Death: Ranking All 7 Studio Albums
5. Scream Bloody Gore (1987)
The fifth slot of our countdown, Scream Bloody Gore, is just as much a fascinating musical history lesson as it is a frantic exercise in unmitigated, wanton destruction. Its backstory is one that tells of a then-twenty-year-old Chuck Schuldiner, who accidentally created the blueprint for one of the most successful and extreme genres in music.
Desiring to emulate his heavy metal heroes in Possessed, Slayer and Sepultura, the young guitarist would unintentionally create something similar but brilliantly different, with the wild vitriol of thrash and black metal complemented by insanely graphic lyrics and even a handful of swanky melodies.
Situated on the other side of the US to extreme Californian innovators like Metallica and Dark Angel, Death’s debut would even allow a death metal movement to spawn in its immediate aftermath, birthing such immense titans as Deicide, Cannibal Corpse, Morbid Angel and Massacre.
When compared to Death’s later albums, Scream Bloody Gore can, at times, feel slightly naïve in its initial, derivative intent. But let’s not forget that this record is history: the foundation upon which every other extreme band since, consciously or not, has formed themselves. It deserves to be put on a pedestal alongside Black Sabbath, Kill ‘Em All and Iron Maiden.