Death

US 2016 press.
This is where death metal properly snapped into focus. Faster, tighter and way more brutal than what came before, but still weird and unpolished enough to feel dangerous. Chuck Schuldiner pushing everything forward with riffs that bite hard and songs that actually stick rather than just blur past. It is raw, aggressive and grim, but there is real structure and intent underneath the filth. A cornerstone record that still sounds vicious decades later. If you want to understand why Death mattered, this is a very good place to start. Absolutely class. FFO Possessed, Morbid Angel, Obituary, Autopsy