Greatest Death Metal Album of Every Year Since 1985

What was the first death metal album? Possessed's Seven Churches or Death's Scream Bloody Gore? It's an age-old question. I’ll give the nod to Possessed for at the very least laying out the groundwork for death metal to come. Death metal has evolved in so many ways over the years. By my count, it's got nineteen different subgenres with thousands of bands! Please remember that if your favorite death metal album isn't here, it's because of how fierce the death competition was in the nineties, with new bands and new albums coming out every week back then. Feel free to share your picks in the comment section below!

Need more death metal? Check out my new death metal playlist on Spotify! It was recently revamped to include even more artists, all adding up to over 2,000 songs! Just hit shuffle and you’ll be learning about new bands while enjoying their music. I stayed away from having too much deathcore on the playlist, but there is some deathcore stuff, albeit a small amount.

Here’s the link: Death Metal *NEW REVISED EDITION*

Without further ado... let the moshing begin.

1985

Possessed - Seven Churches

Was Seven Churches the first death metal album? Yes. This album lays out, at least, the framework for what death metal would become just a couple years later. Using themes of horror, Satanism, and death, Seven Churches is one of the classiest examples of 80's death metal.

1986

Sepultura - Morbid Visions

Before you get angry, hear me out. Yes, Possessed's Beyond the Gates did come out this year. But it is arguable that Sepultura's debut album is, while being rooted in the first wave of black metal, death metal. This also goes for another Brazilian metal band, Vulcano. Their debut album, Bloody Vengeance is another contender for 1986. Morbid Visions edges out for being rawer in production and energy and all-around fun to listen to. Plus, you get to listen to a very young Max Cavalera. Fun fact: All of the instruments played on this album were borrowed from friends.

1987

Death - Scream Bloody Gore

Is there any question about it? Chuck Schuldiner's vocal performance here are on point, backed by simple and melodic yet amazingly effective riffs. It all comes together to make one of the most flawless metal albums ever. This album is what inspired so many to join in on this newfound craze for blood soaked metal! In fact, I don't see anything on this list trumping this one... unless...

1988

Death - Leprosy

...yes! Here it is! The greatest death metal album ever. Period. Scream Bloody Gore, while being flawless, cannot beat Leprosy. Schuldiner begins his lyrical journey with asking vivid questions about life on classics like "Pull the Plug" and "Born Dead". An added sense of technicality was also added, to an extent, beginning to use sudden tempo shifts. Not to mention the absolutely jaw-dropping riffs. Sometimes, it’s the most simplistic forms of metal that gets the job done better than anything progressive or technical. In my top five albums, for sure.

1989

Morbid Angel - Altars of Madness

People love to say this is the best death metal album, but they know that's not true. (Leprosy still beats it.) Not to say this is a bad album at all, obviously. Altars of Madness is forty minutes of pure hellfire and torment. Trey Azagthoth is a true beast on this album, riffing out songs like "Maze of Torment" and "Immortal Rites". Its tight production makes this sound pretty timeless, unlike other albums from this era. This, also, is a Morbid Angel album with David Vincent on vocals, making it superior to all other Morbid Angel records without him.

1990

Deicide - Deicide

If we weren't arguing about 1986, we're going to start arguing from here on. Deicide is one of my favorite death metal bands ever. For some reason, this album is always overshadowed by its younger brother, 1992's Legion, although this album should be getting the credit. This is a landmark album in the genre with fiery tracks like "Dead by Dawn", "Oblivious to Evil", and "Carnage in the Temple of the Damned". Glen Benton's vocals are at some of its best, using demonic noises to set them apart from the equally great competition. From masterful solos to the evilest songwriting, this record has it all.

1991

Death - Human

It's as if Chuck Schuldiner woke up one morning and said, "I need to revolutionize metal again." Sure, technical death metal already existed before this album, Atheist had two albums and Atrocity already had their first album, but Death brought it to fruition. They put it on the center stage by a well-known, high-profile act. This was one of the best lineups for Death with Steve DiGiorgio on bass, and Cynic members Paul Masvidal and Sean Reinert on guitar and drums, respectively. Together they ripped through complex melodies and hook-bound grooves, bringing us songs like "Lack of Comprehension" and "Suicide Machine". Fun fact: Another groundbreaking tech-death album came out on the same day as Human. Can you guess what it is? Yes, you were right! It was Suffocation's Effigy of the Forgotten!

1992

Bolt Thrower - The IVth Crusade

1992 probably had the most death metal albums out of any other year. I was going to list all of the death metal bands that released an album in 1992, but I’m not going to make you read all of that. Just search it up, “1992 death metal albums”. Tough decisions had to be made and I chose The IVth Crusade. Bolt Thrower is like the British equivalent of Obituary, you know them when you hear them, and both of them decide to slow things down. Face-meltingly groovy, Bolt Thrower leaves us a riff minefield with songs like "Icon", "Embers", "Where Next to Conquer", and the title track.

1993

Cynic - Focus

I told you we would argue! Yes, I understand that Morbid Angel's Covenant came out in 1993 and I believe it is one of the greatest death metal albums, and I highly recommend that you listen to that. I also highly recommend listening to Focus. Cynic began life as a thrash band, but after spending time with Chuck Schuldiner, Paul Masvidal and Sean Reinert realized that the material on Human could be taken further. Focus is a work of art, utilizing vocoder effects and jazzy landscapes to give the music an aura of peace. The production, like Morbid Angel’s Altars of Madness, is modern-sounding, making it feel ageless. This album has to be the most forward-thinking album in metal's history, especially with songs like “Veil of Maya”, “The Eagle Nature”, and my personal favorite, “How Could I”. In fact, this album was so different than anything else at the time, it was the reason Cynic had to break up after one record. There was just too much backlash from the metal community.

1994

Cannibal Corpse - The Bleeding

Who could forget Cannibal Corpse? Their absence until now just comes to show how much competition there was back then. This was the last album with Chris Barnes on vocals, where he changed his vocal style to be more audible and exciting. The guitar work on this album is also amazing. Combining rhythm and very memorable songwriting, The Bleeding holds some of Cannibal Corpse's best songs, such as "Staring Through the Eyes of the Dead" and "Stripped, Raped and Strangled".

1995

Death - Symbolic

Although Suffocation’s Pierced from Within and At the Gates’s Slaughter of the Soul both came out in 1995, my second place choice would be Dissection’s Storm of the Light’s Bane. But knowing me so far, who would I choose for first? Chuck Schuldiner is an absolute machine on this album, breaking out seemingly every riff and song idea he ever had. The album is stunning. We have Gene Hoglan on drums. Needth say more? Another flawless album from Death.

1996

Cryptopsy - None So Vile

Here to "compensate" for the absence of Suffocation on this list is Cryptopsy. Why is "compensate" in quotation marks, you ask? Because Cryptopsy is a better band than Suffocation. Simple as that. This was Cryptopsy's sophomore album, and their best. The album sound is chaotic, making it sound like two different albums played over each other, while keeping everything controlled and cohesive. Lord Worm barely pronounces any of the words he says correctly, he goes so fast, while Flo Mounier keeps it all anchored with his blazing fast drumming. This is death metal at its most brutal.

1997

Deicide - Serpents of the Light

Here it is, perhaps the most underrated album on this list. I love this album. I think it's better than the masterful debut, in fact. Deicide delves into some very groovy territory, with amazingly snarky lyrics by Glen Benton. Every verse and every chorus is equally catchy and has this rhythm that feels pounding-like.

1998

Death - The Sound of Perseverance

Alas, this was Death's last album before Chuck Schuldiner passed away in 2001 from brain cancer. He's my favorite guitarist and vocalist, if you didn't realize yet. This is another masterpiece, getting super progressive with the structure of the songs. "Flesh and the Power it Holds", "Spirit Crusher", "Bite the Pain", "Scavenger of Human Sorrow", and even that instrumental, "Voice of the Soul" are stunning examples of Chuck's wonderful talent for riffing and soloing. They even added a cover of "Painkiller" from Judas Priest, which is two of my favorite bands put together!

1999

Opeth - Still Life

Opeth are the ones that found that if you use delicate passages and combine it with the horrors of death metal, you can make some pretty crazy stuff. Of course, Mikael Åkerfeldt belted out some of the best death vocals contrasted with beautiful singing, like he always does. The guitar is on point on this album too, ever present on songs like “The Moor” and “Serenity Painted Death”.

2000

In Flames - Clayman

This is our first melodic death album on the list, actually. The subgenre was invented back in 1993, with Carcass's Heartwork. The Gothenburg scene, as it was called, was comprised of Dark Tranquility, At the Gates, and In Flames, who released a string of groundbreaking albums before this one, 1994’s Lunar Strain, 1996’s The Jester Race, 1997’s Whoracle, and 1999’s Colony. Clayman is my favorite In Flames album, mixing death and clean vocals together perfectly. The music is stupendous, as well. Melodic hooks and choruses make for a ton of replay value. Songs like "Pinball Map", "Only for the Weak", and "Satellites and Astronauts" should get more recognition for being some of the 2000's finest hours of death metal. Also, this is the last death metal In Flames album, so cherish it.

2001

Gojira - Terra Incognita

Before you get upset, I understand that Opeth released the masterpiece that is Blackwater Park in this year, and I think that album is awesome. It's just not as awesome as Terra Incognita, Gojira's criminally underrated debut album. This is, by far, the heaviest Gojira album with Joe Duplantier's best vocal performance and Mario Duplantier's most interesting drumming. It beats Opeth because Blackwater Park's songs are long and drawn out while Gojira, while staying progressive like Opeth, has shorter, quicker, more nimble songs, with catchy melodies and hooks.

2002

Amon Amarth - Versus the World

Amon Amarth's fourth album is also their best one. Versus the World is a stellar effort that showcases the Vikings' prowess as a melodic death titan. Each song is a story to tell from "For the Stabwounds in Our Backs" to "Across the Rainbow Bridge". Johan Hegg's vocal performance is gruesome, and the overall structure of the music is perfect. Another album that needs more recognition. I want to shout out Bloodbath's Resurrection Through Carnage, Opeth’s Deliverance, and The Red Chord's Fused Together in Revolving Doors for this year, those are also really good albums.

2003

The Black Dahlia Murder - Unhallowed

I think there are three bands that are most associated with metalcore but aren’t, and they are The Red Chord, Lamb of God and The Black Dahlia Murder. This is The Black Dahlia Murder's first album, and truly their most insane. Jumping around tempos, using fast riffs, amazing melodies, perfectly executed vocals by the late and great Trevor Strnad, all coincide to make a truly great early 2000's death metal album.

2004

Arsis - A Celebration of Guilt

Necrophagist is a great band, don't get me wrong. Epitaph is a stunning example of tech-death that will stand the test of time. But Arsis's debut, A Celebration of Guilt, just beats the Germans for infusing some melody into their formula. That's what this album is, technical death combined with melodic death, which reminds me of Death’s Symbolic. This is yet again another underrated death metal album. This album houses one of my favorite songs, "Dust and Guilt". Other great songs include "Maddening Disdain" and "Seven Whispers Fell Silent".

2005

Gojira - From Mars to Sirius

Forget Nile, forget Opeth. Gojira is here once again, to bring us another groundbreaking album. From Mars to Sirius is one of the greatest 21st century metal albums, with the Frenchmen bringing us a concept album of death, rebirth, war, and peace. Huge hits like "Backbone", "The Heaviest Matter of the Universe", and "Flying Whales" are some of the heavier offerings from the wonderful progressive act that is Gojira.

2006

Kataklysm - In the Arms of Devastation

Want to talk underrated? Believe it or not, this is the Canadian's eighth record, and their best yet. In the Arms of Devastation mixes melody with pure groove and mid-paced riffing. The vocals from Maurizio Iacono are absolutely perfect, showcased on songs like "Like Angels Weeping (The Dark)", "Let Them Burn", "Crippled and Broken", and my personal favorite, "To Reign Again".

2007

Between the Buried and Me - Colors

After wallowing in the predictable metalcore scene, Between the Buried and Me added a progressive and technical death metal sound into this masterful work of art, Colors. The album acts as if it is one long song, with all the songs segueing into each other. It's perfection to behold, with almost each song having an unorthodox twist. Each song acts as a journey that the listener is on, most prevalent on songs like "Ants of the Sky", "Sun of Nothing", and "Prequel to the Sequel". A must-listen for anyone wanting to have their mind blown.

2008

Amon Amarth - Twilight of the Thunder God

And Amon Amarth is at it again, with another great record! 2006's With Oden on Our Side showed us a more dynamic side to the melodic death maestros and this is once again present on Twilight of the Thunder God. With catchy hooks and breakdowns, songs like the title track, "Free Will Sacrifice", "Guardians of Asgaard", and "Tattered Banners and Bloody Flags" are sure to give you your fix for Vikings.

2009

Jungle Rot - What Horrors Await

Unlike the Cattle Decapitation, Obscura, and Dying Fetus albums from 2009, Jungle Rot stands out for forgoing solos, blast beats, or anything else that might be technical. What Horrors Await is probably Jungle Rot's best album, sporting heavy mid-paced riffage and caveman-style breakdowns. Give Jungle Rot a chance, they're probably the most underrated band on this list.

2010

Misery Index - Heirs to Thievery

Misery Index was born out of Dying Fetus back in 2001, and this is a really solid effort from them. The deathgrind genre has never actually had an album this good, other than Napalm Death’s output from the early 90’s. Heirs to Thievery is a perfectly balanced album, with the music going six hundred miles per hour with the intensity of a hurricane, yet you never get sidelined, and you somehow manage to keep up. It's an album you have to take in, as the malevolence on the surface masks the eloquence underneath.

2011

Septicflesh - The Great Mass

You know, even before this album was released, it was being heralded as the best album of 2011, not just in death metal. Septicflesh is a Greek death metal band that adds symphonic elements into the mayhem. Here, it isn't an addition, it's more of the lynchpin of the band's sound. I wanted to mention the album before this, 2008’s Communion, which is also a great album, just bested by Twilight of the Thunder God.

2012

Dying Fetus - Reign Supreme

I've mentioned Dying Fetus a couple times so far, so here's their contribution to the list. Dying Fetus does exactly what the album's title implies with brutal, face-melting death metal, brewed in the depths of Hell itself. The vocal tradeoff, one of my favorite things in metal, between John Gallagher and Sean Beasley is perfectly timed and well planned while the music is heavily technical with elements of grindcore and slam death metal, making for a truly insane album.

2013

Deicide - In the Minds of Evil

An old favorite is revived with In the Minds of Evil. By retaining the groovy parts of later works beginning with Serpents of the Light and blending it with the fury of the original albums, Deicide's 2013 effort makes for a very evil listen.

2014

Behemoth - The Satanist

Speaking of Deicide, here's Behemoth. After forming as a pure black metal band in 1991, they began adding in a death metal influence in 1998. Gradually, they got better and better with each album. 2014's The Satanist is the apex for Behemoth, blending doomy and minimalist sections with chaotic blast beat sections. Songs like "Blow Your Trumpets Gabriel", "Ora pro Nobis Lucifer", and "O Father O Satan O Sun!" are sure to leave a mark on the weak-minded.

2015

Napalm Death - Apex Predator - Easy Meat

Legendary deathgrind band Napalm Death had two stellar albums before this one, Time Waits for No Slave in 2009, and Utilitarian in 2012, and then came Apex Predator - Easy Meat. This album makes a full return to the early 1990's material, using mid-paced tempos and hyper fast tempos to make some truly classic-sounding stuff.

2016

Amon Amarth - Jomsviking

In 2016, Amon Amarth tried their hand at a concept album... and it worked perfectly! After hearing the opening, "First Kill", you won't want to stop. "Raise Your Horns" is a rocking Viking party anthem, and "A Dream That Cannot Be" sees Johan Hegg collaborate with the beautiful voice that is Doro Pesch. All this change, while still sticking to the Amon Amarth formula.

2017

Obituary - Obituary

I'm really sorry for keeping Obituary off this list for so long. It's just that they've been edged out every time they were present in a year. But now is their time to shine. After a long stretch of some pretty mediocre material, Obituary rebounded with a new songwriter, Ken Andrews. Andrews played on the previous album, Inked in Blood, but had no credits for songwriting. Songs like "Brave", "Sentence Day", and "Ten Thousand Ways to Die" are all songs that wouldn't feel out of place back in 1990.

2018

Between the Buried and Me - Automata II

Before I explain, let me just say, Rivers of Nihil's Where Owls Know My Name is one of the greatest progressive death metal albums ever. But Between the Buried and Me is here to just edge them out. Automata II is the second of a two-part album, both released in 2018. Automata II gets the nod for being shorter, only having four songs compared to the six in the first part, and getting the job done better in its brevity. "Voice of Trespass" is a surefire jam for whenever you're in the mood for something kooky, and "The Grid" reminds me of the legendary songs on Colors.

2019

Blood Incantation - Hidden History of the Human Race

Blood Incantation is one of the most forward-thinking death metal bands of today. After an interesting debut in 2016, they planned for Hidden History of the Human Race which is a true sight to behold. Mixing progressive death metal with jazz fusion and atmospheric elements, songs like "The Giza Power Plant", and the epic ending that is "Awakening from the Dream of Existence to the Multidimensional Nature of Our Reality (Mirror to the Soul)". That was a mouthful.

2020

The Black Dahlia Murder - Verminous

If none of their albums said it before, this one definitely did. The Black Dahlia Murder are one of the 21st century's premier death metal acts. This time, the melodies find themselves in traditional heavy metal territory, with catchy hooks and choruses. Edging out everything else in 2020 was Trevor Strnad's performance. Sadly, in 2022, Trevor Strnad would pass away, with The Black Dahlia Murder replacing him with their guitarist. He'll leave behind a legacy of being one of death metal's most talented vocalists. I do want to shout out the self-titled debut album from Skeleton for 2020, that was my second place.

2021

Between the Buried and Me - Colors II

Album sequels never work, unless it's Between the Buried and Me releasing it. Colors II is the follow-up to 2007's masterpiece, expressing every level of insanity from the original and turning it up to eleven. Flawless, just like the original, the album takes death metal to new heights with songs like "Monochrome", "Revolution in Limbo", "Fix the Error", and "Prehistory".

2022

Imperial Triumphant - Spirit of Ecstasy

2022 was difficult to choose for. After quite a bit of listening around, I made the decision for Imperial Triumphant's fifth studio effort, Spirit of Ecstasy. Imperial Triumphant is an experimental death metal band that tries to capture the sounds of New York City, which is where they are from. Utilizing orchestras, pianos, electronic drums, saxophones, choirs, trombones, and trumpets along with death metal makes for an unorthodox listening experience. It really keeps you on your toes, excited to hear what happens next. The lo-fi production and the creepy vocals by Zachary Ezrin are also awe-inspiring. Songs like "Chump Change", "Metrovertigo", and "Death on a Highway" makes you wonder what death metal could sound like in ten years. Shout out to Aeviterne who was close second for this year, with their experimental death metal album The Ailing Facade.