There’s a lot of variety to be found here, within all the sonic wall Emperor puts up. Beyond the production though, there are some masterful compositions on this record. There are layers and layers of sonic textures in these songs that a lot of black metal bands either couldn’t achieve or didn’t attempt to. The reverb-heavy guitars and blasting drums create a wall of sound, punctured by precise demonic vocals and haunting symphonic synths, but it never manages to sound muddy. In the Nightside Eclipse, first and foremost sounds great. Poor production, dense songwriting, harsher than harsh vocals, and while these things were perhaps all part of the appeal of the scene to a lot of people, Emperor took a different route. They’re also not afraid to be brutal (“Nosebleed”) and their debut album is the perfect mix of both, showcasing the group’s eclectic streak of influences.ġ4: Emperor: In the Nightside Eclipse (1994)Įarly black metal can be a bit of a mixed bag.

Sacramento’s Deftones never get lost in the space and atmospherics, while staying grounded with solid riffs and Abe Cunningham’s groovy drumming. While many cite Destroy Erase Improve as a favorite, Contradictions Collapse is here the mind-bending time signature changes, the dissonant riffing, and airtight playing all began.Īdrenaline rightly earns its place among the best metal debut albums for beating everyone to the punch with the heavy, shoegazey, dreamy metal that’s pretty prevalent nowadays.

16: Meshuggah: Contradictions Collapse (1991)įalling further down the genre hole, Swedish math metal-slash-technical metal band Meshuggah earned the reputation of being among the most technical and experimental metal groups thanks to their 1991 debut album.

Best 90s metal albums