These 13 death metal bands nailed what they were trying to do right out of the gate and delivered their best album. Which isn’t to say that the rest of their discography isn’t good or great, even – far from it. But if we’re looking at sheer quality and legacy, these are the cream of the crop when it comes to releases for these bands.
Sometimes, there’s a raw immaturity to the material that allowed these bands to create new, warped and extreme variations of metal where inexperience and ambition collide. Others were far more advanced than their peers at the time, on the cutting edge of technicality and progression and those records still serve as hallmarks of the genre today.
READ MORE: 5 Death Metal Bands Who Peaked On Their Last Album
Important: Before you start shouting about oblivious exclusions or albums we “forgot,” know that, here, we’re examining discographies with three or more albums so we have a larger sample size to work with before determining the very best. Your one album still rules, Disincarnate!
13 Death Metal Bands Whose Debut Album Is Their Best
These death metal bands have released great albums since, but it never got better than their debut!
Gallery Credit: Greg Kennelty
Below, see the best death metal album of each year since 1985:
Best Death Metal Album of Each Year Since 1985
Almost four decades of brutality!
Gallery Credit: Joe DiVita
