Best Heavy Metal Albums Of 1989

If this had been written back in 1989 this album probably wouldn't have been number one. But with the passing of time it became obvious just how important Morbid Angel and this release were. It was a brutal slab of death metal with ferocious vocals from David Vincent. Trey Azagthoth and Richard Brunelle's riffs and solos are just sick, and Pete Sandoval is one of the best drummers in metal. Altars Of Madness is a groundbreaking album that all death metal fans should own.

The Canadian thrash band Annihilator blasted upon the scene with a monstrous debut album. Jeff Waters and company tore through the album with raw power and energy along with excellent technical skill. Waters and Anthony Greenham really shined with their outstanding guitar work. Randy Rampage's raw and emotional vocals were a good fit as well. Annihilator has had dozens of lineup changes over the years, and their debut remains one of their best efforts.

King's X has always been a critical favorite, but never broke through to the mainstream, which is a real shame because they are so talented. Their second album combined catchy melodies with complicated and progressive influences and great harmonies. They combined mellower and acoustic sections with harder edged metal. The trio had strong Christian beliefs that were reflected in the lyrics. "Over My Head" and "Summerland" are highlights.

After their classic debut Bonded In Blood in 1985, Exodus faltered on their 1987 followup. But they rebounded nicely with their third album. Fabulous Disaster was their trademark Bay Area thrash, but with some added diversity. There are straight ahead breakneck speed metal songs, but also longer and more epic songs that show the band's lyrical and musical maturity. They also add a couple cover songs for flavor, including "Low Rider." There is some really good musicianship on this album, especially from guitarists Gary Holt and Rick Hunolt.

With their third album, the Brazilian band Sepultura made a quantum leap into the forefront of extreme metal. Beneath The Remains is when the band's songwriting really blossomed and their blistering thrash metal was both extremely intense and also really catchy. The album had brutal riffs, creative solos, skull pounding drums and paint peeling vocals from Max Cavalera. What's even more amazing is that most of the band members were only in their teens when this album was released. It's a thrash metal essential.

Badlands was a really underrated band. They weren't intense enough for extreme metal fans, and even though they had some commercial success they weren't polished enough to get to the top of the charts. The band was formed by ex-Ozzy guitarist Jake E. Lee and included former Black Sabbath vocalist Ray Gillen. Badlands' bluesy metal was really catchy with some fine guitar work from Lee, and their sound was a little rougher than the hair bands of the day. "Dreams In The Dark" and "Winter's Call" are a couple memorable tracks.

Even though they've released a lot of excellent albums over the years, this is the Canadian band Voivod's finest effort. It continued the band's mix of straight ahead metal with progressive and experimental elements. There's no mistaking Voivod's sound, and guitarist Denis "Piggy" D'Amour is the main reason. His unique and unusual style along with the sci-fi lyrics made Nothingface a very memorable album. The highlight was the Pink Floyd cover "Astronomy Domine," which garnered some MTV play.

For the second time in three years Testament makes the year end top 10 list. The Bay Area thrash band delivers another dose of raw and uncompromising metal. Practice What You Preach finds them taking a different lyrical approach, focusing more on real life issues and problems. Even though the production isn't the best, there are still enough decent riffs and catchy hooks to make this a worthwhile thrash metal album.

After narrowly missing my year end top 10 at least twice in the '80s, Overkill makes the list with their fourth album. Overkill is a thrash band from the East Coast, and their style on The Years Of Decay is very diverse. You'll hear breakneck speed metal and unrelenting thrash, but also slower, almost doomy tracks. This is a album with zero filler, making it Overkill's strongest overall effort. Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth's piercing vocals take some getting used to, but once you adjust to his style you can really appreciate Overkill's brand of thrash.

Sebastian Bach is a great frontman and excellent vocalist, and even though Skid Row is still around, they aren't the same without him. The band's debut was filled with catchy radio and MTV hits like "Youth Gone Wild," "18 and Life" and "I Remember You." They were one of the harder edged hair bands, and one that had a decent amount of credibility. Grunge would soon kill the hair bands, but Skid Row made it fun while it lasted.