Torchure - Beyond The Veil (1992)

Genre: Death Metal
Country: Germany

Maybe it's just because i'm so elite that i transcend eliteness, but it seems like all my favorite death metal albums are ones everyone forgot about.  This, in my honest opinion, is the single most overlooked death metal album ever recorded.  There aren't many death metal bands out there that mastered the genre quite as successfully as Torchure did with Beyond The Veil.  The songwriting here is better than pretty much any death metal album i can think of.  Not to mention all the riffs rule and it has the best keyboards ever on a death metal album.  This is another one of those albums that back ups my claim that if you have an instrumental keyboard track that's good enough to listen to on it's own then your album is probably fucking awesome.  This is essential listening, especially if you like your death metal with a little more direction than just riff after riff after riff.

beyond the veil

Brutality - Ruins of Humans (2013)

Genre: Death Metal

Country: United States

Your eyes are not deceiving you, you are not on an acid trip, this shit is fucking reality. Essential Floridian death metal band Brutality is back with a brand spanking new EP to smash your face in. These two tracks literally sound like they were pulled off of Screams of Anguish or When the Sky Turns Black. Why am I even adding stuff on? You should be checking this out already.

Holy Shit

Paysage d'Hiver - Das Tor (2013)

Genre: Ambient Black metal
Country: Switzerland

It's been six years in the making, but Das Tor is worth it. This is Paysage d'Hiver at its finest, with a bit of notable Darkspace moments to be found within the whirring, abrasive black metal assault. But don't worry all of you lovers of Winterherr, there are plenty of wind samples to please even the most jaded Paysage fan. It's a lot less ambient-focused as Einsamkeit, which I personally think is great news, and with tracks like "Ewig leuchten die Sterne" transcending the normal raw fury of Paysage's music into something truly three-dimensional, Das Tor should not be missed.

The Gate

Double Shot of NWOBHM

Slough Feg – The Traveller (2003)

Dawnbringer – Nucleus (2010)

Genre: NWOBHM
Country: United States

To say the newest Darkthrone album isn’t overhyped would be outrageous. I personally think it’s bothersome to see a new legion of metalheads bowing to this as the best thing to happen to NWOBHM and its stirred me up to give you my personal favourites from this subgenre; the ones who don’t fuck the shit out of their influences but simply grace their majestic, galloping song structures with amazing song writing skill. Slough Feg and Dawnbringer are the clear leaders in this pack of revisionists who often outdo their older contemporaries by leaps and bounds. Don’t believe me? Grab these albums and you will surely be forgetting that Darkthrone, as good as Fenriz’s metal cred is, will never fully grab my ears with this style of music. Your masters await!

Slough Feg
Dawnbringer

Obliteration - Nekropsalms (2009)

Genre: Death Fucking Metal
Country: Norway

This is seriously the best fucking record i've ever heard.  There's not one riff on this entire album that isn't 5/5 stars holy fucking shit.  Every good part of every good death metal band that every played is on this record, and lo and behold it wasn't even on this blog yet?  I CANT STAND FOR THIS.  Seriously i listen to this record more than any other DM record i own and who would have thought its straight out of fucking 2009?  Those vox are like the best thing ever oh my god get this right now i'll even link you to the vinyl which is like $10 (we'll $12 if you god the chemical yellow one like i did).  Seriously if you don't already have this record its time to reevaluate your music tastes.

VINYL

UGH

Nonsun - Good Old Evil (2012)

Genre: Sludge/Drone/Doom Metal
Country: Ukraine

This was sent to me recently by Bohdon Goatooth (awesome name), a member of the band. It is a bleak, harsh mixture of stoner sludge (reminiscent of Sleep, Electric Wizard, etc.), post-metal (ala Neurosis at times) and drone (a bit of an Earth-esque or even Sunn O))) vibe). If any of these bands tickle your fancy (which they should), get on this as soon as possible. This band certainly has bright prospects if this kind/quality of stuff continues to be produced in the future.

Preview/Download (BC)
Download (MF)

Undersave - Now...Submit Your Flesh to the Master's Imagination (2012)

Genre: Death Metal

Country: Portugal

Here's some top-notch old school death metal from Portugal, the land of surfing waves the height of 8 story buildings...seriously if you don't believe me, search it up on Youtube. Fans of Obliteration, Necrovation, Ataraxy and other such gems recently, as well as any lover of old school death metal in general should get a kick out of the plethora of riffs and at times, strange time signatures and complex patterns within this album. This would've certainly been on my EOTY list had I known about it sooner. Highly recommended, this thing kicks all kinds of ass.

Preview/Buy

Download