10. Drop Dead/ Crossed Out split 5-inch
Powerviolence reached its creative and aesthetic peak in the early 1990s. The scene was the perfect storm of fuckup hardcore kids with thrash metal riffs and politically fired up, musically talented people making dissonant music as a political statement. The Drop Dead/Crossed Out split stood out to me. partly because it is a, roughly cookie sized, 5 inch record, and partly because it is just ripping, crushing, flawless powerviolence. Not much needs to be said.
9. Entombed- Wolverine Blues
With Wolverine Blues, Entombed took death metal, flooded it with a hefty dose of hard rock and trad metal, and slapped it with some viscious groove. The result was, as Guitar World called it, "the best heavy metal record of the decade." This is death metal you can party, drive, and drink to. It's just plain fun.
8. Bratmobile- Pottymouth
As far as riot girl goes, it produced much better political discussion and influence than it did good music. For all the hype, Bikini Kill is only decent and the others, besides 7 year bitch, are not worth mentioning. Bratmobile, on the other hand, made some gorgeous, spunky punk that conjures the best of X-Ray Spex or The Make Up. "Fuck Yr Fans" has particular charm. I hope my daughter is a riot girl. I hope she ends up smarter and kinder than me in every way. I hope she kicks the world in the ass and changes it for the better. I hope she listens to bratmobile.
7. Rorschach - Protestant-
Oh, metalcore. How I miss the days in which you were challenging, heavy, and dark. Converge is still going strong but the likes of Earth Crisis and Integrity have all but disappeared. One of the most unappreciated bands of this loose, eclectic scene was New Jersey's own, Rorschach. They were well ahead of their time but they petered out in 1993. Who knows what they could have accomplished had they continued.
6. Satyricon- Dark Medieval Times
1993. Norway is burning. A dark force from the forests and the esoteric temples have risen to take back metal. But the front is imploding. Varg Vigernes murders Euronymous, ending Mayhem (for a time) and confining Varg to making ambient albums behind bars. With the most evil, satanic band of black metal gone, Oslo two-man band Satyricon is left to take the helm. With their first full length album, Satyricon focus their music on a more real realm of darkness, the rampant famine, war, ignorance, and poverty of the medieval age. Like fellow stalwarts Ulver, they add elements of traditional folk music to their sound, a decision that would influence some of the more popular black metal groups in recent years. Satyricon would go on to make some poor albums, but "Dark Medieval Times" stands out as a classic of a scene filled with them.
5. Sigh- Scorn Defeat
A common idea among metal heads is that the black metal, as typified by the second wave, is solely a Norwegian mode of expression, that the things that make black metal black metal could only be conjured and can only be used with sincerity by a Norwegian. To the people who subscribe to this, I hold Sigh's 1993 gem "Scorn Defeat" as proof of the contrary. This music is avant-garde and challenging in a way that true Norwegian Black Metal was not, but it retains all of the misanthropy, darkness, and esoteriscism of those bands, making it a metal classic.
4. Gore Beyond Necropsy
Japan is a culture tailor made to produce outsider art. Whether it is the sexual restraints, the overwhelming business culture, or the strict dress code, outsider art is a necessity. Merzbow, The Incapacitants, and Boredoms all eked out some space in the culture memory, while Gore Beyond Necropsy goes unloved. It's a shame, because the band put out some of the best noisegrind of all time. This album is just pure filth and I love it. They were so much more then their side of a split with Merzbow.
3. Billy Childish- Torments Nest
Billy Childish is a modern day renaissance man, a prolific musician, poet, writer, painter, and Unlike most jacks of all trades, Childish is talented in all of his artistic pursuits. Like everything else, his music is raw and emotional. He's had quite a life, and his punky, bluesy take on it is fascinating.
2. Plastikman- Sheet One
The cover of this album is perforated, making it look like a sheet of acid tabs. With this aesthetic, a prospective listener might think this music will be calm, soothing, psychedelic trance. Instead, it's groundbreaking, minimalist techno. This isn't dance music. Hell, Fenriz has a tattoo of the Plastikman logo. That should tell you something.
1. Earth- Earth 2
This album, spawned in the perpetually stoned mind of Dylan Carlson, is a fucking monster. It's cloying and crushing and perfect. It spawned a multitude of copies but nothing comes close. A masterpiece.
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