Early North American Extreme Metal

by dzorrilla

It’s always nice to explore more remote locations when it comes to music, simply because there is an allure of mystery over what gems are hidden in plain sight. Yet the same thing could be said of the North American continent, even though the United States is undoubtedly one of the most important countries when it comes to extreme metal in general. We know already know Possessed, Death, Morbid Angel, Repulsion, Terrorizer, Autopsy and many others as some of the key bands that played a fundamental role in the underground during the 80s. But are those acts all there is to it?

Obviously not, as with any musical movement, there were tons of bands left astray or that simply never went anywhere – whether thanks to line-up difficulties, lack of label interest or simply not being good enough. Some of these bands on the list are undoubtedly cult classics and well known for those who have more than passing knowledge, but they should still get a mention. And it’s not just the US who deserve a mention, but also their Northern and Southern neighbours that were brewing their own respective scenes.

This list is geared towards those who already have medium knowledge of early black/death, but there should be some surprises here for everyone. For all three countries, I mention bands up until a certain cut-off period: 88 for the US, 89 for Canada and 92/93 for Mexico (the bulk of the 80s stuff in Mexico is just too potato). I think this goes without saying, but a lot of very well-known bands are excluded from this list save for if they went under a prior name that didn’t get much exposure. So no need to ask about Mantas.

With that being said, let us start with Murica.

United States

Terminal Death – One of the very first bands playing something closely resembling death metal ala Deicide (demos in 84 and 85!), Terminal Death were a promising act that sort of faded away like many of those listed here characterized by short, punchy death/thrash.

Hellwitch – One of the minor Florida acts that were kicking it since 1986, better known for their debut. Their original demo is pretty cool though.

R.A.V.A.G.E – pre-Atheist, not as technical as what they would later release under that name. Much more raw and in your face.

Rigor Mortis – pre-Immolation. Obviously sounds nothing like what they would become, primarily playing in the style of early Slayer+Possessed.

Genocide – Repulsion’s former name. Their demo material is more punk/thrash oriented, but definitely hints at the path they would take when they adopted their famous moniker.

Necrophagia – Necrophagia is strangely enough a band that doesn’t get many mentions, but “Seasons of the Dead” was one of the first DM efforts back in 87. Like Death, they were a horror movie inspired outfit that played music in the same vein they did although in a less interesting manner.

Black Dethe – Minor act that popped up around the time of Possessed. Nothing mindblowing, but some good riffs here and there.

Desecration – Contemporaries of Possessed, even sharing some members at one point. Only one demo in 1985, but with some interesting moments.

Insanity – Another act that could have become so much more. Insanity were a notch up most of the acts on this list when it came to songwriting prowess and were written fairly technical death/thrash all the way back in 1985. Unfortunately, line-up issues hampered a lot of their potential fame – although they are an underground cult classic.

Legion of Death – Yet another death/thrash act, this time with a strong hardcore influence.

Death Strike - One of the seminal bands of the early scene, Death Strike was the first foray of Paul Speckmann into extreme metal before he founded Master (another early classic from the scene). The “Fucking Death” demo is one of the more interesting pieces of this time period as Death Strike’s style was a tight hybrid between Slayer and Discharge fuelled by seething hatred for mainstream America. Absolute classic.

Archenemy – One demo death/thrash act. Only for those who can stand ultra-potato production.

Order from Chaos – Before there was Angelcorpse, Revenge, Abhomine…Helmkamp was busy fronting Order from Chaos, a maelstrom of pure black metal chaos.

Necrovore – Sometimes a demo is enough to leave a legacy for life and there is no better example of this in underground metal than Necrovore’s only demo “Divus De Mortuus”. A furious mix of black/death metal, this demo was years ahead of its time delivering some of the most raw and uncompromising primal metal one could imagine back in 1987.

Necropolis – Another Cali band that tried to follow in the footsteps of Possessed. Pretty rad.

Mr.Bungle – Yes, this is a weird inclusion. But if you listen to Mr.Bungle’s 80s demos, Mr.Patton was actually composing pretty furious, if somewhat sloppy death/thrash. Not the best stuff that comes to mind, but a funny historical artefact.

Nuclear Death – Demented death/grind from the mind of Lori Bravo, one of the most important women in the history of extreme metal

Incubus – Aside from Noctunus and Morbid Angel, this was another project from Mike Brown. Standard death/thrash outfit, not my fav project from him but still has some undeniable appeal.

Devastation – Chicago band playing what was hot in the underground: visceral thrash bordering on death metal.

NME – Punky Venom

Toten – precursor to Profanatica. In a list full of death/thrash, it’s sort of refreshing to listen to some early USBM – no matter how sloppy and under-produced it might be.

Leviathan – Old project from Chris Barnes. One demo that sounds like Dark Angel on steroids, really good!

Tirant Sin – Another Chris Barnes project that includes Bob and Paul from CC. Death/thrash madness, you know what you’re in for!

Goatlord - Humble beginnings for a band that would unleash some pretty savage doomy black/death later in the 90s.

Morbid Saint - I hesitated adding these guys since they’re very well known, so there’s not much to say other than their demo (virtually identical to Spectrum of Death) is one of the most energetic, in your face death/thrash you can find in the American underground.

Blood Spill – Another early DM act, although these guys distinguished themselves by writing songs in the 8-9 minute range – something unthinkable back then.

Savage Death – DAE death/thrash? Not the best, but scratches the itch quite nicely.

Dream Death – Pure doomy Celtic Frost worship

Righteous Pigs – Mitch Harris from Napalm Death plays guitar in this somewhat crude grind outfit.

Nausea – Side project of Carlos from Terrorizer. Primitive and visceral grind.

Impetigo – America’s answer to Carcass, one of the progenitors of goregrind. Gory fun for the whole family. First demo is pretty much just hardcore punk, but by the Giallo demo they transformed into a full grind outfit.

O.L.D. – Bizarre, experimental grind.

Canada

Slaughter – Slaughter’s debut “Strappado” is only about 25 minutes long, but is a great example of the early nascent extreme metal scene at the point where thrash and death meshed together seamlessly. Very in your face and even groovy to a certain extent, it’s a certifiable classic. Also worth mentioning Schuldiner was in the band at one point and this debut was meant to include 2 tracks that ended up in Scream Bloody Gore (Evil Dead and Legion of doom IIRC).

Voor – Quebec was not just the hotbed for the Canadian tech death explosion of the 90s, but also one of the birthplaces for the early Canadian extreme metal scene. Voor was one of the bands present then and were arguably among the best. “Evil Metal” sounds just as the title would indicate, very evil for 1985.

Damnation – damn this is raw. Another Quebec act that played a similar style to Voor, although sounding at times like a Canadian version of Sarcofago

Deadly Manover – More from the frontlines of Quebec. Strong Kreator vibe from their Deathology demo.

Deranged – The Canadian Morbid Saint. Absolutely devastating death/thrash with Mille Petrozza-esque vocals that sounded surprisingly good considering they only recorded two demos. Sadly never went anywhere.

Blasphemy – No list about the early Canadian scene is complete without mentioning the Ross Bay cult masters themselves, Blasphemy. In 1989, they unleashed Blood Upon the Altar which was a melting pot of everything in the death/black/grind scene back then – Sarcofago, Sodom, Slayer, Razor, Carcass, Terrorizer, etc. I don’t think I need to elaborate any further given their profound influence on black metal even to this day.

Dementia – If you’re a fan of Colombian Ultra metal (Reencarnacion, Parabellum), this should be up your alley

Mexico

Necrophiliac – One of the first death metal demos to pop up and arguably one of the more listenable ones. If Possessed wrote songs in Spanish, this is what it would sound like.

Cenotaph – Cenotaph are another pioneering act from Mexico and arguably my favourite from back then. Disgusting, hideous death/doom rife with morbid melodies and eerie keyboards. Only their demo and debut are in this style as they went on to play melodic death metal (also good btw), but their early material is perfect for those looking for death metal that takes you out of your comfort zone.

Shub Niggurath – Mid-tempo, crunchy Lovecraftian (as if the title wasn’t obvious) chaos. Early material is pure death metal, but their full lengths went on to incorporate a more blackened sound. Essential.

Transmetal – Impossible to not talk about Transmetal in a list about Mexican death metal given their status in the scene. Transmetal have always been seen as the Sepultura of Mexico, playing a style very reminiscent of Schizophrenia/Morbid Visions. Not my favourite, but some of the early material (especially Infierno de Dante) have some decent rippers.

Toxodeth – One of the most bizarre bands of the scene and probably the first to release a full length in 1990. Toxodeth were a death/thrash outfit with whispered growls (honestly the best description I can come up) that would also play long drawn out melodic solos and riffs that paid homage to horror movies. One of the songs, “Phantasms”, even pays homage to the Phantasm theme just like Entombed did – only this came out a month before LHP and was recorded since their 1989 demo. It’s not the most listenable release and the songwriting is a bit all over the place, but there were some cool ideas present here. I would recommend at least one spin.

Bloodsoaked – Crunchy, groovy death metal akin to Morbid Angel. Fat riffs.

R’yleh – Haunting death metal. Pretty rough around the edges, but like many listed here, some cool ideas thrown in the mix.

Blackthorn – Groovy DM not too dissimilar to Obituary and Leprosy-era Death.

Mortuary – Ripping death/thrash for lovers of early Sepultura. COMPULSORY.

Xibalba – The first black metal band for Mexico, imagine Darkthrone with Aztec themes – that encapsulates the sound of this Mexican outfit. Very influential outfit for the Black Twilight Circle

Unholier – John Tardy and Martin Van Drunen combined forces to give us this mid-paced death metal outfit with a strong penchant for groove.

The Chasm – If there’s Mexican band that is known abroad, it has to be The Chasm. Their approach towards death metal has always been a labyrinth of emotions as Daniel Corchado embeds his deep love for traditional metal into the mix to give The Chasm an almost cosmic feeling. Their demo only hints at this sound, but it still a solid listen for anyone interesting in exploring their beginnings.

Ripping Flesh – Really cool EP that sounds like a Mexican band fed on a diet of Atheist, mid-era Death and Atrocity. This one was a huge surprise, should be considered mandatory listening even if the production is lacklustre.

Leprosy – side-project from the lead singer of Transmetal. Fairly straightforward, if somewhat unmemorable death/thrash.