Kai vs RYM metal charts: 1998
1998 was when classic heavy/power metal started to have a strong enough foothold to fight the falseness of detuned nu chug crap and record executive Epstein money laundering. We also saw old-timey death metal have a bit of a last gasp before evolving into "brutal death" the same way heavy metal evolved into power metal. How much of that is reflected here will be a crap shoot as usual. I got my fingers crossed for one power metal classic in particular, but RYM users are as much of a disappointment to me as they are to their parents. Let's go holy diving....
1. Death- The Sound of Perseverance
Ugh. You know, there's Death albums that you're kinda supposed to grow out of, and Sound Of Perseverance is one of them. I'll admit I liked this album when I first got into Death despite hearing Scream Bloody Gore first (forget night and day, this disparity is summer and winter), but it's just so....plastic. Death metal is supposed to be the snuffiest kind of horror movie that people think you're sick in the head for liking, not gateway for hipsters. I mean really, tell me "Voice Of the Soul" is remotely metal. Soul my ass, Chuck's heart was not in this at all, wanting Symbolic to be Death's final statement and to move onto his Control Denied project (whose's partially recorded second effort has still yet to be released to the public). I'll admit this as slightly more entertainment value than Spiritual Healing, which was just a sad emptying of what little true death metal energy was left in Chuck's tank. Hell, I'd rather listen to Sound of Perseverance over Individual Thought Patterns, which was just proof that musicians with hype do not great albums make. This is NOT one of the last gasps of the old death metal guard.
Should this be on a top 10: No
Would this be on my top 10: No
2. Gorguts- Obscura
I know nothing about Gorguts, but I feel like it's cut from the same cloth as Sound of Perseverance. I also feel like it's somehow less of a disappointment because it's not a father of death metal flaming out. Luc's vocals, while gutural, have this high yelp to it that's somewhat similar to Martin Van Drunen, but not being as good. I'll give this a pass for now.
Should this be on a top 10: Possibly
Would this be on my top 10: No
3. Incantation- Diabolical Conquest
Now this is the premier death album of 1998. Yeah, Diabolical Conquest is pretty much Onward to Golgotha 2, but after the strangeness of Mortal Throne of Nazarene's production and Upon The Throne of Apocalypse's strange reversal of track-listing, Onward To Golgotha 2 was just what Incantation needed. And it's not like they aren't trying new things, like penning a 16 minute demented sun-storm known as "Unto Infinite Twilight/Majesty of Infernal Damnation!" This IS one of the last gasps of the old death metal guard.
Should this be on a top 10: Yes
Would this be on my top 10: Yes
4. Opeth- My Arms, Your Hearse
Lol, all the bumbling toxicity and extreme cluelessness in Opeth's fanbase and it's taken them 3 albums to make it to something like this. Progressive death metal. What a joke. Hell the aforementioned "Unto Infinite Twilight/Majesty of Infernal Damnation" is proper death metal done under a progressive idea. There was already progressive death metal, it was called technical death metal. While a little soulless at times, Gorguts and latter-day Death understood extremity a hell of a lot more than Opeth ever did. Yes as much as I just put down Sound of Perseverance, I'd rather listen to that than this.
Should this be on a top 10: No
Would this be on my top 10: No
5. System of a Down- System of a Down
Speaking of toxicity (lol not quite)...alright, I was never a System of a Down fan either. I'll admit they had their strengths (Serj's incredible voice and lyrics, somehow figuring out how to mix Frank Zappa and D.R.I.), and they were certainly the least shit out of late 90s-00s Ozzfest core, but somehow they never quite hit the mark for me. That said, I'd be lying if I didn't say "Sugar" was a fun little blast of stupidity.
Should this be on a top 10: Yes
Would this be on my top 10: No
6. Dawn- Slaughtersun (Crown of the Triarchy)
Another one I haven't heard completely, but the subgenre says "melodic black metal," which, done properly, is another in a long line Dissection clones. Now Dissection clones, are, by nature, a good thing. But I feel like this nuclear explosion album cover that is orange, and therefore, not blue, violates some law of quantum physics. Therefore, out of respect for Sir Issac Newton, I will declare this should also not be in a top 10 over the likes of Nightfall In Middle Earth, Oceanborn, and The Rivalry, to name three.
Should this be on a top 10: No
Would this be on my top 10: No
7. Rotting- Crushed
This is apparently a one-album wonder of an early 90s (so 5 years previous) Swedish death metal sound made by Canadians. This sounds like the kind of thing that Fantano hipsters would review bomb better albums to make room for things like this. Sorry, but nah.
Should this be on a top 10: No
Would this be on my top 10: No
8. Blind Guardian- Nightfall In Middle-Earth
I don't know whether or not to be relieved that RYM was smart enough to let this make the top 10 or be stupid enough to have it only be #8. It's also funny how most of these extreme metal kiddos hate power metal for reasons of madrigal and renaissance fair texture, yet here's the textbook example of where most of that started from. "Well when Blind Guardian does it, it's ok!" No, you're just a stupid hypocrite that likes brand names and only likes brand names that Fantano tells you to like. Regardless, Nightfall in Middle Earth is hailed as classic for a reason, with two of the greatest stadium singalongs to come from Germany since "Rock You Like A Hurricane" and "Balls To The Wall." Whilst not my favorite BG album (the madrigal-ness can be a tad grating sometimes), it makes me long for a time when Iced Earth and Blind Guardian toured Ozzfest 98 and let America know that classic metal still mattered.
Should this be on a top 10: Yes
Would this be on my top 10: Yes
9. Crowbar- Odd Fellows Rest
The fact that it's taken Crowbar this long to show up in a top 10 metal list from RYM is criminal. Hell the fact that it's taken til 9 for any stoner/sludge to show up is criminal. This is real heaviness, made by heavy people, and by heavy I mean fat. Except for the drummer. Another law of quantum physics is that a band of fat people must have a skinny drummer, according to professors Beavis and Butthead. Crowbar rule.
Should this be on a top 10: Yes
Would this be on my top 10: No
10. Bruce Dickinson- Chemical Wedding
Thank fucking God. I was really worried for a minute. Hell, this 8,9 and 10 should be 1998 metal's 1, 2 and 3! But back to Brucey. This is the second and final solo album he would make with Roy Z and fellow Ex-Iron Maiden compatriot Adrian Smith would make before rejoining Iron Maiden, and dare I say, this is better than anything Iron Maiden have made since (with the sometimes exception of Brave New World). The fascinating thing is, lyrically Bruce is still stuck in wizards and potions land, but musically, this is pretty much a Disturbed record that happens to have Bruce and Adrian on it. Wait, scratch that, this is Disturbed if it was actually good. Ok its not a nu-metal record at all, but it's one nu-metal should be, and not for nothing, it's got plenty of moments the Ozzfest crowd should love by any other band. Seriously, stare in awe (and wreck your neck) at the groovy bass breakdown of "Book of Thel!" Marvel at the "Down With The Sickness"-esque off time nature of "Killing Floor." Delight at the twisting "Flash of the Blade" like guitar stacking at the much more controlled "The Tower" with a feel Deftones and Korn would probably use for whatever they would cook up for 1999. Did I mention the whole thing is in dropped lower tunings? The Chemical Wedding is as "modern" as a traditional metal album can get while not sacrificing the critical musical ideals that make it the greatest music ever made. This is proof that it absolutely could change and stay the same. And Bruce's vocals...Jesus christ does he sound fucking fantastic here or what? No he doesn't sound like mid 80s Powerslave Bruce anymore. He sounds better. His standard range is definitely dropped from the likes of "2 Minutes To Midnight" and "Flight Of Icarus," yet he still is able to nail those songs (both on that tour and when he goes back to Maiden), just in a much different, and frankly, warmer way. If you were turned off by his vibrato (nerd) on the 80s albums, I highly recommend you give his performance here a shot. And hell give Chemical Wedding a shot. It just might be your gateway to better music!
Should this be on a top 10: As if I couldn't make it obvious.
Would this be on my top 10: As if I couldn't make it obvious.
Closing thoughts: The other last gasp of great old guard death metal is Morbid Angel's Formulas Fatal To The Flesh, which ranked #13. On the one hand, meme logic dictates thats exactly where it should be, but on the other hand, that's only ok if My Arms Your Hearse, Crushed and The Sound Of Perseverance are 16, 15, and 14, respectively. As in below it. Also, you'll sadly have noticed Meshuggah has not showed up at all not only this year, but the previous years where they had albums released (1993 and 1995, respectively). Makes me wonder if all these fans of theirs only care a bout the meme.
And yeah, I'll fuckin say it (again, I said it already lol), Nightwish fuckin belongs here. Wah female vocals, wah classical singing it still paved the way for symphonic metal (despite being power metal) and the modern metal woman while Amy Lee was only then stumbling out of Christian summer camp. I'll shit on "Wish I Had An Angel" and "Amaranth" as much as the next elitist does, but guess what? Those two crappy songs ain't on there!
Not really much to say other than yay no nu-metal I guess, but what was even out from that year? Follow The Leader? I feel like I'd rather listen to that than Opeth.
My alphabetically ordered top 10 for the year:
BLIND GUARDIAN- NIGHTFALL IN MIDDLE EARTH
BRUCE DICKINSON- CHEMICAL WEDDING
GRAVE DIGGER- KNIGHTS OF THE CROSS
HAMMERFALL- LEGACY OF KINGS
HELLOWEEN- BETTER THAN RAW
INCANTATION- DIABOLICAL CONQUEST
MESHUGGAH- CHAOSPHERE
MORBID ANGEL- FORMULAS FATAL TO THE FLESH
NIGHTWISH- OCEANBORN
RUNNING WILD- THE RIVALRY
Join me next time for the year where nu-metal reaches pop level superstardom yet none of those albums appear in RYMs top 10, to the chagrin of Tik-tok losers who should have gotten their asses kicked by their parents as much as the original fanbase did.
Comments
Post a Comment