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They should thank grunge for killing that hairmetal bulshit, if anything grunge really helped bring darker themes in music to mainstream so if anything grunge was just warming up everyone to heavier music
To that end, nu-metal gets way too much hate and I don't get it. Sure, there was a ton of lesser known and far, far, FAR better bands but nu-metal had its place in keeping metal relevant. It sucks that they got the fame and glory that so many better bands deserve, but keeping the genre relevant enough to the masses is underappreciated.
Also people mostly talk about the most popular nu metal bands and never give the more obscure pens due credit cause there is actually some amazing underground nu metal that doesn't sound like a three days Grace Linkin park rip off
By the time the 90ās arrived, metal had splintered into a variety of subgenres pushing the boundaries of speed and heaviness that it becomes hard to pinpoint a single band as the heaviest.
Do you look at black, death and grindcore for insane speed?
Do you look at doom for slow methodical riff oriented heaviness?
Dude, Kyuss is most certainly heavy as steel balls, even if they aren't exactly 100% purebred metalāprobably one of the heaviest rock bands there ever was. Alice in Chains for sure has metal moments courtesy of Jerry Cantrell's metallic-leaning and bone crushing guitar work. Layne is metal as fuck in my book, even if he didn't do death growls.
And the Melvins? man.... if you don't consider them heavy, I'm not sure I can help you. Just because they inspired Nirvana and are from Seattle does NOT make them grunge. Check out the self titled Melvins album, also called Lysol, or some of the tracks from Bullhead like "Boris" or "Anaconda", Pigs Of The Roman Empire... I could go on and on. They are most definitely heavy as a really heavy thing, probably even heavier than that. I've seen them live twice, once in 2015 opening for Napalm Death, and once in 2018 headlining, and they crushed the crowd both times.
Buzz is relentless in his technique and the way Dale pounds the kit is like tribal, barbaric. They both use their respective instruments in such a way that could be considered abuse or even assault if their instruments had feelings. Much like Kyuss, they are the pinnacle of heavy fuzzed out rock music, and they do delve into the metal realm at times. Kyuss may not have death growls and tremolo picked riffs, but their style is one that screams raw power and pure energy.
Hope this brief summary helps you back on the right track
Edited because I re evaluated my original reply and decided it could've been taken as a little harsh, hadn't slept and was running solely on red bull and these little 12 fl oz cold coffee drinks I've only seen at buc-ees. I am more well rested and realize my og reply may have been a lil too much for no reason. Not deleting entirely because it would be inauthentic of me. Have a good day/night and just remember that grunge was a marketing term used to sell records, not necessarily a genre.
Crowbar is really heavy musically and also lyrically.
āgone 6 long years, Itās been so hard without you. Deep in my head, i feel the way that you doā
The song āTime Heals Nothingā is about suicide and is very heavy IMO
I remember reading a Metal Edge (or some other magazine) article in the mid 90's about Mortician being named the heaviest death metal band of all time. I still see articles pop up online continuing that claim. So, yeah. I'm gonna stick with good old Mortician.
If I remember right, they used the drum machine because their original drummer died, so they refused for the longest time to have another on studio albums. Also, I loved their look. Big mean biker, and a fat guy in a Star Wars shirt.
Soilent Green when they still had Donovan Punch and Scott Williams. Seeing them at places like Dixie Tavern and Check Point Charlies and Zeppelins were some of the best shows I've ever seen.
To each his own but i used to be a pantera fan til all these local bands kept doing covers of the same 5 songs and now... I can't fucking stand em period
Nice choices for sure. Iād have a hard time narrowing it to threeā¦Streetcleaner, Selfless, Pure probably for me but there isnāt really a wrong answer.
Sepultura was awesome up until they made Chaos AD, by the time they made Roots I didn't even recognize them anymore.
When Soulfly came out, I gave Max a pass because he had just lost his step-son, but when I heard him with Fred Durst, I. Was. Done.
Iām a nu metal and sepultura fan and I really want to like it but I just find it kind of boring? itās heavy, sure, but it loses what made sepulturaās drumming and riffs really interesting and fun imo (no hate to anyone who loves the album)
Donāt talk shit about Fred Durst.
No album is truly āheavyā until youāve got Fred Durst shouting something like *āSO WHATCHA GONNA DO NOW?!?ā over the chorus. Bonus points if he mentions any variation of āLimp Bizkitā.
Death, metalica, megadeth, black sabbath, dio, electric wizard, godsmack, thereās probably more but Iām too tired to look through my entire library for them
Pantera, Lamb of God. Rush was never really heavy metal, but *Counterparts*, released in ā93, is some of the heaviest Rush shit Iāve heard. Thereās some heavy grunge stuff. Thereās Korn, TOOL, Opeth, and lots more. Lots of wonderful Heavy shit released in the 90ās.
Based for heartwork, but it definitely doesnāt come close in terms of heaviness to the heaviest records from the 90s. So much more peak heavier death and brutal death metal being cranked out.
Everyone automatically think of the Florida DM scene, Euro Black Metal and Nu metal, and I loved a ton of that. Obituary, Rigor Mortis and Dimmu Borgir were played a lot in my beat up '87 Ford.
The 90's was mostly about hardcore to me. Pro-Pain, Turmoil, All Out War, Earth Crisis, Overcome, Zao... That shit changed the game of heavy music for me. The live shows were more engaging.
Many of my friends were into the prog stuff of the nineties like Dream Theatre, Liquid Tension, Grip Inc. but it never grabbed me. I saw Nevermore open for Megadeth and I was bored to tears. Maybe I'm just a caveman.
Clutch in 1993! I present Binge and Purge!
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UI9vhZycf0Y](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UI9vhZycf0Y)
Just try me, just try me, what are you waitin for???
Sepultura, 3 of the most influential heavy records in the 90s. They were the gateway into the more extreme realms.
Morbid Angel. Imo you can't really get heavier than these guys in the 90s. Blessed are the sick, Covenant, Domination, Formulas Fatal to the flesh, just monster EVIL tones.
Soundgarden has some of the thickest heavy tracks. Slaves and bulldozers, outshined, woo!
Super obscure Wiseblood where evil dwells. š
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Whole Death metal and Black metal movements are mostly from the 90s, so impossible to name them all.
Metal was richer than ever in the 90s. Don't get why metalbros complain about le grunge
Maybe metal left the public eye in that decade I suppose, but agree, metal golden age was in the 90s imo
Agree, but the past 10 years has been a great resurgence. Some of the metal records of this decade are some of all time favourites.
Completely agree. The quality and quantity of the last 15 years is astonishing
Truly the last 20 years has been fantastic for metal, even if there were a few dry spells.
Nonsense. The 80s were a golden age for metal
"Grunge killed metal." Ah yes, in the decade death, melodeath, black, progressive, groove, power, alternative, industrial metal and death-doom peaked. Sure...
Grunge killed metallica** is prob what they mean haha
and glš¤¢m
Hard Rock band Metallica? They're so cool.
THEY FAILED as they were thrown to the ground
Haaa Tenacious D
They should thank grunge for killing that hairmetal bulshit, if anything grunge really helped bring darker themes in music to mainstream so if anything grunge was just warming up everyone to heavier music
AIC was a metal band disguised as a grunge band š
Hell yeah man aic is totally metal, bordering on sludge with their self titled album
STP and Soundgarden had heavy shit. Even early Celtic Frost influenced Nirvana and Melvins.
Sludge factory is gorgeous
The band Slugdge is also awesome
Same with Soundgarden, Melvins, STP, Kyuss.
AMEN! First time I saw them was on the Clash of The Titans tour and they completely held their own. Star Lake Amphitheatre 1990
damn right
If you want AIC mixed with prog metal listen to Psychonaut. So damn good
Fuck yeah great take
To that end, nu-metal gets way too much hate and I don't get it. Sure, there was a ton of lesser known and far, far, FAR better bands but nu-metal had its place in keeping metal relevant. It sucks that they got the fame and glory that so many better bands deserve, but keeping the genre relevant enough to the masses is underappreciated.
Also people mostly talk about the most popular nu metal bands and never give the more obscure pens due credit cause there is actually some amazing underground nu metal that doesn't sound like a three days Grace Linkin park rip off
By the time the 90ās arrived, metal had splintered into a variety of subgenres pushing the boundaries of speed and heaviness that it becomes hard to pinpoint a single band as the heaviest. Do you look at black, death and grindcore for insane speed? Do you look at doom for slow methodical riff oriented heaviness?
"What's heavier than Pantera!?"
u/Grinding_Hayfever 's mother
GOT EM!
Lol
The members of Crowbar
NUTHIN BRAH BRAH
THE TISH BRAAAAH BRAAAAAAH
NICKELBACK!!!!!
Death, Meshuggah, Pantera, Cannibal Corpse,
Crowbar, Eyehategod, Acid Bath
SLUUUUUUUDGEEEE
Gorguts, Eyehategod, that Crowbar album, Kyuss, Meshuggah, Acid Bath, Alice In Chains, Earth, the Melvins.
Alice in Chains and the Melvins >>
This guy knows music
Pentastar by Earth is essential for me.
I love most of these but I've never thought to describe Kyuss, AIC or the Melvins as metal or heavy.
Metal adjacent/inflenced?
Melvins/AIC are pioneers of grunge, Kyuss is laid back stoner rock.
Letās be real, grunge is not a genre, it was a sales pitch, there zero overlap in sound between pearl jam and the melvins.
Dude, Kyuss is most certainly heavy as steel balls, even if they aren't exactly 100% purebred metalāprobably one of the heaviest rock bands there ever was. Alice in Chains for sure has metal moments courtesy of Jerry Cantrell's metallic-leaning and bone crushing guitar work. Layne is metal as fuck in my book, even if he didn't do death growls. And the Melvins? man.... if you don't consider them heavy, I'm not sure I can help you. Just because they inspired Nirvana and are from Seattle does NOT make them grunge. Check out the self titled Melvins album, also called Lysol, or some of the tracks from Bullhead like "Boris" or "Anaconda", Pigs Of The Roman Empire... I could go on and on. They are most definitely heavy as a really heavy thing, probably even heavier than that. I've seen them live twice, once in 2015 opening for Napalm Death, and once in 2018 headlining, and they crushed the crowd both times. Buzz is relentless in his technique and the way Dale pounds the kit is like tribal, barbaric. They both use their respective instruments in such a way that could be considered abuse or even assault if their instruments had feelings. Much like Kyuss, they are the pinnacle of heavy fuzzed out rock music, and they do delve into the metal realm at times. Kyuss may not have death growls and tremolo picked riffs, but their style is one that screams raw power and pure energy. Hope this brief summary helps you back on the right track Edited because I re evaluated my original reply and decided it could've been taken as a little harsh, hadn't slept and was running solely on red bull and these little 12 fl oz cold coffee drinks I've only seen at buc-ees. I am more well rested and realize my og reply may have been a lil too much for no reason. Not deleting entirely because it would be inauthentic of me. Have a good day/night and just remember that grunge was a marketing term used to sell records, not necessarily a genre.
Melvins, Sleep, Neurosis
sleeps first record is so fucking heavy i struggle to lift it off my shelf and into the CD player
Itās so heavy it has itās own place on the periodic table: Iomium
Neurosis needs more love man Locust Star alone is apocalyptic
Yess I love the Melvins and Sleep. So good.
diSEMBOWELMENT released one of the heaviest albums ever in ā93 and then just fell off the face of the Earth.
Then came back later as Inverloch!
devourment
And Disgorge. Wtf are these people thinking
no itās totally opeth
Nah dude, Alice in chains
You are a true man of culture, ButtStuffChampion
I've seen some thing on these 38 long, shitty trips around our dying sun. Many more things to be seen. Cheers!
Downs first album is a masterpiece
Nevermore
I was just thinking about Jeff Loomis today. I hope Conquering Dystopia happens again some day, too
I hope so too! I've seen they're still somewhat active on social media, iirc, but I don't know if they'll create more music.
Suffocation?
Grave, Autopsy, Gorefest, Infester, Bolt Thrower, Pungent Stench, Asphyx, Noothgrush.
Morbid Angel, Opeth, Death and Meshuggah.
Carcass
Neurosis
Through Silver in Blood
*ahem* #THRUSILVERINBA-LUUUUD
Ministry, their album Filth pig is fire.
Crowbar is really heavy musically and also lyrically. āgone 6 long years, Itās been so hard without you. Deep in my head, i feel the way that you doā The song āTime Heals Nothingā is about suicide and is very heavy IMO
Fat joke to be made
hehe
This Doom band called Grief. Shit's crushing.
cathedral Melvins fuckin electric wizard
Electric Wizard is my pick as well.
The late 90s mathcore albums are the best thing I've heard ( botch/Dillinger)
Crowbar is probably the most objectively correct answer but iād say Neurosis is a close second
Cryptopsy
your mom
More of a hardcore band, but Disembodied
I remember reading a Metal Edge (or some other magazine) article in the mid 90's about Mortician being named the heaviest death metal band of all time. I still see articles pop up online continuing that claim. So, yeah. I'm gonna stick with good old Mortician.
Mortician sucked so much they were awesome. They used a drum machine, cranked it up to 300bpm, and just grunted. Top tier.
If I remember right, they used the drum machine because their original drummer died, so they refused for the longest time to have another on studio albums. Also, I loved their look. Big mean biker, and a fat guy in a Star Wars shirt.
Didnāt know the drummer died and now I feel like a dick :(
Pantera obviously
Crowbar might be the heaviest band of the 90s physically, like if you put the band on a scale.
Incantation
Strapping Young Lad Kyuss Filter Helmet FantƓmas
Soilent Green when they still had Donovan Punch and Scott Williams. Seeing them at places like Dixie Tavern and Check Point Charlies and Zeppelins were some of the best shows I've ever seen.
Gorguts, napalm death
Acid Bath
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
They are absolutely on Spotify.
Melvins
Crowbar will forever be infinitely better than pantera
I LOVE crowbar- but idk about them being better than pantera lmao
To each his own but i used to be a pantera fan til all these local bands kept doing covers of the same 5 songs and now... I can't fucking stand em period
Cannibal Corpse, Cradle of Filth, Deicide, Godflesh, Obituary, and Pantera
Why has no one said cryptopsyš
That Carcass album is GOATed. Bill Steer and Michael Amott together. Main riff for Embodiment is the heaviest riff all-time.
Discordance axis
Acid Bath...
Love them they're amazing but they're not that heavy
plenty of crushing death/doom and funeral doom from the 90s
Eyehategod, Leechmilk, Iron Monkey
GODFLESH
This could be THE answer. Crushingly heavy as fuck.
The 1994 album Selfless
I love it and all of their other output.
Top three: Selfless , World Lit ByFire, Hymns
Nice choices for sure. Iād have a hard time narrowing it to threeā¦Streetcleaner, Selfless, Pure probably for me but there isnāt really a wrong answer.
Deicide
Entombed. Dismember.
Fuck yes to both š¤š¤
Slayer in the mix for heaviest of the 90s
I quite liked Fear Factory
Pantera
Carcass
Cryptopsy
Christbait. It's not very well known, but listen to their album Dirtypunkmutha
Does Cult of Luna count?
Pissing Razor
Noothgrush is pretty heavy
Do you like Meth Drinker?
Yes
Did we just become best friends?
Sepultura. Brutal riffs up until 1996's "Roots" which was more nu metal.
Sepultura was awesome up until they made Chaos AD, by the time they made Roots I didn't even recognize them anymore. When Soulfly came out, I gave Max a pass because he had just lost his step-son, but when I heard him with Fred Durst, I. Was. Done.
Roots is an awesome album though. Do people actually dislike it?
I still dig it, but itās definitely a departure from their usual sound. āAriseā is probably my favorite.
I consider it their "Load"
Iām a nu metal and sepultura fan and I really want to like it but I just find it kind of boring? itās heavy, sure, but it loses what made sepulturaās drumming and riffs really interesting and fun imo (no hate to anyone who loves the album)
Donāt talk shit about Fred Durst. No album is truly āheavyā until youāve got Fred Durst shouting something like *āSO WHATCHA GONNA DO NOW?!?ā over the chorus. Bonus points if he mentions any variation of āLimp Bizkitā.
I lost interest in the band as well when Roots came out. I never cared for nu metal.
I don't like what you're insinuating
Too many to choose from
Last Days of Humanity, probably
Most of the death metal/black metal bands of the 90s
To Build a Mountain takes a long, long time.
Grip Inc.!!! Such an underrated amazing band.
Starkweather
Death, metalica, megadeth, black sabbath, dio, electric wizard, godsmack, thereās probably more but Iām too tired to look through my entire library for them
Waiting for the internet at large to learn about C O N F E S S O R
Acid King is pretty good
Crowbar was the first band I ever mixed live. That shit was so fun. [Crowbar at Emoās in 2010](https://youtu.be/Hac_aDRdGi4?si=UnTQsx8LhKG3rQv8)
Acid Bath, Grief, and Buzzovā¢en
Pantera, Lamb of God. Rush was never really heavy metal, but *Counterparts*, released in ā93, is some of the heaviest Rush shit Iāve heard. Thereās some heavy grunge stuff. Thereās Korn, TOOL, Opeth, and lots more. Lots of wonderful Heavy shit released in the 90ās.
Eyehategod and Earth (E2 era)
Helmet, many of their songs have those catchy, groovy and quite heavy riffs especially on Betty, Meantime and Afterlife album run.
I could go on for hours, the 90's were the best decade for metal
Based for heartwork, but it definitely doesnāt come close in terms of heaviness to the heaviest records from the 90s. So much more peak heavier death and brutal death metal being cranked out.
Since I scrolled pretty far without seeing them mentioned, Machine Head's - Burn My Eyes really turned me onto the path of heavy shit.
Blasphemy
Cryptopsy, Suffocation, Macabre, Malignancy, Dying Fetus, Nile... the list goes on.
Grief is the heaviest band I've ever heard (listen to the song isolation)
https://preview.redd.it/54n277ohvi6d1.png?width=300&format=png&auto=webp&s=a00920833b4079dbe3ab5a7b0bdb0a9eb80a5902
No band is heavier than crowbar...none fucking heavier
No love at all for Cathedral?
Iām a huge fan of this underground band from the 90s theyāre called Nirvana
Devourment
Everyone automatically think of the Florida DM scene, Euro Black Metal and Nu metal, and I loved a ton of that. Obituary, Rigor Mortis and Dimmu Borgir were played a lot in my beat up '87 Ford. The 90's was mostly about hardcore to me. Pro-Pain, Turmoil, All Out War, Earth Crisis, Overcome, Zao... That shit changed the game of heavy music for me. The live shows were more engaging. Many of my friends were into the prog stuff of the nineties like Dream Theatre, Liquid Tension, Grip Inc. but it never grabbed me. I saw Nevermore open for Megadeth and I was bored to tears. Maybe I'm just a caveman.
Interesting that you post Carcass as Heartwork isn't particularly heavy (I fucking still love it) and their two heaviest albums released in the 80s.
EMPEROR!
Heartwork production was actually unbelievable for its time.
Clutch in 1993! I present Binge and Purge! [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UI9vhZycf0Y](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UI9vhZycf0Y) Just try me, just try me, what are you waitin for???
Bolt thrower
Bolt Thrower dropped Realm of Chaos is 89 and itās arguably heavier than anything that ever came after
Smashing Pumpkins have some very heavy songs
Carcass yes, Blowbar no
Sepultura, 3 of the most influential heavy records in the 90s. They were the gateway into the more extreme realms. Morbid Angel. Imo you can't really get heavier than these guys in the 90s. Blessed are the sick, Covenant, Domination, Formulas Fatal to the flesh, just monster EVIL tones. Soundgarden has some of the thickest heavy tracks. Slaves and bulldozers, outshined, woo! Super obscure Wiseblood where evil dwells. š
Heaviest? I'd say Grief is up there.