Napalm Death's second full effort, From Enslavement to Obliteration in ways put the seal on what the band had done, with most of its members going off to pursue their own individual efforts soon thereafter, and as such is the perfect complement to Scum, showing the quartet both straining at the bit and honing its original approach to a T. Like Scum, it starts on a more deliberate pace, with "Evolved as One" hitting a slow, careful trudge – everything is quite discernible, even Lee Dorrian's sore-throat roar style of singing – which is all the better to build up the listener for whatever happens next…

Formed in 1983 as Mantas with Chuck Schuldiner on vocals and guitar, Rick Rozz on guitar and Barney 'Kam' Lee on drums and vocals. In 1984 the band recorded their first demo called "Death By Metal". Soon after the recording the band split up and Chuck formed a new band named Death…

As a rallying call for what seemed like millions of bands to follow, not to mention the launching point for the varying careers of Justin Broadrick, Nick Bullen, Mitch Harris, Lee Dorrian, and Bill Steer, Scum deserves its reputation alone. But it's also fun to listen to – a strange word to use, but no doubt about it, the album has its own brand of rock & roll kicks taken to an almost ridiculous extreme…

Limited edition 2008 13 disc (12 CDs + PAL/Region 0 DVD) box set featuring all the albums from the Swedish Metal band released on the Century Media label in one noble solid box with gold foil print plus a DVD: The Church Of Tiamat.. Contains a total of 131 audio tracks, which translates to over 10 hours of head banging playing time! Includes a 64-page booklet with all lyrics.

As vocalist/guitarist/songwriter/metal pioneer Chuck Schuldiner was fighting a battle against cancer that he would inevitably and unfortunately lose, Nuclear Blast – probably at least in part in a noble attempt to drum up some revenue for a man burdened with astounding medical bills – released the first live disc from the first name in death metal, Death…

The band named Death contained so many different musicians (almost 20) under the volatile stewardship of obstinate frontman Chuck Schuldiner, that it's remarkable any lineup ever held together long enough to go out on tour. But, in fact, Death was one of the hardest touring metal bands of their ilk, even though testimonials of the band's live prowess were anything but legion, and Schuldiner himself decided to go AWOL on one infamous occasion (nearly scuttling a high-profile European tour with Kreator, completed by his soon-to-be henchmen and a few hired guns). Perhaps it was the sour taste left by that experience, perhaps not, but this may explain why Death's entire career through to final studio album, The Sound of Perseverance, in 1998, was never interrupted by an official in-concert release…

Words cannot do this album enough justice. This is a truly glorious metal release, certainly Death's finest hour, and easily one of the top metal albums of all time. The sheer ferocity and emotion that channels through each of the intricate, progressive guitar melodies shatters every low opinion of the American metal scene. When you combine Chuck Schuldiner's shrieking vocals (his eeriest performance ever) with the most talented, cohesive lineup yet, you get the definitive Death album. This album delicately mixes the best aspects of past albums Human, Individual Thought Patterns, and Symbolic and takes them one step further. The album is more aggressive, more progressive, and certainly more melodic…

Germany's progressive death metal masters OBSCURA complete their long-running, four-album conceptual circle with the release of "Diluvium" (defined as a great oceanic flood), their most evocative, diverse and vibrant release to date. The effort is due out July 13 via Relapse Records.

The follow-up to the minor self-titled comeback effort of a year earlier, Into the Abyss might feature a somewhat distracted Hypocrisy on the downward end of its creative journey, but the band still smolders on this 2000 Nuclear Blast effort, refusing to allow much if any distance to appear between itself and the best Scandinavian metal outfits. Starting off with some the most furious Hypocrisy tracks in years, Into the Abyss avoids all subtlety as the straight-ahead death metal (and maybe a little thrash) of "Legions Descend" and "Blinded" sets a furious standard for the following eight tracks to uphold. This energy is maintained for the most part as the band churns through some of its fastest material in years. Besides those already mentioned, other standouts include the full-on death metal of "Digital Prophecy" and "Total Eclipse." Perhaps not Hypocrisy's finest record but far from an afterthought, Into the Abyss is a solid effort from one of Sweden's most brutal '90s metal exports.

Lepaca Kliffoth is a much more varied album musically speaking, one where decades of Heavy Metal and even Alternative Rock coalesce to deliver a consistently engaging album. Unfortunately, the album suffers for lack of hooks…

Nearly a decade into their career, Death show no signs of slowing down on Symbolic. Granted, some of the riffs are beginning to sound a little tired and there is no great leap forward in terms of their musical ideas, but the sheer visceral force of their sound should please their dedicated fans.