Hey, so, yeah, this nation is about to celebrate its SEMIQUINCENTENNIAL, which is a very fancy way of saying “America is celebrating the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.” Needless to say, it’s sort of a big deal, but it also has this strange way of feeling like less of a big deal because… Well, who the hell wants to party like it’s 1776 when the overall climate is this volatile and the lines between parties remains this divisive? Sure, that’s not exactly anything new, but it’s been a hot minute since we’ve experienced, like, fully fractured families because of political affiliations. But hey, at least now we can blame skyrocketing gas prices for ditching the summer reunion instead of faking yet another injury, right? Find blessings inside of failures and YOU WILL, BY GOD, live a happier life.
Still, 250 years… That’s a hell of a milestone that’s difficult to ignore. Consequently, it came up a couple few weeks ago as the Last Rites Illuminati sat around a giant oak table at LR HQ and someone very suddenly remarked, “Pass the carrots, please, you thick Yank. Also, do you guys think we should find a clever way to celebrate the 4th of July this year?” And thus the concept for this series of articles didst bubble forth and into our collective brains.
The premise is pretty simple: Celebrate 250 OF THE BEST AMERICAN METAL ALBUMS EVER —one album per band only. Did we take a few liberties with some records that push into hard rock? You bet your sweet ass we did!
Sweet ’n’ spicy, no? Unfortunately, time was a bit of an issue, because we never seem to think of anything with plenty of room to scramble. As a result, do not expect an ordered list (mercifully) that somehow manages to rank the albums, and know that—as much as we would have liked to—we simply did not have time to blurb about every single record (whew).
That being said, we are writers, for the most part, so we decided that each day’s corresponding list of 50 would also highlight a handful of albums with a casual blurb, all picked randomly by the cuddly LR staff. To be clear, the blurbed records you will see this week are not considered “better” or “more deserving of words” compared to the others, they’re simply… random albums we opted to underscore, pure and simple. Ya dig? Cool cool cool.
Also, we obviously had to lay down some definitive rules for “American metal albums,” so we decided to make it as simple as possible and set the parameters thusly: The band’s origin must be these United States of America. So, as an example, although most of us now consider The Chasm to be an American death metal band, their launch in Mexico disqualifies them from admission. (Side note: LISTEN TO MORE THE CHASSSSMMMMM.)
Clear as a swarm of Midwestern midges on a hot July night? Beautiful. Let’s dive into PART ONE.
And hey, Happy 250th, America, you loopy ol’ buzzard, you. [CAPTAIN]
Cannibal Corpse – Kill
Deadguy – Fixation On A Co-Worker
Orodruin – Epicurean Mass
Rage Against The Machine – Rage Against The Machine
The roots of Rage Against the Machine are similar to those of so much metal: blues rock, Zeppeliny riffs (and riffs upon riffs upon glorious Tom Morello riffs), Priest swagger, and a rhythm section so heavy the drummer was recruited to play in actual Black Sabbath. And holy lord the riffs. Did we mention the riffs? Morello puts on a clinic for how to hook the listener immediately, from the throwdown of opener “Bombtrack” through the necksnapping goodness of the main riff in “Know Your Enemy” all the way through to the opening motif of “Freedom” (good enough to make you ignore your prejudice against drop-D tuning). That they top it all off with rapping – itself one of the most quintessential American art forms – is only icing on the riff cake. Oh, you don’t think this belongs anywhere near a metal list? Fuck you, I won’t do what you tell me. [ZACH DUVALL]
Midnight – Satanic Royalty
Disincarnate – Dreams Of The Carrion Kind
Hammers Of Misfortune – The August Engine
A diamond in the American heavy metal underground crown, Hammers Of Misfortune made their indelible mark with a sound and style that can only really be accurately described by referencing the band that made it. The August Engine embodies this paradox as one of the genre’s most unique albums, even as it’s crafted from the requisite parts. Impeccable riffs and leads generate a traditional metal lattice to be interlaced with folk melodies and harmonies that feel as old as the hills, and John Cobbett’s songwriting sets those hooks deep by matching the mood of the music to lyrics that touch on the ache of sorrow and loneliness, social disillusionment, and the solemn magic of nature. And, as perhaps the greatest testament to its excellence, The August Engine sounds and feels every bit as rebelliously avant-garde 23 years on. [LONE WATIE]
Brocas Helm – Defender Of The Crown
Earthless – Rhythms From A Cosmic Sky
Cinderella – Night Songs
Vicious Rumors – Digital Dictator
Yo, this smokes. Vicious Rumors, the band, is new to me, although the concept of vicious rumors is, unfortunately, not: Whatever they tell you, I didn’t know it was a pig. Digital Dictator, the California quintet’s second full-length, was first released on Shrapnel Records, which should clue you into the kind of shred that’s waiting to guitar your face off. Indeed, everyone comes to play, particularly the supreme six-string tandem of Geoff Thorpe and Mark McGee. That said, don’t discount the superb songwriting that puts everyone’s skills to good use, avoiding the typical guitar-slinger’s fate of technically impressive empty calories. Nope, Vicious Rumors isn’t an amp-humper; instead, it crafts powered-up heavy metal that’s catchier than swine flu. Or so I’ve been told. [SETH BUTTNAM]
Human Remains – Using Sickness As A Hero
Metallica – Ride The Lightning
Withered – Dualitas
Pentagram – Relentless
Sentinel Beast – Depths Of Death
Sentinel Beast’s lone album lives in that perfectly chewy landscape where it bites hard enough for thrash, spits mean enough for punk, blazes fast and rudely enough for speed, and churns the melodic stomp enough for traddy heavy metal while never committing to one particular camp or the other. In that way, it sometimes reminds me of Metal Church’s self-titled debut album, even though Debbie Gunn’s vocals make the more likely reference points those from fellow warriors like Dawn Crosby (RIP) in Détente, Lynda “Tam” Simpson in Sacrilege, and Nicole Lee in Znöwhite. But hell, a tune like “Dogs of War” could almost be a crude Norwegian black/thrash assault à la Aura Noir, so you may take away whatever you bring with you. The closing cover of Maiden’s “Phantom of the Opera” done at about 150% speed really lays it out: Can we do cool shit like that and FAST? They can; they did. Come get it. [DAN OBSTKRIEG]
Crowbar – Odd Fellows Rest
Cirith Ungol – King Of The Dead
W.A.S.P. – W.A.S.P.
Dropdead – Dropdead (1993)
I don’t consider myself an angry person, although I certainly have my moments. And yet, I gravitate towards some of the angriest music out there, and the more raging and furious, well… oftentimes, that’s for the better. Crusty Rhode Island grindcore / hardcore outfit Dropdead absolutely fits that bill, and has been among my favorites for decades now, and this, their first of three self-titled full-length salvos so far, is a prime example of why. Absolutely relentless across its twenty-four minutes — with thirty-four songs in all — Dropdead builds upon a hardcore punk framework but ratcheted up to metal levels of intensity. This is the sound of a Siege-esque ferocity, of Bob Otis’ sociopolitical activist fury, and more than anything, of an energy level almost unparalleled, and in that combination, Dropdead becomes a true landmark to righteous anger. Tear down the system; free your minds; love your four-legged friends (all of them); fight the fucking power; be a better person. These are the lessons contained within — learn them, and let’s all be angry and better together. [ANDREW EDMUNDS]
Cauldron Born – Born Of The Cauldron
Anacrusis – Screams And Whispers
Symphony X – The Divine Wings Of Tragedy
Crescent Shield – The Last Of My Kind
If you’re the sort of trad metal fan that thrives on deep dives into our realm’s innermost clefts and chasms, you’re likely already quite familiar with the brief but mighty crater left behind by LA USPM hitters Crescent Shield. And if they still remain a mystery, just know that Crescent Shield spent a handful of years across the early-ish 2000s as one of the more under-appreciated modern US power acts to ever roam these lands. The band was launched by one-time Destiny’s End (great band) axelord Dan Delucie (where is he now??) and former Onward vocalist Michael Grant (RIP; forever missed), and they produced two absolute noggin-crackers for any and all parties interested in fist-pumping fantasy / futurist trad metal that throws a very dignified bow to classic mid-80s’ US power. Both albums are very deserving of a list such as this, but The Last of My Kind wins out simply because it happened to hit our skulls first. [CAPTAIN]
Deicide – Deicide
Ministry – Psalm 69
Assück – Misery Index
Botch – We Are The Romans
Obsequiae – Aria Of Vernal Tombs
Including Obsequiae’s uber-melodic brand of medieval melodic black metal—which sounds vaguely European—on a list of best American heavy metal feels … a little awkward. And Aria of Vernal Tombs has inspired, at least in part, some adjacent movements in regions of the world that are decidedly not American. But there’s no doubt that it belongs on this list.
When Obsequiae released Aria of Vernal Tombs, most were fairly hip to what the band was up to, the debut having been given an extra push a year prior by 20 Buck Spin. Yet Aria hit just a little bit harder. And it had a sway to it that was just a little bit more alluring.
I don’t know that people were using this descriptor then, but in revisiting Aria, I was struck by how beautiful most of it was. An enchanting, special record. [CHRIS C]
Nocturnus – The Key
Warhorse – As Heaven Turns To Ash
Mastodon – Remission
Crimson Glory – Crimson Glory
Monstrosity – Millennium
Why it belongs: For all we talk about the Tampa Death Metal “sound,” step back and consider the wild diversity the scene produced: Decide, Morbid Angel, Obituary … little binds these bands beyond their emergence on the dangling proboscis on Florida’s western coast. And yet, somehow, Monstrosity seems to cohere it all. The jagged riffing of the Benton Boys, the stop-on-a-dime compositional dipsy-dos of Trey’s gang, even the dreadful doominess found on the Executioner’s songs. On Millennium, Monstrosity sounds a little bit like all of their peers, and in doing so they were able to create a sonic monument that’s distinctly their own.
What’s the most American thing about Monstrosity: Unlike European artists, who receive an annual dispensation from the politburo to produce Xeroxes of Dark Medieval Times, Monstrosity still look and play like a group of dudes who need to push their practice amps to the back corner of their garage to make room for the new landscaping truck they just financed. [DAVID FONSECA]
Vital Remains – Let Us Pray
Realm – Endless War
Megadeth – Peace Sells… But Who’s Buying?
Isis – Panopticon
Brodequin – Methods Of Execution
Methods of Execution simultaneously evokes the sound of bones snapping and cracking from a torture rack and the chilling sound of a guillotine dropping onto the neck of a suspecting victim. Raw, fast, and downright disgusting, Brodequin set the stage for what brutal death metal could be in terms of production and repulsiveness on LP number three.
I understand why they stepped away for roughly two decades.
Truth be told, there really isn’t a bad Brodequin album. However, Methods of Execution’s maximum level of Tennessee grit and mugginess create the atmosphere of an actual march to the electric chair, or whichever method of execution you prefer. “Slaves to the Pyre” opens like a bat out of hell, and it pretty much beats you over the head for the next half hour. Spin in agony from “The Gridiron’s” swirling riffs, succumb to the stoning drums on “Cast into Torment,” or the suffocating vocals that sound like final gasps for air on “Punishment Without Mercy,” but no matter which path you choose, you’ll find yourself right back at the same conclusion: this thing is BDM perfection and one of America’s greats. [BLIZZARD OF JOZZSH]
Old Man Gloom – Seminar III: Zozobra
Znöwhite – Act Of God
Neurosis – Through Silver In Blood
SubRosa – No Help For The Mighty Ones
You didn’t think we’d write up America and forget about the Mormons, did you? Dumb, dumb, dumb (IYKYK). The violin was certainly not new to the world of heavy metal by the time this Utah quintet’s sophomore release came out in 2011, but few bands had made it so focal and essential to the writing. The core sound SubRosa worked from was sun-baked doom that they elevated to a significantly moodier, somber and moving affair with the integral work of Kim Pack and Sarah Pendleton. The riffs hit hard, while the violins snake in and out of the significant space the rest of the musicians afford them. The more workmanlike style of singing also gives everything a more folksy lilt, but in the telling of tales of yore way, rather than the bouncy accordion sense of the word.
No Help For The Mighty Ones was permanently seared into my brain after I listened to it during a stretch of a 28-hour bus ride that was rolling through a desert that was literally engulfed in flames. Beauty met rage and power in nature, and SubRosa had crafted the perfect soundtrack. [SPENCER HOTZ]
Wolves In The Throne Room – Two Hunters
Leviathan – The Tenth Sub Level Of Suicide
Arsis – A Celebration Of Guilt
Racer X – Street Lethal
High On Fire – Blessed Black Wings
Though High on Fire’s first two albums were excellent. Bill Anderson’s murky production kept the band chained to Sleep’s legacy. For album number three, Blessed Black Wings, the band put its most ferocious batch of songs to date in the capable hands of Steve Albini, and the results were career-defining. Albini didn’t necessarily clean things up — this is a noisy, raucous record, to be sure — but he found a way to let each part punch through the mix and right into your face, most notably Des Kensel’s drums, which reach Bonham levels of thunder. As for the songs, they are as heavy as ever, but there is both more melody, and, crucially, more speed and aggression. Blessed Black Wings is High on Fire at its peak. [JEREMY MORSE]
Monster Magnet – Spine Of God
Manilla Road – Crystal Logic
THE FIRST 50
Cannibal Corpse – Kill
Deadguy – Fixation On A Co-Worker
Orodruin – Epicurian Mass
Rage Against The Machine – Rage Against The Machine
Midnight – Satanic Royalty
Disincarnate – Dreams Of The Carrion Kind
Hammers Of Misfortune – The August Engine
Brocas Helm – Defender Of The Crown
Earthless – Rhythms From A Cosmic Sky
Cinderella – Night Songs
Vicious Rumors – Digital Dictator
Human Remains – Using Sickness As A Hero
Metallica – Ride The Lightning
Withered – Dualitas
Pentagram – Relentless
Sentinel Beast – Depths Of Death
Crowbar – Odd Fellows Past
Cirith Ungol – King Of The Dead
W.A.S.P. – W.A.S.P.
Dropdead – Dropdead
Cauldron Born – Cauldron Born
Anacrusis – Screams And Whispers
Symphony X – The Divine Wings Of Tragedy
Crescent Shield – The Last Of My Kind
Deicide – Deicide
Ministry – Psalm 69
Assück – Misery Index
Botch – We Are The Romas
Obsequiae – Aria Of Vernal Tombs
Nocturnus – The Key
Warhorse – As Heaven Turns To Ash
Mastodon – Remission
Crimson Glory – Crimson Glory
Monstrosity – Millennium
Vital Remains – Let Us Pray
Realm – Endless War
Megadeth – Peace Sells… But Who’s Buying?
Isis – Panopticon
Brodequin – Methods Of Execution
Old Man Gloom – Seminar III: Zozobra
Znöwhite – Act Of God
Neurosis – Through Silver In Blood
SubRosa – No Help For The Mighty Ones
Wolves In The Throne Room – Two Hunters
Leviathan – The Tenth Sub Level Of Suicide
Arsis – A Celebration Of Guilt
Racer X – Street Lethal
High On Fire – Blessed Black Wings
Monster Magnet – Spine Of God
Manilla Road – Crystal Logic
