Kai vs RYM metal charts: 1995

    1995: the year where Gen-X Boomers either graduated college/popped out a kid and henceforth metal died.  Mind you metal wasn't in a great commercial state, but it was still producing quality works.  The question is do RYM know their ass from their elbow when it comes to metal from '95?  Let's go holy diving...


1. Death- Symbolic

    So this isn't just #1 for the metal chart, this is #1 on the 1995 charts period.  See for yourself.  I...just can't agree with that.  #2 is legendary Wu-Tang Clan solo effort Liquid Swords, and I think I would rank that higher than I would Symbolic.  It's darker, bloodier, grimier, and if a hip-hop album is bloodier and grimier than a death metal album, something's wrong.  I was very much a "only the first two Death albums are good, but Symbolic is still a guilty pleasure" kinda guy.  But now?  Internet overpraise has kinda ruined this album for me.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not such an inverted snob that because something's popular I think it's bad (the internet also loves Reign In Blood and Rust In Peace, as it should).  But at some point you just start pushing back and go "meh, it's not that good."  I will say that there are still some fun songs on Symbolic (and calm down, Crystal Mountain is indeed one of them), and its probably the last solid Death album, and I have good reason to believe the next one will be high up for that year and I'll explain why when we get to it.  

Should this be on a top 10: 9 or 10 at best

Would this be on my top 10: No


2. Dissection- Storm Of The Light's Bane

    This, on the other hand, stomps all kinds of ass.  A very, worthy contender for album of the year overall.  And yes, it's a black metal album you elitist incels.  And also yes, it is better than its predecessor, The Somberlain (a classic in its own right).  I'm sick of these dick-brain retards acting like catchy songwriting is bad songwriting.  And yes, Jon Nodveidt killed somebody.  How many of your favorite rappers killed someone again?  Yeah I thought so.  Storm of The Light's Bane, like it's predecessor, is high fidelity, slickly produced (but not sterile), yet ice cold classic black metal with blast beats galore.  Anyone who claims there's no songwriting in black metal, you play them this and watch them cope and seethe.  

Should this be on a top 10: Yes

Would this be on my top 10: Yes


3. Suffocation- Pierced From Within

    This album gained a popularity surge in the 00s thanks to metal-archives reviewer Ultraboris.  Claiming to love it for more thrash tendencies than slam tendencies, if that makes any sense.  I do like Pierced From Within, more so than Symbolic in fact, but as I've described in previous years, it's a bit of an in-one-ear-out-the-other-how-does-that-go-again album. 

Should this be on a top 10: Yes

Would this be on my top 10: No


4. Ulver- Bergtatt Et eeventyr i 5 capitler

    I frequently forget that this snoozefest exists.  Do you like start-stop bumpy car-rides?  Then you'll love this crap.  Dumb acoustic interludes screeching things to a halt EVERY SONG is proof that Master of Puppets was a mistake.

Should this be on a top 10: No

Would this be on my top 10: No


5. Blind Guardian- Imaginations From The Other Side

    Now here's the real game changer.  While there were power metal albums before this (including Blind Guardian albums), they existed along side heavy metal.  1995, well ok, heavy metal did die in the sense that a) heavy-hitters were no longer on the forefront because of singer changes or bad albums (in Iron Maiden's case, both), b) people just stopped making that style, c) the principles of heavy metal that were quickly being eroded (by Pantera as an influence nonetheless) and the dropped flag was picked up and charged with by power metal.  Or to put it more simply: heavy metal evolved into power metal.  Imaginations From The Other Side is no left-over dinner reheat either. This a blending of heavy metal, speed metal and madrigal music, that last one definitely makes some Ozzy and Metallica fans squirm in their chairs a bit.  Imaginations is Blind Guardian masterpiece, and no top 10 of the 90s as a decade is complete without it.

Should this be on a top 10: Yes

Would this be on my top 10: Yes


6. Darkthrone- Panzerfaust

    Wasn't expecting to see this here.  Mainly because black metal pedagogy decrees only the "trilogy" counts as good Darkthrone, but it's like, the only reason it's even considered a trilogy is because the previous three albums have the same type of album cover: pitch black with band member negatives in a forest of some kind.  Point being, Panzerfaust is another great Darkthrone album, the fourth great black metal album in a row (fifth great album if you like Soulside Journey), and if this album needs to be in a top 10 to hammer that point home, so be it.  Not to mention worshipping Celtic Frost wasn't exactly "in" in 1995, and Panzerfaust does so with a real give no-fucks-attitude.

Should this be on a top 10: Yes

Would this be on my top 10: No


7. Molested- Blod-draum

    ....Who?  Another weed sprouting up cos of not enough hipsters downvoting.  Given how many nu-metal bands whine about sexual abuse, I'm surprised there wasn't a band called Molested.  Though to paraphrase Lemmy, you probably ain't gonna get a TRL with a name like that.

Should this be on a top 10: No

Would this be on my top 10: No


8. Faith No More- King For A Day... Fool For A Lifetime.

    Spoopy album cover. You think WCW got the idea for the NWO Wolfpack from it? Given RYMs 90s boner for Faith No More I'm kinda surprised we didn't see The Real Thing in the 1989 top 10.  It's a good thing we didn't (even though I'll admit "Epic" is a guilty pleasure), and we shouldn't see this for 1995. 

Should this be on a top 10: No

Would this be on my top 10: No


9. In Your Blood- Excessive Force

    ....Who? It's pretty obvious I'm not a metalcore person, but the names of the 90s and 00s you couldn't avoid even if you were under a rock (Life Of Agony's Ugly and Deadguy's Fixation on a Co-worker comes to mind).  I ain't never heard of no Excessive Force.

Should this be on a top 10: No

Would this be on my top 10: No


10. My Dying Bride- The Angel & The Dark River

    I like My Dying Bride but Angel & The Dark River is overrated.  They've got better albums than this.  Mainly the ones before it.  It's odd how death/doom fans think the more suicidal the music it is, the more boring and irritating it actually is.

Should this be on a top 10: No

Would this be on my top 10: No



Closing thoughts: As I said the last year, holy crap RYM users are stupid.  I imagined wrong thinking the better mixed version of Incantation's second album would be on here.  I know everyone's expecting to me to complain about only one power metal album in the top 10, and yes that's fake and ghey, but no Slaughter of the Soul?  No Mandylion?  No Demanufacture?  No Battles In The North?  No Die Healing, which RYM users make a big stink about being Saint Vitus's best album because Phil Anselmo says so?  Speaking of Phil Anselmo, no NOLA?  Yeah, this list has got serious problems.  This is as bad as one of the early 80s top 10s.  I guess Symbolic being the top album of music of the year should have been the giveaway.

My unordered, far superior (I usually keep that opinion to myself but in this case it's true) alphabetical top 10 of 1995:

AT THE GATES- SLAUGHTER OF THE SOUL

BLIND GUARDIAN- IMAGINATIONS FROM THE OTHER SIDE

CATHEDRAL- THE CARNIVAL BIZARRE

DISSECTION- STORM OF THE LIGHT'S BANE

DOWN- NOLA

GAMMA RAY- LAND OF THE FREE

IMMORTAL- BATTLES IN THE NORTH

MOTORHEAD- SACRIFICE

NECROMANTIA- SCARLET EVIL WITCHING BLACK

RUNNING WILD- MASQUERADE


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