial levels on their own.  But yes, Rage Against The Machine is metal. 

Should this be in a top 10:  Yes

Would this be in my top 10:  No

2. Alice In Chains- Dirt

    This one's metal-ness is slightly more debatable than Rage Against the Machine because of the grunge associations.  One can't deny that Jerry and Layne weren't parading themselves around Judas Priest-style as heavy metal bands.  They certainly were aware of anti-metal social engineering tidal wave brewing, and caring more for themselves than their genre, swept their metal association under the rug as much as Pantera swept their glam past under the rug.  Much as I love them, songs like "Would" and "Rooster" definitely feel more Ten than Dehumanizer.  But "Them Bones" and the title track do more than make the case for the vice-versa.  Also, solos galore!  Not really innovative solos, but a giant middle finger to those who claim "the Seattle band's killed guitar solos."  Now that I think about it, there were solos all over Ten as well.

Should this be in a top 10:  Yes

Would this be in my top 10:  No

3. Darkthrone- A Blaze In The Northern Sky

    Very easily a #1 contender for 1992.  Second wave black metal starts right here (Burzum is also credited with helping reign in the era, but it's beaten to the market by Blaze by mere weeks).  Fenriz mutters about this album not being pure black metal, having death metal elements here and there, but that's hogwash.  The tuning is standard, the extreme vocals are high, the production is gloriously ass (Sydney Sweeney and Selena Quintanilla).  Conclusion: this ain't blackened death.  It's black metal with pagan winters where cold winds blow in the shadow of the horns.  A time-honored stone cold classic.

Should this be in a top 10:  Yes

Would this be in my top 10:  Yes

4. Bolt Thrower- The IVth Crusade

    Remember when I said 90% of Bolt Thrower's catalog is boring as hell?  About 5 percent of the non-boring songs are on this album.  Specifically three: the title track, "Spearhead," and the greatest Bolt Thrower song ever: "Where Next To Conquer."  This is the album that's known for abandoning all semblance of grindcore (i.e. blastbeats) and becoming almost doom like.  Great so after being all humdrum fast, they can be humdrum slow.  No way should this beat Legion.

Should this be in a top 10:  No

Would this be in my top 10:  No

5. Faith No More- Angel Dust

    I'm not a Faith No More fan.  Mike Patton's voice annoys me.  I'm told this album is heavily influential to nu-metal.  You'll forgive me for avoiding it for that very reason.  Didn't Jim Martin (supposedly the 'metal' part of this band) leave the band after this album cos his band had gone full retard?  You know what's wrong with the world?  Metal-archives thinks Faith No More is a metal band and Rage Against The Machine aren't.  And that asshole Patton has the nerve to complain about Wolfmother and retro-ism.  Motherfucker didn't you just make a thrash album with Dave Lombardo and Scott Ian?  That's retro.  Fuck you and the horse having sex with you.  Take your 8-octave range that's not as cool as Bruce Dickinson's 5-octave range and shove it up your ass.

Should this be in a top 10:  No

Would this be in my top 10:  No

6. Incantation- Onward to Golgotha

    Whew, that was a rough patch there for a minute.  THIS on the other hand, unequivocally rules.  Did you like the death/doom/sludge flirtations on Autopsy's Mental Funeral?  Then you will love, the nasty copulations between same on Onward To Golgotha.  What's heavier than Vulgar Display of Power?  THIS is heavier than Vulgar Display of Power, and I like Vulgar.  You want brutal?  This is brutal good sir.  Still shouldn't be above Legion though.

Should this be in a top 10:  Yes

Would this be in my top 10:  No

7. Neurosis- Souls At Zero

    I'll admit I haven't listened to Neurosis in a hot minute, but Souls At Zero is responsible for so, so much goodness.  They are a cornerstone of sludge, providing the lit fuse to detonate the explosion of the genre in the 00s, (as far as I'm concerned, the only redeeming genre of that cursed decade.  Even the amazing, revolutionary power metal bands of the 90s ran out of gas in the new millennium's first decade).  The final form of what Black Flag's 3rd form with the back half of My War.  Kinda sad that we'll never see this band again, what with Scott Kelly's fall from grace.  Could have been worse, he could have become a Nazi seeking attention whore.

Should this be in a top 10:  Yes

Would this be in my top 10:  No

8. Demolition Hammer- Epidemic of Violence

    A mouthful for sure, but this release justifies every syllable of that band name/album combination because holy fucker of mothers! There was a Muppet Show sketch called Muppet News Flash.  In one segment, the reporter describes a sports blimp exploding, containing 10,000 baseballs (and such falls on said muppet reporter's studio), and one bowling ball (which conks him right on the noggin and probably kills him).  I use that non-sequitur to because Epidemic of Violence is 10,000 bowling balls on your head.  It is also the heaviest album of 1992 (and I would, in fact, rank it above Legion).  No debate whatsoever, this album takes Vulgar Display of Power out back and gives it Berserk "Eclipse" treatment.  Shit, this makes 90s Pantera sound like 80s Pantera.  Songwriting?  That's for pussies.  Groove?  Lame.  Dynamics?  Isn't that chapter 7 of the Communist Manifesto?  Like Beneath The Remains a couple years before, no one can quite agree whether this is death metal or thrash metal.  Also like Beneath The Remains, I also say, "who the hell cares?"  

Should this be in a top 10:  Yes

Would this be in my top 10:  Yes

9. Kyuss- Blues For The Red Sun

    The story of Josh Homme, Nick Oliveri and co. begins here.  Stoner rock is always fun, but for whatever reason, this is a band that thinks solos aren't that big a deal.  I don't mean that they don't play solos like the 80s, I mean half this album doesn't have solos.  Kinda fucked.  Fun album, but I've heard better.

Should this be in a top 10:  No

Would this be in my top 10:  ....Yeah*

10. Sleep- Sleep's Holy Mountain

    Bit of an inverse Manilla Road situation here.  This album was released late in 1992 in the UK exclusively.  Well, streaming and sharing music wasn't what it is today 32 years ago.  This ain't a britbong blog, so as far as I'm concerned this should be a 1993 album.  I'm not too disappointed because Legion is in fact, NOT hovering below the top 10, it's Demigod's Slumber of Sullen Eyes, which is another "in one ear out the other, forget about it right afterwards" death metal album.  (at least Bolt Thrower managed to make three memorable songs on their 1992 go at it).

    Nonetheless, I. Fucking. Love. Sleep's. Holy. Mountain.  Absolutely cream of the crop, top of the line doom.  There's two things this album has that alot of bands worshipping at the altar of Black Sabbath don't, and they are intertwined somewhat: 1) The jazz overtones in the rhythmic section.  Bill Ward should be pleased. b) The random jazz speed-up section.  Black Sabbath had moments scattered over their first few albums where they would break-out into up tempo swing and kick massive amounts of ass in the process.  Frankly, these are the parts where kids should start moshing.  Fuck the break-down, give us the break-up!  No?  Jazz-up?  Notice how I said album and not band here.  Sleep would subsequently forget about this trait on future recordings and they aren't better for it.  The other elements are there of course: fuzzed tone, imitated-but-not-duplicated 70s Ozzy vocal tone, crushing riffs.  Doom in a nutshell is putting your own spin on Paranoid, and it's pretty awesome how many bands manage to get it right.  Strangely enough it seems the more one tries to be a clone, the better the result is (see also: Pentagram's Relentless)! 

Should this be in a top 10:  Yes

Would this be in my top 10:  Yes

    Well, I was right.  No Vulgar Display of Power here.  Just because I was making light hearted comparisons here and there doesn't mean I think it doesn't belong in the top 10.  Just saying that contrary to thousands of retard butt-rock fans, there are quite a few albums sonically heavier than Pantera (and Blaze In The Northern Sky isn't one of them, much as I love it).  

    Speaking of Blaze, that's the only black metal album on this whole list.  Granted there wasn't as much black metal in '92 as there was say, '94, but I figured there'd be more than one second wave black metal release.  If I were to guess, I'd say next year that movement will dominate the top 10.

    Given RYMs love for prog, no Images & Words either.  Unfortunately the more popular an album is, the more likely it is to get downvoted by hipsters.  Images & Words wouldn't make my top 10 albums either ("Pull Me Under" on the other hand would make the top 10 songs of '92.  Hell, it would make the top 10 songs of the decade!), but like I said RYM and prog usually go together hand in hand.

    Probably my least favorite top 10 of the year thus far.  Leans a little too "alternative" for my taste.  

As usual, my unordered to 10 for this year:

BLACK SABBATH- DEHUMANIZER

BLIND GUARDIAN- SOMEWHERE FAR BEYOND

DARKTHRONE- A BLAZE IN THE NORTHERN SKY

DEICIDE- LEGION

DEMOLITION HAMMER- EPIDEMIC OF VIOLENCE

IMMORTAL- DIABOLICAL FULLMOON MYSTICISM

RUNNING WILD- PILE OF SKULLS

SODOM- TAPPING THE VEIN

PANTERA- VULGAR DISPLAY OF POWER

WASP- THE CRIMSON IDOL

*Actually no, but I had to make the joke. iykyk

Legion was #16, by the way.