While grunge was on top, metal seemed doomed for extinction – until MTV started featuring flannel fashion shows and anthemic music videos like those by Korn. Yet somehow metal managed to find new ways of evolving and gave birth to numerous subgenres as it thrived through it all.
Rust in Peace expanded metal’s sonic palette, adding orchestral depth and breath-taking peaks that still thrill listeners today. It remains one of the classic albums.
1. Judas Priest – Painkiller
1990 was a pivotal year in Heavy Metal history. Black Sabbath had recently come under scrutiny, while minimalist groove bands like Pantera and Sepultura led a movement of bands attempting to appeal to younger listeners with simpler sounds, including longtime favorites such as Judas Priest.
Painkiller was where the Brummies proved they still reigned supreme in speed metal. Leveraging what had been learned on Turbo and Ram It Down, Painkiller stripped away any synths or arena rock flourishes to provide a pure metallic experience that delivered on its promise of speed metal glory.
Even Priest fans would agree that Painkiller is one of their finest albums ever released, if not their greatest ever work. From its opening title track through Night Crawler and beyond, Painkiller never relents its intensity – Rob Halford croons about thunder clouds while Scott Travis showcases his jazz-trained double bass skills with unparalleled flair.
Older metalheads might find the lyrics silly (such as those about a winged knight riding the monster motorcycle depicted on the cover), but one cannot deny their sheer power as songs. This album has gone beyond being just about one band and been appreciated by metalheads of all ages who appreciate its potency; not just drummers can be heroes in their own right; a great song is great song regardless of genre!
2. Metallica – Master of Puppets
Metallica made their mark on the late 90s metal scene through their Master of Puppets album. Lyrically sophisticated in comparison with Kill ‘Em All and Ride the Lightning albums, multifaceted tracks on this record alternate between speedy thrash and slower, darker tracks like Chug-n-Crunch; perhaps most memorable among its tracks was “Master of Puppets”, as its title track addresses drug addiction through an ironic commentary on drug dealer manipulation.
Production-wise, this album stands out. Guitarist James Hetfield worked tirelessly to achieve the dense tone he desired on each riff while perfecting his high-pitched vocals – some of the finest found anywhere. Furthermore, this record marked bassist Cliff Burton’s last appearance before his tragic bus accident on September 27, 1986 between Sweden and Copenhagen.
Power metal gained immense popularity throughout the ’90s due to its catchy melodies and lyrics centered around valor and adventure. Its use of shred leads and high-pitched techniques set it apart from more traditional thrash acts; also opening up room for some truly innovative bands to emerge.
Pantera were among the pioneers of groove metal, mixing thrash with hardcore punk and southern rock influences to craft unique melodies and sounds that set them apart from their peers. Their 1992 record Vulgar Display of Power became an early contender for best metal song of the ’90s thanks to Dimebag Darrell’s impressive guitar work and Phil Anselmo’s powerful voice; their distinctive sound set them apart.
3. Suicidal Tendencies – Primal Concrete Sledge
Metal music in the 1990s was an unpredictable journey. Grunge bands like Nirvana, Foo Fighters and Pantera led heavy metal while extreme subgenres such as black metal and death metal dominated underground circles. Yet many believe metal was at its lowest ebb during this period as new genres like nu-metal fused it with rap influences to push it further from popular rock music.
Suicidal Tendencies’ third album marked an evolution from their earlier work as they expanded upon their traditional thrash metal roots to incorporate other elements. The result was a much more melodic, sophisticated style of metal while still possessing its trademark ferocity and aggression. Cowboys from Hell, their opening track is an apt representation. It boasts an infectious main riff with some great chord progressions not out of place in alternative rock songs but contains an extremely heavy palm-muted sixteenth note rhythm on bass guitar and bass guitar that gives this song its weight.
Primal Concrete Sledge is an absolute classic of old school thrash metal, featuring an explosive main riff backed up by some killer bass lines from Josh Freese and Rocky George’s memorable guitar solo – evidence that they still possess enough skill at crafting great thrash metal music at this late point in their careers.
Many fans at this time viewed this album as an abdication from their metal roots, yet its sheer timeless quality can’t be denied – no one would deny that this classic heavy metal recording ranks among one of the most beloved albums from the 90s!
4. The 3rd & The Mortal – The 3rd And The Mortal
System of a Down’s groundbreaking sound and thought-provoking lyrics set them apart from their peers and expanded its appeal and audience base, and is widely considered one of the cornerstones of metal today. The early 1990s may have been considered the low point for metal music, yet System of a Down helped redefine the genre’s musical boundaries by incorporating elements of punk music, Middle Eastern music, progressive rock and punk rock. Their progressive take on metal helped broaden its audience.
Mortal’s debut album stands as an outstanding example of atmospheric doom metal music. Kari Rueslatten’s soothing vocals and slow melodies evoke an atmosphere rarely captured by metal music today; their influence can be found among acts like Agalloch and Estatic Fear; though these acts typically implement their style more dramatically with heavier drum beats and intricate instrumental arrangements.
Pantera became one of the cornerstones of metal in the 1990s with their innovative combination of thrash, hardcore punk, and Southern rock that truly set them apart from their peers and established groove metal as an influential subgenre. Led by legendary guitarist Dimebag Darrell’s groundbreaking guitar work and vocal capabilities Phil Anselmo made Pantera an unbreakable force within metal music history. Their legacy lives on today.
Josh Homme’s debut metal release is an engaging blend of raw energy from desert rock with metallic rock’s intense soundscape. Though less polished than many of his later efforts, this record still serves as an outstanding representation of his heavy yet approachable sound that has cemented him as one of rock’s premier artists.
5. Sleep – Jerusalem
In the ’90s, extreme subgenre black metal began its rapid rise. Characterized by tremolo-picked guitars with distortion, shrieks, and guttural growls that descended into chaos as you performed live, this extreme subgenre proved more challenging to perform live than grunge metal at that time. While most Scandinavian acts took black metal to new levels of darkness during this era, American band Sleep were right in on it too.
Sleep had made an impactful debut with Holy Mountain (Earache, 1993), establishing themselves as one of the premier doom metal bands from California. But on their 1998 follow-up Jerusalem, Sleep took an entirely different tack: having signed with London Records, they purchased 1970s vintage amplifiers loaded with top quality cannabis to create a massive album of psychedelic doom metal despite commercial failure (it even contained seven minutes dedicated to guitar riffs that could have served as John Wayne Gacy murder themes!). However it remains an underground classic and set the bar for future black metal releases!
Rise Above and Tee Pee finally released this album in 1999 as a landmark in both stoner metal and doom metal, setting an unparalleled standard in both genres. Sleep guitarists Matt Pike and Al Cisneros continue to include parts of this song into their live sets today, including an incredible 12-minute riffage that sounds like it came straight out of an acid trip! Sonic Titan stands out among these tracks as its signature track; an engaging bulldozer blues piece written as though by someone high on all sorts of different strains of cannabis!