Favorite Albums (1995-1999)

In the mid-to late 90's, metal seemed to be a distant memory in popular culture. In the states, metal bands who had been selling out arenas were now performing in small, smoky clubs in neighborhoods that you wouldn't let your children walk through armed with a machine gun. Maiden had lost Bruce and his replacement was a huge let down. Priest had no Halford, who himself seemed to have abandoned metal altogether. Nu-metal (a bastardazation of real metal at best) was on the rise, and rap and pop were more popular than ever. Not to mention the plethora of metal bands who broke up in this time period. While Metallica had lost most of the metal fans they had after the Black album when Load came out. However, in the underground (and some places in Europe and Asia) metal was still moving along and the 90's saw the emergence of new metal bands who still performed real metal. Testament, Motorhead, King Diamond, and Overkill were still releasing albums like clockwork and some of them were heavier than ever. Priest has introduced a very talented vocalist to the metal world with Ripper Owens and Jag Panzer resurfaced after an over ten year absence.

During this time some of my favorite albums were released. What are some albums that you guys remember fondly from this time period. Here are mine (there are more but these are the ones I actually listened to in that time period):

Iced Earth-Dark Saga
Iced Earth-Something Wicked This Way Comes
Savatage-Dead Winter Dead
Savatage-Wake Of Magellen
Sentenced-Amok
Sentenced-Down
Jag Panzer-Thane To The Throne
Paradise Lost-Draconian Times
Dream Theater-Scenes From A Memory
Dream Theater-Falling Into Infinity
Judas Priest-Jugulator
Blind Guardian-Nightfall In Middle Earth
Anathema-Silent Enigma
Royal Hunt-Paradox
Shadow Gallery-Tyranny
King Diamond-Spider's Lullabye
King Diamond-The Graveyard
King Diamond-Voodoo
Testament-The Gathering
Testament-Demonic
Mullmuzzler-Keep It To Yourself
Helloween-Time Of The Oath
Helloween-Better Than Raw
Iron Maiden-X Factor
Bruce Dickinson-Accident Of Birth
Bruce Dickinson-Chemical Wedding
Hammerfall-Legacy Of Kings
Overkill-Necroshine
Overkill-From The Underground and Below

note: The ones in red are the ones I don't have anymore, but plan on re-capturing in the future (Spider's Lullabye, Accident Of Birth, The Gathering, and Something Wicked... are towards the top of my list).

King Diamond - Voodoo
Judas Priest - Jugulator
Edge of Sanity - Crimson
Sentenced - Down
At The Gates - Slaughter of the Soul
Dissection - Storm of the Lights Bane
Meshuggah - Destroy Erase Improve


There was a LOT I listened to at this time.

other than those mentioned,
TERAMAZE-Doxology
ETHEREAL SCOURGE-Judgment and Restoration

Gamma Ray - Somewhere Out In space
In flames - The Jester Race
Hammerfall - Glory To The Brave
Rhapsody - Symphony Of Enchanted Lands

I only picked my favorites by those bands

Axel Rudi Pell - Oceans of Time
Conception - In Your Multitude
Gamma Ray - Land of the Free
Grave Digger - Knights of the Cross
Grave Digger - Tunes of War
Hammerfall - Glory to the Brave
Helloween - Time of the oath
Holy Mother - Criminal Afterlife
Impellitteri - Screaming Symphony
Mercyful Fate - 9
Metal Church - Masterpeace
Overkill - Killing Kind
Running Wild - Masquerade
Savatage - Dead Winter Dead
Savatage - The Wake of Magellan
Sentenced - Frozen
Witchery - Restless & Dead

.

ARTILLERY - B.A.C.K.
JUDAS PRIEST - Jugulator
SUFFOCATION - Pierced from Within
SINISTER - Aggressive Measures
HAMMERFALL - Glory to the Brave
KING DIAMOND - The Graveyard, Voodoo
TESTAMENT - The Gathering
DREAM THEATER - A Change of Seasons
IRON MAIDEN - X Factor
CAULDRON BORN - Born of the Cauldron
ANNIHILATOR - Criteria for a Black Widow

Death - Symbolic
Monstrosity - Millennium

I cannot believe these two albums have not been mentioned yet.

Some of mine are:

Nightwish ~ Angels Fall First
Lacuna Coil ~ In a Reverie
Iced Earth ~ Dark Saga
Jag Panzer ~ Thane To The Throne
Testament ~ Demonic

Required Fields wrote:

Death - Symbolic
Monstrosity - Millennium

I cannot believe these two albums have not been mentioned yet.

Good call. They should both be on my list.

A series of great albums from the following bands...

Tad Morose
Royal Hunt
Rough Silk
Morgana Lefay
Virgin Steele

also the Zaxas CD, and wasn't Threshold from that era too? Not sure.

a couple more
DEATH-The Sound of Perserverance
SEPULTURA-Roots
also one from 1994
SAVATAGE-Edge of Thorns

Savatage - Edge of Thorns is from 1993, actually.

Some of you guys reminded me of what I left off that list:

Dream Theater-Change Of Seaons
Mercyful Fate-9
Theatre Of Tragedy-Velvet Darkness They Fear
The Gathering-How to Measure A Planet? (not metal but I loved it anyways)
Lacuna Coil-In A Reverie (while most of their music sounds samey to me, I actually liked this album)
Iced Earth-Burnt Offerings (can't remember if I heard this before 2000, but I'll mention it anyways)
Amorphis-Black Winter Day (an EP but I love it)


And of course live albums:

Dream Theater-Once In A Livetime
Iced Earth-Alive In Athens
Dio-Inferno: Last In Live

Also I would be remissed if I didn't mention these:

TSO-Christmas Eve
TSO-Christmas Attic

i cannot possibly remember all of them, but here are a few of my faves that i believe came out during that period. i'm too lazy to self check. pretty sure though.

Morbid Angel - Domination
Immolation - Here In After
Asphyx - God Cries
Marduk - Panzer Division Marduk
The Gathering - Mandylion
The Gathering - Nightime Birds
The Gathering - How To Measure A Planet
Behemoth - Pandemonic Incantations
Motorhead - Sacrifice
Motorhead - Overnight Sensation
Motorhead - Snake Bite Love
Darkthrone - Panzerfaust
Slayer - Diabolus In Musica
Gorgoroth - Antichrist
Cannibal Corpse - Vile
Immortal - Battles In The North
Doro - Love Me In Black
Burzum - Hvis Lyset Tar Oss
Malevolent Creation - The Fine Art Of Murder
Impaled Nazarene - Latex Cult
Impaled Nazarene - Rapture
Crowbar - Time Heals Nothing
Crowbar - Broken Glass
Crowbar - Odd Fellows Rest
Rotting Christ - Triarchy Of The Lost Lovers
Vader - Deprofundis
Inner Thought - Perspectives
The Crown - Hell Is Here
Suffocation - Pierced From Within
Naglfar - Diabolical
Thorr's Hammer - Dommedagsnatt

Primal Fear S/T & Jaws of Death were both out by '99. That was actually a great period for me. There wasn't so much out there that I couldn't keep track of most of it and really chew on my faves. Now there's almost too much great stuff to keep track.

Pantera and iced earth were still flying the flag plus the european and scandinavian scenes were as big as ever really it was just the big bands kinda sucked in the 1990's cos they were old hat at the time compared to nirvana (if that makes sense cos i aint slagging off any metal bands but in terms of popular culture grunge replaced metal)

TheGooch wrote:

Pantera and iced earth were still flying the flag plus the european and scandinavian scenes were as big as ever really it was just the big bands kinda sucked in the 1990's cos they were old hat at the time compared to nirvana (if that makes sense cos i aint slagging off any metal bands but in terms of popular culture grunge replaced metal)

Actually, if you think about it, around '95 was when grunge started to fade out, Cobain was dead, Soundgarden and Alice in Chains were either broken up or on their way out and Manson and industrial started taking over and would soon be forced out by nu metal.

KiSS - Psycho Circus
Gamma Ray - Powerplant
Dream Theater - ChoS, Fii, SoM
Grave Digger - Excalibur
Van Halen - Best Of '96
Alice Cooper - Box Set
Aerosmith - 9 Lives
Deep Purple - Abandon
Poison - Best Of
Geezer - Black Science
Sabbath - Reunion
Iron Maiden - Best of the Beast
... etc

The favorite albums of mine from 1995-1999 that immediately come to mind include:

Mortification–Envision Evangeline
Mortification–Triumph of Mercy
Living Sacrifice–Reborn
Extol–Burial
Extol–Mesmerized
Paradise Lost–Draconian Times
Paradise Lost–One Second
Obituary–Back From the Dead
Carcass–Wake Up and Smell the Carcass
Carcass–Swan Song
My Dying Bride–As the Flower Withers

Required Fields wrote:

Savatage - Edge of Thorns is from 1993, actually.

you're right RF,my bad.

Crowbar - THN and OFR
Death - Symbolic and SOP
Nevermore - POE and DNB

SAHB Healer wrote:

Primal Fear S/T & Jaws of Death were both out by '99. That was actually a great period for me. There wasn't so much out there that I couldn't keep track of most of it and really chew on my faves. Now there's almost too much great stuff to keep track.

I hear that, this year new releases are comming out faster than I can get them. I still have to purchase the new albums from Helloween, Thunderstone, Primal Fear, (and when they come out this month) Gamma Ray, Avantasia (2 EPs), (if it gets a U.S. release before year's end) Allen-Lande, and possible more at a rate of one CD every two weeks and the year is winding down.

I didn't see this gem mentioned:

Amorphis - Elegy

spectrefate wrote:

I didn't see this gem mentioned:

Amorphis - Elegy

Oopps, I had most of my favorties from this period hand written on notebook paper and while trying to group different albums from the same bands, I accidently skiped that album (I also skipped How To Measure A Planet? and Velvet Darkness They Fear but I remembered them later and added them in the second post I made here)

Some of my faves from each of these years:

1995: Ugly Kid Joe, MENACE TO SOBRIETY; Raven - DESTROY ALL MONSTERS: LIVE IN JAPAN, Iced Earth BURNT OFFERINGS; Warrior Soul THE SPACE AGE PLAYBOYS

1996: Helloween, THE TIME OF THE OATH; Iced Earth - THE DARK SAGA; Manowar - LOUDER THAN HELL

1997: Judas Priest, JUGULATOR; Bruce Dickinson, ACCIDENT OF BIRTH; HammerFall, GLORY TO THE BRAVE; Iron Savior - S/T; Overkill - FROM THE UNDERGROUND AND BELOW; Misfits AMERICAN PSYCHO

1998: Iced Earth, SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES; Helloween - BETTER THAN RAW; HammerFall - LEGACY OF KINGS; Bruce Dickinson THE CHEMICAL WEDDING

1999: Primal Fear, JAWS OF DEATH; Raven RAW TRACKS; Overkill NECROSHINE; Gamma Ray POWERPLANT

I'm sure there are more but those are all I can come up with off the top of my head (and with only one cup of coffee in me)