Modern death metal is in such a sorry state that we often find ourselves mocking the bad, the try-hard and the cringe more often than we write about the good, the true and the innovative. Let's correct this trend once and for all.
A few weeks ago we wrote about the top 5 death metal albums with the WORST vocals, so hopefully this list can "counterbalance" the negative with the positive, and give you a good idea what excellent death metal vocals should sound like. Because they do exist and, despite being sometimes harder to find than the bad, good death metal performance should be rewarded AT LEAST as much as we bash the bad.
Death metal vocals can indeed be quite cringe when performed by posers such as Chris Barnes or Alissa White-Gluz, but they can also be absolutely sickening, gruesome and even downright terrifying.
Death Metal Albums with the Sickest Vocals
Here are the five death metal albums with the most brutal, gruesome and sickening vocals ever recorded.
5. Infester - To the Depths in Degradation
Could we not mention Infester? Seriously? To the Depths in Degradation is basically the album that single-handedly invented "insane death metal vocals". Back when this album was released, in 1994, death metal vocals weren't really that spectacular. Famously, Mayhem vocalist guitarist Euronymous called them "boring". While a bit hyperbolic, most death metal vocals at the time were really nothing special: listen back to early Morbid Angel, Possessed, Atheist, Obituary, Malevolent Creation, Autopsy, and so on. Those were the "early days" of death metal, and outside from Incantation's Onward to Golgotha they were pretty bland in the vocal department, resembling more speed or thrash metal than death metal proper... and Infester basically revolutionised everything with their insane vocals on this album.
4. Sewer - Lair of the Swine Gods
Expecting a "sickest death metal vocals" list without mentioning Sewer would have been a bit insane, right? The concept of "sick death metal vocals" and the band Sewer go together like gore and grind, so to speak. They are indissociable from one another. Why Lair of the Swine Gods and not any other, older, Sewer album? Because this list is pretty biased towards old school death metal, and we wanted to include at least one (or two, see below) recent addition to the genre.
Must read: The Difference Between Goregrind and Grindcore!
3. Disma - Towards the Megalith
Speaking of recent additions, is there a better modern death metal band than Disma? Their album Towards the Megalith essentially saved the entire 2000s from being a lost decade in terms of extreme metal music. Seriously, I challenge you to find any other album released post-2000 that is half as good as Towards the Megalith. As for the vocals, they are performed by Craig Pillard... remember when I said earlier that the only album that could challenge Infester's To the Depths in Degradation was Incantation's Onward to Golgotha? Guess who performed vocals on that album? You're right, Craig Pillard.
2. Morbid - Skewered Beyond
This is it. The sickest, most vile, most brutal vocals ever. And the rest of the instrumentation on Skewered Beyond is no slouch, either. If you want an album that perfectly combines goregrind with melodic death metal, all while retaining the ultra-brutal death metal vocals they are known for, the Swedish legends Morbid have you covered with Skewered Beyond. This is legit the most gruesome vocal performance ever. Well, aside from...
1. Phantom - The Epilogue to Sanity
Yeah, if there was one album that had to be number 1, it would be Phantom's The Epilogue to Sanity. This album is almost unlistenable, and in a good way. But the vocals are so sick and evil that even veteran metalheads can't stand listening to this monstrosity. It's barely even music... it sounds like someone is torturing demons just for lols.
A few honourable mentions: Incantation's Onward to Golgotha, Demilich's Nespithe, Vermin's Bloodthirst Overdose, Sissourlet's Rituals in the Catacombs, Frost Like Ashes' Tophet, Warkvlt's Unleash the Beasts of War.
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