Monday, June 27, 2022

Album Review: New Radicals's Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too

Part 1 of my look at the 90s ends today fellow Otaku & Metalheads!

I’ve been having a blast so far everybody. Look back at the decade that many of us grew up in feels like a refreshing blast of clean air. The last time it seemed like there was any kind of sanity in the world, the 1990s sometimes seems too distant in our memory. Fortunately, the music of that decade can often bring us back some kind of piece, and the subject of today’s review is a prime example of that. Though tragically releasing just this one record, the band I’m talking about today none the less crafted an album that can truly be called a 90s classic. I certainly liked this as a kid, but it’s been in recent years that I’ve truly LOVED this release, and I felt it was appropriate to do a review of it during this festival of our youth. So, get on your Jnco jeans, see if there’s some Crystal Pepsi nearby, and enjoy my review of the New Radical’s only album, Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too. Let’s begin!

Background
Our story begins with one Gregg Alexander. Prior to forming the New Radicals in 1997, he had released 2 unsuccessful albums before hand. Michigan Rain in 1989 and Intoxifornication in 1992. Both weren’t that successful, generated no charting singles, and would receive mixed reviews from critics. Prior to actually forming the band, Gregg would be dropped by not one, but two record labels (A&M and Epic Records respectfully) put ultimately would get signed by MCA Records in 97 and allegedly received $600,000 in advance to record his first release under the company. That must have been true in some way, as on October the 16th, 1998, Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too.

While recording the album, Gregg stated that he "completely ripped up the rules that applied to his first two records". Though Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too is credited as a New Radicals album, it’s more often credited as a Gregg Alexander album, as he wrote most of it’s songs, produced most of it’s songs, played several instruments on the album, and is the only constant band member. Alexander sand this in reference to the numerous guest musicians that helped him record this record:

Most of that record was me pulling favors with studios or musicians that had played on earlier records and were like, 'Oh, Gregg's down on his luck—let's go play on his demo for the hell of it, we'll have a good laugh, have a couple of beers and maybe smoke a jay or whatever.

Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too would go on to be a surprising hit. Taken from wikipedia:

In the United States, the album debuted on the Billboard 200 at number 199 on the week of November 28, 1998. On January 16, 1999, the album rose into the top 100 on the chart for the first time, climbing 33 spots to number 79. The album reached its number 41 peak on February 13. The album remained at its peak the following week, then fell to number 51 on the Billboard 200 dated February 27. The album spent a total of 40 weeks on the chart, and placed at number 126 on the year-end Billboard 200 in 1998. It achieved Platinum status (1,000,000 copies sold) in the United States less than a year after its release.

The album also achieved some foreign success. On the UK Albums Chart, the album reached a peak of number 10. The album also charted within the top 40 in Austria, New Zealand, Germany, and Sweden, and peaked outside of the top 40 in the Netherlands and Switzerland.

The New Radicals' debut single, "You Get What You Give", was released on November 13, 1998, and was commercially successful. It reached number one in both Canada and New Zealand, and the top five in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the song peaked at number 36, on the Billboard Hot 100. The song reached the top 10 of the US Alternative Songs chart, where it peaked at number eight, and also performed well on the Pop Songs and Adult Pop Songs charts, peaking at numbers 14 and 11, respectively. The song also entered the top 40 in Australia, Norway, Sweden, Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, Germany, and Chile.

"Someday We'll Know" was slated as the album's second single, but the group disbanded before its official release, and the song was far less successful than its predecessor, charting in several European countries. In the United States, the song failed to enter the Billboard Hot 100, although it did manage to reach the Adult Top 40, where it spent 11 weeks and peaked at number 28. In the United Kingdom, the song managed to enter the singles chart, but it peaked at number 48 and spent only two weeks in the top 100. "Mother We Just Can't Get Enough" was planned to be the album's third single, but was never commercially released, due to the group's dissolution.


Basic Description
The 90s.

I said it at the beginning of the month, and I will repeat myself again: if someone was to ask me what album best represents the 1990s as a whole, I would say that Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too is the best representative of the decade. Everything about the 90s is in each & every single song. All of the positivity. All of the negativity. All of what we were dreaming. All of what we feared. All of the potential. You name it! New Radicals were really tapping into the energy of the decade, even though the album was released towards the end of that time. It’s nothing brutal or heavy, but there is plenty of emotion across Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too. On top of that, there’s this gentle hipster kind of vibe as the music plays. It’s not like the modern kind of hipster where you want to facepalm youself & slap the other guy, but it’s something else. I can’t quite explain it, but the hipster-ness on MYBBT is more innocent that what it’s like now. This all culminates in a package that’s upbeat & hopeful, yet at times goes realistic but not overwhelmingly so.

Best Track
I think people who’ve never listened to this album at the very least have of the first single off of this album. You Get What You Give definitely has a majority of the positivity on this album, what with the optimistic lyrics & feeling. Gregg Alexander has pretty strong vocals throughout the entire runtime, and the rest of the band are fantastic as well. Perhaps the part of this song that people who haven’t even heard the whole tune.....know the following lyrics:

Health insurance, rip off lying
FDA, big bankers buying
Fake computer crashes dining
Cloning while they're multiplying
Fashion shoots with Beck and Hanson
Courtney Love and Marilyn Manson
You're all fakes
Run to your mansions
Come around, we'll kick your asses


That bit definitely rubbed some egos back in 1998. Apparently, it was written like that because Mr. Alexander wanted to write some social commentary into the song, and was curious to see if it would go un-noticed by mention some celebrities he’s never met before. Marilyn Manson in particular went on record saying that if he met Gregg, he would punch him in the face, and Gregg Alexander ran up to Beck upon meeting him for the very first time & apologized profusely, saying that him calling Beck out in the song wasn’t personal. Given he was apologizing to a total stranger, it seems to be the case.

You Get What You Give

And then there’s the absolutely odd title track. In a way, it’s incredibly difficult to describe Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too, as it’s such a headtrip. It’s filled with weird soundscapes, organs, and a moody yet mysterious atmosphere that feel like something you’d here in a hazy dream. I will say that there’s a solid beat throughout the whole thing, and Gregg Alexander has a much more subdued & ethereal way of singing on this song in comparison to the one I talked about above. Please do not skip this!

Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too


(Quick Note: according to one comment on Youtube, the reason the lyrics for "Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too" are different than what's published in the liner notes is because the original track was so insanely anti-corporate that they refused to publish it.)

Worst Track
While an undeniably fun album, Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too’s tracklist isn’t......perfect. For every catchy song, there’s one that either doesn’t start off the right way, or maybe is a bit too cheesy for it’s own good. Nothing on this album is bad per se, but when you have goofy lyrics in Jehovah Made This Whole Joint for You, the somewhat rough chorus in In Need of a Miracle (BTW, this song also has some silly lyrics in it), and Technicolor Lover with it’s overall ridiculous nature, which is ironic since it’s got a pretty good groove to it. I can easily understand why newer listeners may be turned off by Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too because of these 3 songs, but that would be an incredible disservice to the record as a whole.

Other
If you’re curious about listening to this album, then click on the link below:

Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too


Overall Impression & Rating

Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too is a relic of it’s time. Whether good or bad, you know that the album is straight from the 90s upon listening to just the first few notes of the opening track. Like I said at the beginning of the month & in the basic description above, this is the album I point to when someone wants to know what the 1990s were about. All of that decade’s positivity, negativity, hopes, dreams, fears, you name it! There are some songs that certainly lag behind in terms of energy, but the overall package is a treat. Newer music fans will love the vibes, but for someone like me, it’s another nice reminder of the last best decade.

Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too gets an 8 out of 10 objectively, but on 90s nostalgia alone it’s a solid 10 out of 10 for me.

And that was my review of Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too. The sadly lone release from the New Radicals, it somehow manages to hold up nostalgically for 90s kids like myself, while at the same time being an interesting curiosity for the newer generation. With that, my first look at the 1990s has come to an end. Join me in July for when I take a look at some of the most iconic anime to have been released in that time, but until then.......EXTREME!!!!!!!



***
If you’d like a possibly less biased review than mine (One in which I used some aspects & info to help make this one), then click on the link below:

Rocked: All Time Favorite Albums: New Radicals - Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too

Also, if you’d like to look at a more comprehensive take on the band, check out the wikipedia entry. It’s worth a read!:

New Radicals (Wikipedia)


Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too (Wikipedia)

Monday, June 13, 2022

Album Review: Iron Maiden's Fear Of The Dark

Are you enjoying this return to the 90s fellow Otaku & Metalheads!?

This month started off with what I thought the best albums of 1990s were, and I suspect that many of you were hit with a big wave of nostalgia. Since I already got the roller coaster going, we’re about to ride right down into a hell of an album. I hinted at this classic at the beginning of the month, and it’s one I’ve loved since I got a hold of it back in 2016. Not only that, but it’s an example out of a myriad amount of examples that prove that fantastic Heavy Metal (And by extension, good music in general) didn’t up & disappear once it hit 1990. Also, last month marked it’s 30th birthday, and thus this review is also a celebration of sorts. So, saddle up your horse, grab your six shooter, and get ready to take a look at my review of Iron Maiden’s 1992 classic, Fear Of The Dark. Ride em cowboy!

Background
By 1992, Iron Maiden were running on fumes. After going on tour after tour with nary a stop to take a break & relax, the band seemed tired. Bruce Dickenson seemed to have taken the end of this decade of touring particularly rough, as a mixture of issues kept pushing the man down, with the straw that broke his back being the death of his dear friend, Freddy Mercury. Despite this, the band managed to let out a beast from it’s cage, and it’s name would be Fear Of The Dark. Released on the 11th of May, 1992, the release would be a far cry from what the group’s last two releases were. There is no heavy usage of Prog, nor is there any Low-Fi over correcting, as Maiden returned to their older form. Steve Harris turned the barn they used in the recordings for No Prayer For The Dying into a full-fledged studio, and as such the recording & production was considerably better than that of NPFTD. From it’s release, Iron Maiden would go on the Fear of the Dark Tour 1992, which included 66 concerts on five continents for well over a million fans, and was considered to be a big success. Then, once 1993 came around, Bruce Dickenson would ultimately leave the band to pursue his solo career, and by extent to take a break from the grueling schedule of Iron Maiden.

Oddly enough, Fear Of The Dark would ultimately receive mixed reviews. AllMusic commented that, while "easily an improvement over 1990's lackluster No Prayer for the Dying (both musically and sonically)", the release "still wasn't quite on par with their exceptional work from the '80s". Sputnikmusic was more positive about the album, stating that "though many of the songs are still sub-par by their standards ... the band returns to the lofty heights that they enjoyed for the entirety of the 80's". Finally, Billboard gave Fear Of The Dark a positive review on release, saying Dickinson's voice "shows no sign of wear and tear" and the guitar work "sounds fresh and crisp".

In a bit of irony, Fear of the Dark would be ranked No. 8 on Guitar World magazine's top ten list of guitar albums of 1992 in October of 2011. Further adding to this irony, the album would be the third Iron Maiden album to top the UK Albums Charts, and it would be their most successful record in North America after the inception of Nielsen SoundScan in 1991, with 438,000 copies sold as of 2008.

Basic Description
Iron Maiden with a Western feel.

I don’t know what the band was watching at the time, or if the ghost of John Wayne was hanging around in the studio during the recording, but I swear that you could use this entire album as the soundtrack for a Western. There’s this.....vibe, that comes across like the wind from the plains of the old west, and the sound of horses thundering along. It’s strong from beginning to end, which is weird considering that you don’t really get that Western meat in the songs. In fact, there’s some pretty tough subjects being sung about. From the view of Desert Storm through the eyes of a soldier, to the fear in sexual relationships resulting from AIDS, and even Football Hooliganism, Fear Of The Dark has a degree of seriousness that can be surprising when it hits. Fortunately, it’s not all doom & gloom, as there are still plenty of tunes that feel like the typical Iron Maiden material. Not only that, but Iron Maiden seems to reign themselves in after going in vastly different directions (More on that below), and it appears as if the band finally feel united once again......which makes things all the more sad when Bruce Dickenson left the band.

Best Track
To single out one song that could be considered the best off of this album is genuinely insane! Pretty much every single song on this CD is a killer, and there’s no reason to even look at the skip button as the music plays (Although there can be one exception made, but that’s a little later). Bruce & the boys really felt reunited on this record, as the two prior releases were wildly different in terms of style, and this one sounds and feels reminiscent of their mid 80s era. The band feel like they’re simply deciding to rock out across the near hour long runtime (57 minutes & 58 seconds), and not trying to be too Prog or too Lo-Fi. My favorite track however, would have to go to the 3rd to last song of Fear Of The Dark, Judas Be My Guide. It begins with a slow buildup with a western twang reminiscent of Be Quick Or Be Dead & Afraid To Shoot Strangers, but then tears into the main bread & butter of the track. The instrumentation is played at a faster pace when compared to the intro, and you’d swear that you are riding a horse on the plains of the old west. Things never go so fast that it comes across like things will fly off the rails, but you are in for an intense ride during it’s run time!

Judas Be My Guide

Worst Track
Like I said above, every song on Fear Of The Dark is metal of the highest degree, and acts as irrefutable evidence that classic Heavy Metal didn’t “Die” in the 1990s. That being said, if one was to say that Weekend Warrior was the worst thing on the album, I would understand. Again, this song isn’t bad, and has just as much space in the spotlight as everything else on the record. However, it doesn’t quite have the same level of energy or punch as the rest of the album. It’s still wonderful to listen to, but for whatever reason it doesn’t stay with me like everything else does, and it probably doesn’t for anyone else that isn’t a fan. Once again, I still like is as much as all the other songs, but it has less of a grip on your ears when you compare it to everything else.

Weekend Warrior

Other
If you’re curious about listening to this album, click on the link below:

Fear Of The Dark

Overall Impression & Rating
Fear Of The Dark is proof positive that Heavy Metal, despite not being as popular as it was in the 1980s, still was a musical force to be reckoned with. Iron Maiden were still going strong in the early 90s, and despite Bruce Dickenson running on fumes by 1992, still had a phenomenal set of vocal pipes across the tracks of this record, and the rest of the band put in a lot of work also. If you want to make any pretentious metal hipster have a brain aneurysm about Heavy Metal not being so blindly paid attention to in the decade that supposedly “Killed” it....have them listen to this!

Fear Of The Dark is a solid 10 out of 10. No question about it!

And that was my review of Fear Of The Dark. This would be the last time that fans would see Bruce with the band for roughly 8 years, but it was a hell of a way for him to go out on! Now, we travel to near the end of the 1990s, as I’ll be taking a look at a album that sadly should be more popular than it was. See you soon!

Wednesday, June 1, 2022

The Top 10 Albums Of The 90s

Hello fellow Otaku & Metalheads, and welcome.....to the summer.....of the 90s!

This time around, I wanted to do something different when compared to the past few years. I wanted to talk about a time. I wanted to talk about a place. I wanted to talk about a period in this world’s existence that seemed like the last dimension where there was any sanity & stability, one in which is considered by many to be “The Last Great Decade” of this planet. I’d actually been considering this one since 2020, but circumstance then and the year after made me shift plans. I, like a huge bunch of you, am a 90s child. I was born in 1987, but I was raised in the decade of Crystal Pepsi, Quake, and the Macarena. Many of us pine for this more innocent time, and even the younger generation looks back on this time with wonder & curiosity. With the 90s now being over 30 years old, it only feels right to check out the decade that helped raise a big majority of us.

So to start things off, I’ll be talking about the music of the 1990s. The albums that would not only help Heavy Metal evolve, but the records that are distinctively 90s, and wouldn’t work in any other decade. Some of these releases I’ve grown up with, while many others I’ve discovered over the years. To this day, all of these albums have cemented themselves in the musical history of the decade, and most of them are still talked about even now. With that said, here are the top 10 albums of the 90s. Let’s begin!

1990) King Diamond - The Eye (Song)

To start this list off, we got the king of horror gracing us!

As I said in part 2 of my overview on King Diamond in 2019, his inaugural release of the 90s remains his most intriguing album to date. Taking a piece of real world history, and mixing in some fictional mysticism, The Eye is a unique experience that’s a treat to listen to. King’s vocal work is quite refined at this point (Considering how good he sounded in the 80s, that’s saying something), the keyboarding & sound effects had a lovely bit of atmosphere to music, and the instrumentation is top notch! Yeah, drummer Snowy Shaw used a drum pad (Not a drum machine like a lot of people think), but you can’t even tell that one was used! As a way to start off the decade, this was a great release to kick things off!

1991) Metallica - Metallica (Song) & Nirvana - Nevermind (Song) & Motörhead - 1916 (Song) & Queen - Innuendo (Song)

1991 was a collection of legends, both old & new. Metal, Rock, and Grunge had a comfy home in this year. You got one of the biggest icons releasing perhaps their most commercial release with their self-titled album. It hit the music landscape like a nuke: it was the most accessible & commercial Metallica that was out at the time, and maybe perhaps ever. The music is still nice and heavy, but the instrumentation is played a little safer than before, and the vocals from James Hetfield aren’t as harsh as it was on prior records. Metallica (aka The Black Album) still has it’s critics to this day (Understandably so to a degree), but even non metalheads can’t deny that Metallica’s self-titled album is a beast!

And then there’s the Grunge icons Nivana. Despite always not liking the connection, the musical style is far more related to Heavy Metal than one is willing to admit. There’s a lot more grit & heaviness to the instrumentation than one would expect, and the vocal work can be surprisingly brutal (Despite not be as loud sometimes). The band’s second release, Nevermind, became the foundation for fundamentally every other 90s Grunge band to follow. Mid-pace & rhythm, instrumentation that’s the right balance between heavy and mellow, and lyrics & themes that are far more grounded in reality when compared to many metal releases from the prior decade. In the 30+ years since it came out, Nevermind has remained a classic from the 90s, and despite Grunge no longer being around, it still stands as a testament to a music genre that could have been.

From Grunge, we go back to a metallic legend. Motörhead dominated the 70s & 80s, cranking out classic albums that are still talked about and listened to today. The 90s were no different, as despite one release in 1992, the band crafted some choice cuts. 1916 was their herald into the new decade, and what a metal buffet it was! Thrash Metal, Speed Metal, standard Heavy Metal, played alongside Hard Rock, Blues, and even some borderline symphonic music with the concluding track (Which happens to be the title track). Every once in a while when I have this playing, I swear I can feel Lemmy’s presence in the room, and if you ever wanted to get into this band, then 1916 is a great gateway album!

And finally, there is Queen. To be honest, what is there to say!? Since 1973, Freddie Mercury, Brian May, John Taylor, and John Deacon have put out some of the most iconic Hard Rock records out there (Some of which have a metallic edge to them), but even then they’d always add in some other genres just to see what happens. Sadly, we all knew what happened by the time the 1990s arrived, but that did not let Queen dampen their spirits. The band circled the wagons, and ended up making their strongest album in their entire discography with Innuendo. You got something for everybody on here: Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, Gospel, and AOR are just some of the styles you’ll hear as the record plays. As great as Innuendo was, the band did manage to get one final album out later on in the decade.....but we’ll get to that when the time comes.

1992) Iron Maiden - Fear Of The Dark (Song) & Sodom - Tapping The Vein (Song)

If any cynical metalhead spergs the myth that classic metal “Died” once it reached the 90s, kindly direct them to 1992.

For starters, there’s Iron Maiden’s second entry in the decade with Fear Of The Dark. Despite the noise coming from the critics (Many of which are Maiden fans themselves ironically), it is perhaps the strongest & most focused the band has been in a few years. 1988 gave us perhaps their most Prog laden output with Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son, and 1990 went in the other direction with the more Lo-Fi outing in No Prayer For The Dying. Fear Of The Dark, meanwhile, comes across like a re-alignment to their earlier material. There are fast-paced rockers, mid-paced monsters, and low-paced titans across it’s near hour long play time. Though this would be lead singer Bruce Dickenson’s last outing with Iron Maiden for a few years, it’s obvious that he managed to belt out a classic before he left, and that’s what this album is....a classic!

And then there is Sodom’s borderline Death Metal monstrosity in Tapping The Vein. I’ve already gone over my personal connection to the album a few times, so there’s no need to repeat any of that. I will say that this is perhaps the bloodiest release the band ever made: the lyrics are dirty, uncomfortable, & violent, and the instrumentation reaches into some fairly dark energy at times. After a decade of hair & spandex (Most of which I liked, btw), it’s executioner would come in the form of one of the pinnacles of German Thrash, and the killing blow would be exceptionally gory. If you’re not in the mood for sunshine & rainbows, and want some mayhem & carnage, then you are going to love this!

1993) Motörhead - Bastards (Song)

It’s you again Motörhead!

Like I said back in 1991, 1916 was a great way for a legendary band to gain a foothold in the 1990s. Granted their 1992 output was mostly a giant dumpster fire (Read here for details), their apology album Bastards in 1993 was a huge improvement. Basically, take 1916, refine that album’s sound & feel, and give the record a vibe that’s similar to what Motörhead did back in the early to mid 80s. That what you get with Bastards! An album with an 80s attitude, but with 90s production & recording technology behind it, it’s vastly better than what came out the year before. You certainly won’t be a bastard if you listen to this!

1994) Septicflesh - Mystic Places Of Dawn (Song) & Darkthrone - Transylvanian Hunger (Song)

Death Metal & Black Metal. Two sub-genres I’ve said time and time again are my leave favorite metal styles, but since 2014 I gained a bit of understanding & appreciation for. Though the 1980s was where both styles began to take shape, it was the 1990s where they really took off, and two of my favorite bands in each sub-genre came out in this decade.

For starters, there’s Septicflesh. Just recently, the band put out their 11th studio album, so it seemed right to put their first record on the list. Mystic Places Of Dawn does have a dent or two in it’s otherwise pristine armor: the recording & production does come across as a little dated (Although at the same time adds to the atmosphere), and there’s a highly faint thread of cheese sewn in (Again, it adds to the overall experience at the same time). Taking that out of the equation, however, and you have a brutal yet mystical experience with this album. The band never delved into the typical tropes of Death Metal, opting instead to experiment with Greek mythology, Paganism/Wiccanism, astrology, and gothic symbolism. Since 2013, longtime fans and potential new fans have the chance to experience this album once again, as Septicflesh re-released Mystic Places of Dawn (Alongside the rest of their 90s output) with bonus material. Since finding an original release of this album is near impossible, this re-release is a great way to get into the band!

And then there’s Darkthrone. The band’s heyday will always been in the 1990s, and while they only had one “Meh” album from this time, everything else is a Black Metal classic! A Blaze In The Northern Sky pulled me into the blackened fold, but Transylvanian Hunger is the glue that keeps me stuck to the spot. The group went in a considerably darker direction in spots, and thus created what is called Depressive Black Metal. In addition to that, there are hints of Viking Metal in a song or two, but those bits can be considered a little controversial due to Varg Vikernes’s presence (Long story I won’t get into here). As bleak as it can be, I find that Transylvanian Hunger acts as a darkened counterpart to a lot of the happier bits of Heavy Metal I’m more often fond of, and it might do the same for some of you!

1995) W.A.S.P. - Still Not Black Enough (Song) & Queen - Made In Heaven (Song)

Sometimes, even a popular band can put out something that can fly well below the radar. W.A.S.P. is no exception to the rule, as while their sales in the 1990s may have dipped, they were still a surprisingly relevant band, and Still Not Black Enough is their most obscure record in their entire library. I’ve spoken about this masterpiece 3 times, so I won’t repeat all that much here. I will say that Blackie really shows what he was feeling & what his emotions were at the time, leading to what may be the most insightful W.A.S.P. have ever created. It may be difficult to find physically, but there are plenty of sources online to find it digitally, so download it as soon as you can!

And then there is what would ultimately be the final release of Queen. Despite having been gone from the world roughly 4 years by 1995, the rest of the band still managed to craft one last record in tribute to Freddy Mercury. Taking the 3 tracks that they managed to record with Freddy before his passing, and filling the rest of the album with tracks from discarded Queen songs & discarded songs from Freddy’s solo career, Made In Heaven ended up being one of the most uneven records in their entire discography. Despite that, there’s something comforting about Queen coming together for one final hurrah, and it’s bittersweet to hear one of Rock’s most flamboyant figureheads singing his ass off. It may not be as good as Innuendo was, but it’s still worth the time to sit down & listen to it.

1996) Type-O Negative - October Rust (Song)

I could have picked just about any release from this band’s output in the 90s, and it would have worked. In the minds of a lot of fans, these badass Brooklyn boys were the progenitors of Gothic Metal here in the United States, and were a big source of inspiration for many other bands in the style both here & abroad. Even over 12 years since the tragic passing of iconic frontman Pete Steele, there are still fans who keep the green light aloft in his name. I sadly got into Type-O Negative far too late in their career to see them live, but that first encounter in 2006 on MTV of all things still feels incredibly strong to this day. So I feel that the very first album I ever came across would appear on this list.

What to say about October Rust. Take everything from their prior release, slow things down a little, and refine the sound, and you have perhaps one of if not the best releases from Type-O Negative in the 1990s, and possibly one of the best Gothic Metal albums released in the decade. Everybody carries their weight across the entire record, but Pete Steele’s aura is the strongest out of everyone on October Rust. His voice is so rich, it makes the most chocolate of cakes feel puny, and his Bass playing is top notch. Not much more to say, other than you need to listen to this!

1997) Razor - Decibels (Song)

Okay, I got a confession with this one. All the other years on here were oddly simple to choose. From 1990 to 1996, then from 1998 to 1999, I was able to pick releases with relative ease. With 1997? For whatever reason, I actually had quite a difficult time in selecting what should go here. So much so, that I admit that 1997 is a throwaway year on this list, and I just randomly picked an album to go here. That being said, Decibels isn’t half bad! A surprise from one of Canada’s best (Their last release before this was in 1991, btw), Razor opted to go for mid-paced tracks across the entire record. The end result are songs that are Thrash & heavy, yet they never sound like they’re going to fly off the rails at a moment’s notice. Despite one hiccup track (See here), this is one of the many examples of Heavy Metal releases that flew under the radar in the decade when the style wasn’t in the spotlight. If you’re willing to wander around looking for a diamond in the rough, this is one you need to look for!

1998) New Radicals - Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too (Song)

And here is one of the most non-metal albums to ever grace this blog of mine.....and it’s one I happen to love a lot.

If you were to ask me what album from the 1990s was the definitive face of the decade, I would point you to this one. Not Nevermind. Not Fear Of The Dark, and not even the band at the last end of this list! Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too embodies all of the positivity, negativity, hopes, dreams, fears, and wonder of the 90s, not to mention how eclectic the music of that decade could be. On top of that, the record is incredibly hipstery, but hipstery in an innocent kind of way, not the modern pretentious kind of hipster. The Alternative Rock/Pop Rock & Pop sensibilities are a nice counterbalance to some of the heavier offerings that came out in the decade, and the vocal work is pretty nice also. I can certainly see why many people would not consider Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too as great musical material, but if you’re willing to put your bias aside, you will find that there’s something genuinely awesome on this release.

So if you think New Radicals was an odd choice.....wait until you see what coming next!

1999) Kreator - Endorama (Song)

I’ve spoken about this album at least twice if I recall correctly. Both times I gave Endorama praise, as Kreator were now firmly in new territory musically. Shedding the Thrash Metal skin they grew in the 1980s to very early 1990s, by 1999 they were seemingly a full-blown Gothic Metal band with a hint of Thrash & Industrial. At first I admit I certainly threw some mud their direction for changing their ways so drastically, but once I put my biases aside, I realized that Endorama may be the best thing that Kreator put out in the 90s. Sure they weren’t Thrash anymore, but that little bit that was still deep inside added a touch of spice to the Gothic proceedings, and that hint of Industrial added something special in it’s own way as well. If there was an album that had every right to end the last greatest decade ever......it’s Endorama.

So those were the top 10 albums of the 1990s! This decade was a mix of heavy, eclectic, artistic, and imaginative. From metallic titans to , a wide variety of artists put out some of their most unique material during this time. Whether you’re a 90s child or not, I belt that you’ll find something in this list that’ll spark your fancy. So, since the sound of music is still floating through the air, why not take a listen, and join me next week for a little fear.....of the dark. See you soon!




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Honorable mention: Released weirdly enough 16 days before Endorama (Some of the songs for Endorama in fact were on her as an odd preview of sorts), Voices of Transgression - A 90s Retrospective was a collection that “Encompassed” Kreator’s time in the 90s. I say “Encompassed”, because it doesn’t cover every aspect of their career in the 1990s, but at the same time is a nice selection of songs. For more info on it, check out my review below, and if you’re interested in listening to Voices of Transgression, I’ve provided a link to that also:

Kreator: Voices of Transgression - A 90s Retrospective

Kreator: Voices of Transgression - A 90s Retrospective (Review)

I should make mention that Endorama wasn’t the original album for 1999. I originally had Das Testament from E Nomine picked for that spot for quite some time, but due to it’s short time in the 90s (It was only around for 20 days when it was released on the 11 of December, 1999), I felt that a change was needed.