Death metal and the roads less travelled | Part II – Spiritually Uncontrolled Art, 1992

A hundred death metal albums not from the USA Where were you in 92? Well, I was being shepherded between various preschool childcare arrangements, blissfully unaware of the exploding death metal scene. Part I took us from the late 80s to 1991, and naturally Sweden dominated when you remove death metal’s other centre of gravity across the pond from the picture. By 1992, we get a more even spread geographically. Given the sheer density of material chucked out in this single year, I decided it needed its own part. After a few years of gestation, death metal had reached its prime by this point. From all corners its flag bearers were throwing out material, culminating into what could well be considered the genre’s finest hour. Just as hordes of newer acts were joining their ranks. And this in turn presented a problem. Creative peaks can also herald the beginning of the end. Whilst some newcomers did find angles from which to move death metal into new spaces, many were simply capitalising…