FF7 said: This list sucks cock. Six Feet Under, Nile, Kataklysm, and Amon Amarth all need to gtfo. Could lose Vader and Corpse too. Morbid Angel should stay but replace Gateways with Altars Of Madness.
I feel like unless bands are unusually skilled, like Atheist or Cynic, the best of any genre are typically the trailblazers.
I'll give Corpse the nod over a lot of more athletic recent bands like Spawn of Possession or Brain Drill just for the fact that they have written, arguably, of course, 5 to 7 of the most recognizable songs in the history of the genre. They just went the same way as Slayer and Motorhead in that they have painted themselves into a very proud corner.
Deicide are the same way, except with more like 3-4 genre-defining songs.
I feel like Carcass and Death are pretty much the co-captains of the genre, with Morbid Angel in with a hard-fought bronze. A lot of people will argue that Carcass doesn't belong here, but while deathgrind, goregrind and melodeath all pretty much owe their existences to Carcass, they were a death metal band.
Anyone who ever knocks Death out of the top two is an idiot.
Bottom Line.
Just as Quorthon for black metal, Chuck Schuldiner was the sacrificial son to whom's shrine all these bitch deathcore bands should pay tithes to. Like Carcass, every album Death produced was a classic that was soon to be pillaged by a community of musicians who were begging for the next level beyond thrash.
Trey Azagthoth is a genre-defining musician. He set the bar by which all other death metal guitarists are measured against. 'Blessed Are the Sick' has some of the most ferocious guitar play not only death metal has seen, but the metal genre as a whole.
1 more that I think should be in the conversation:
Sepultura.
The last 10-12 years have been very unkind to Sepultura, but when they were at their '88-'04 peak, not many bands could compete with them. The drama that beset them eventually drained them of the unique talent and ambition they had. They also got a little sullied towards the end of the Cavalera era by aligning themselves with the nascant nu-metal trend, then became largely ignored and forgotten. Even slightly disgraced by his nu-metal years (mostly with Soulfly), Max remains an interesting musician in the sphere of heavy metal. His main crime now is that his writing sensibilities are very South American when it's very fashionable to be Eastern European. Wait 'til the pendulum swings back again. The last 3 Soulfly albums, while choppy, will be hidden classics in 10 years.
I guess a major argument in this conversation would be if it's more important to have established a very high standard or achieved an impressive level of consistency. Having succeeded in both is rare.
[/QUOTE]
i agree to a good extent. i'll have to check out the soulfly albums to see if you speak the truth.
Show Posts