Five good albums you probably never heard of (’90s edition)

Vicky

To make this introduction brief, I am just going to say that I realised these days that the ’90s as a decade had marvelous music, both Rock, and in Metal. Given that there were so many great albums released during that time, I’ve decided to make a short list containing five of my personal favorites – that are also sometimes overlooked. Let’s dig into these five underrated masterpieces.

A little note: they were arranged alphabetically to avoid calling an LP better than another. All of these albums have their own unique approach to Metal and they all deserve recognition.

I. Altar – Born Again (1998, MediaPro Music, Nü/Thrash Metal)

Altar is a Romanian band from the Cluj-Napoca city. Its sound is much in the vein of Sepultura. Born Again is an LP that has mostly got Christian lyrics. However it is a testament made by Altar to the young, often chaotic generation, and simultaneously it represents a shift in its sound. Due to its predecessor, Respect, Altar received the title “band of the year” in 1995 (in Romania). Born Again was then followed by the critically acclaimed Atitudine, an album with anarchic, sort of Punk-like lyrics and a more experimental sound. I’ve actually chosen this album because, in my opinion, the time period 1995-2007 was Altar’s peak and meanwhile Respect or Atitudine focused more on the lyrics rather than on the music, Born Again is a very well balanced album. We need more LPs like it in the 2020s too!

II. Atrocity – Todessehnsucht (1992, Roadrunner Records, Technical Death Metal)

Atrocity released its second album, Todessehnsucht (also known as Longing for Death in some countries), in the same year when other praised projects would produce and make available some of their best albums – Pantera’s Vulgar Display of Power, Cannibal Corpse’s Tomb of the Mutilated, My Dying Bride’s As The Flower Withers, Iron Maiden’s Fear of the Dark, W.A.S.P.’s The Crimson Idol, and various others. Todessehnsucht, however, has odds in being considered a tad superior to those albums from certain points of view that I am going to explain below. Even though I have said that this LP is Technical Death Metal, its prelude (the title track) has symphonic influences. It’s then followed by the energetic tracks “Godless Years” and “Unspoken Names”, both considered to have pioneered the Technical Death Thrash Metal style. Then we must also mention the cover Atrocity did of Death’s “Archangel”. Its lyrics nonetheless have been rewritten, due to the fact that the original ones cannot be found that easily.

III. My Dying Bride – Like Gods of the Sun (1996, Peaceville Records, Doom/Gothic Metal)

I assume that many Doom Metalheads and goths are going to disagree, but I’m just going to say it bluntly: Like Gods of the Sun is the second best My Dying Bride album, right after As The Flower Withers (1992). Like Gods of the Sun is arguably a lot more “relaxed” than As The Flower Withers, and it features two of the best romantic tracks in the history of Metal as an overall genre: “For You” and “A Kiss to Remember”. The thing that makes it unforgettable though is the fact that it even has a remix on it (and it’s a pretty good one, too: “Grace Unhearing”, Portishell Remix). It was so good that later on MDB included it on their Meisterwerk 1 best of collection. To give my personal opinion on the overall album, it’s a great Doom piece of art from start to finish. There aren’t any dull moments, a thing which can make anyone feel glad. My favourite track off it is “The Dark Caress”, a slightly more symphonic track with powerful lyrics.

IV. Rage – Black in Mind (1995, GUN Records, Speed/Power/Symphonic Thrash Metal)

For those of you who know me better, you might have already known that I’ve practically grown up with Rage’s music. I can always find a refuge in Rage’s tracks (unintended pun – who knows, knows). Meanwhile I could have chosen literally any of the albums that make up The Lingua Mortis Trilogy (Lingua Mortis, Ghosts and XIII), I wanted to talk to you a bit about Black in Mind because of its depth. It features the very complexe ballad “All This Time”, which I have grown very fond of over the years. This is one of the last Speed/Power albums released by Rage, however you will find that they have made symphonic renditions of tracks off this album (“Sent by the Devil”, one of the best songs the band has ever released, comes to mind), that you MUST listen to. They are brilliant and they are a game-changer for both Power/Speed/Thrash Metal, and for Symphonic Metal.

V. Silentium – Infinita Plango Vulnera (1999, Spikefarm Records, Symphonic Gothic/Doom Metal)

Silentium’s debut album, Infinita Plango Vulnera, was much more than a plain LP, it was a great source of inspiration for bands to come. Also, it showcased the talent of Matti Aikio (Silentium’s late vocalist, bassist, songwriter, and lyricist) and of the other band members. If you will, Infinita Plango Vulnera is one of the few Doom/Goth Metal albums of the ’90s that actually didn’t receive the recognition it deserved.

Meanwhile we can talk about a contrast of the beauty and the beast type (find out more about it somewhere in this article. We have to mention that the male vocals are both harsh, and clean. This gives the band unicity and it makes it stand out at all times. If you listen to this album, you feel like you are a part of a whole new world, and the members of Silentium help you see everything there clearly. Just check out “Forever Sleep”, “Maiden of the Forest” and “At The Dawn I Wept”, and you’ll know what I mean.

I am genuinely hoping that you are going to listen to these five great underrated albums of the ’90s. Without them the world would be a slightly darker and more melancholic place. As long as we have beautiful underground gems of Metal, we “can never die”, as Fleshgod Apocalypse would say. May the force of the ’90s be with you!