ASSOCIATE EDITOR KORY GROW: TRUE NORWEGIAN DEATH METAL

6) Fester, Winter of Sin (No Fashion, 1992)
Vocalist-guitarists Bjørn “Tiger” Mathisen and Rolf Tommy Simonsen could be poster children for proper throat care, their voices are so raw and blood-curdling throughout Winter of Sin. The Askim-based quartet released only two albums (1994’s Silence is as good as this, though a little monotonous) and defined the fast-paced, crunchy sound Aura Noir would capture in later albums. Bassist Jørgen Skjolden tragically died of an overdose in 2000 preventing any reunions. R.I.P.

7) Algol, Entering the Woods of Enchantment (Effigy, 1996)
The sole full-length from the Varteig/Sarpsborg quartet (once known as Buttocks!) is an odd, if not intriguing record. The final release from Effigy Records (Molested’s label), Entering the Woods of Enchantment reflects the 1996’s disparate metal zeitgeists perfectly: Vocalist-guitarist Thomas Andresen’s growls in a way that would make Carcass frontman Jeff Walker cry plagiarism (this was after Heartwork, after all), the riffs owe a debt to Stockholm death-metal groups like Entombed, and the drums are most akin to their native country’s black metal. Algol sounds as hypnotizing as they do bloodthirsty.

8) Thou Shalt Suffer, Open the Mysteries of Your Creation 7-inch (Distorted Harmony, 1991)
Consisting of only two songs, Open the Mysteries of Your Creation presents a through-the-looking-glass death-metal version of Norwegian black metallers Emperor’s two chief songwriters, Ihsahn and Samoth (performing as Ygg and Samot, respectively, here). Ihsahn has maintained it was his solo outlet (which is why he kept the TSS name when he released some symphonic music years later), but the chunky riffs and horror-movie keyboards—similar to Entombed’s Phantasm rip on Left Hand Path—reveal a greater collective consciousness of the death-metal scene at the time.

9) Blood Red Throne, Affiliated With the Suffering (Hammerheart, 2003)
More mechanical and precise than the Kristiansand quintet’s 2001 debut, Monument of Death, Blood Red Throne’s album takes its cues from U.S. death-metal groups like Obituary, whom they cover here, and Cannibal Corpse (dig the gory cover art). Rigid riffs and guttural grunts are the band’s currency on the album, even though some copies quizzically contain a cover of M.O.D.’s “Hate Tank.”

10) Myrkskog, Superior Massacre (Candlelight, 2002)
Centered around Zyklon guitarist Thor “Destructhor” Myhren, who has also played in Florida death metallers Morbid Angel and Norwegian corpse-paint commandos 1349, Myrkskog features a rhythm section that is looser, the guitar solos that are more melodic, and songs that are more chaotic than anything his other band has created. Zyklon, who is incidentally another death-metal band featuring Emperor guitarist Samoth, may be the more obvious choice for a list like this, but there’s a freedom and originality to Myrkskog’s music that doesn’t exist in Myhren’s other work, which rarely sounds this dark.