Acclaimed Oakland trio Necrot may draw on heavy-music influences ranging from Motörhead and Venom to Discharge and Refused, but at their heart, they're a death-metal band, and a really fucking good one, at that. The group's latest long-form offering, 2020's neck-snapping Mortal LP, could well establish itself over years to come as a bona fide classic of the genre. That being the case, we tracked down vocalist-bassist Luca Indrio to get his picks for the five greatest death-metal albums of all time. No surprise, he spotlighted a handful of undeniable masterworks — see below.
Death - Human
Both lyrically and musically, this is probably the most complete death-metal album. It touches deeply on the subject of the human condition in so many aspects. The lyrics communicate directly and in a way that anyone can relate to it. Musically, it contains all the elements that make death metal great.
Morbid Angel - Altars of Madness
This is probably the most amazing of Morbid Angel's albums. The talent of the musicians is expressed at the maximum level of brutality. Incredible riffs — the way Trey mixes high and lower notes to create melodies that are both heavy and cutting is impressive and innovative. The drumming, the vocals, there is nothing in this record that is not exactly how you wish it would be.
Immolation - Dawn of Possession
Unbelievable atmosphere for an album that uses fast drumming most of the time. The time changes, the evil-sounding riffs, the beautiful front cover, the vocals. Everything about this album makes it one of the best death-metal creations ever. If you don't love it with all your heart, you don't love death metal.
Cannibal Corpse - The Bleeding
Probably the death-metal album with the greatest amount of catchy riffs ever. There is no way to listen to this album and not fall in love with it. A great gateway for many people to extreme music.
Bolt Thrower - Realm of Chaos
Amazing. Just simple, comforting well-crafted death metal. The pace of the songs, the melodies, the heaviness of it, all about this band is absolutely revolutionary and timeless. Death metal wouldn't be the same without Bolt Thrower. I named this album, but any of their albums is pure gold.
