Kerrang! The Album

Product Information

Before analysing Lulu, it’s helpful to consider one simple question: would any other metal band have had the nerve to make such an album? began covering the nu metal genre after one of the magazine's journalists, Mörat, was introduced to Korn by Machine Head frontman Robb Flynn. was first published on 6 June 1981 as a one-off "Heavy Metal Special" from the now-defunct Sounds newspaper. The extent of Metallica’s direct musical influence on the grunge and alternative scene of the ’90s might be debatable, but there’s no doubting they kicked down a lot of doors, and, as Jason argues, provided a gateway not only to their own more aggressive back catalogue but to other more extreme bands and artists. Setting aside the old occult influence in favour of a more socially-relevant purpose, tracks like Act Of Contrition and Psychosexuality tug on your conscience as well as melting your face.

Album review: Beartooth – The Surface | Kerrang! Album review: Beartooth – The Surface | Kerrang!

No-one’s favourite Metallica album, Reload isn’t the failure it’s often made out to be, but it’s undeniably a poor relation to its companion set. Where the likes of Atheist and Suffocation continued to be increasingly technical, CC stressed the value of sheer brute bludgeon.Unlike its weekly counterpart in the UK, the Australian edition was published monthly due to stiff competition from free local music publications. Full of feeling for their lost friend, tracks like Hunger Strike and Say Hello 2 Heaven paved the way for the raw feeling of Ten and Badmotorfinger later in the autumn. Yes, they were making original, dark, uneasy and utterly thrilling music before the term ‘gothic’ had been applied to any scene or style of music, but it’s easy with the benefit of hindsight to place this as one of the cornerstones of what would come after.

The 50 best albums from 1991 | Kerrang! The 50 best albums from 1991 | Kerrang!

While this album might not have aged as well as some on this list, its importance can’t be understated. So familiar are at least half the songs on Metallica’s fifth album that it’s possible to take their majesty for granted, but by any measure the likes of Sad But True, The Unforgiven and Wherever I May Roam are remarkable heavy metal anthems, masterclasses in dynamics and structure. Deploying head-spinning time-signatures, understated Latin rhythms and jazz-style harmonies that were alien in this generally bludgeoning genre, tracks like Your Life’s Retribution and An Incarnation’s Dream raised the bar to another level. Underpinning their proggy flourishes and goofy gags with unimpeachable levels of instrumental virtuosity, tracks as funkily inspired and downright unhinged as Jerry Was A Race Car Driver and Tommy The Cat have defiantly stood the test of time.New York experimental rock legends Swans dropped six albums between 1983 and 1989, metamorphosing from no wave brutalism through shady gothic and on into twangy neo-folk. On another, it was a pivotal progression of the riot grrrl movement, with its title a slogan for girl power at the time, while Daddy’s Li’l Girl and Suck My Left One represented the sonic equivalent of spitting square in a misogynist’s face. Although her tenure as editor was brief, Doreian would balance the magazine's focus between heavy metal and the growing alternative music scene, following the unexpected success of grunge acts such as Nirvana. They would still be recorded through meticulous individual takes – The Black Album was certainly no spontaneous ‘live-in-the-studio’ affair – but they would be drilled to within an inch of their lives first. Cheltenham’s Inkubus Sukkubus delve fully into the supernatural, with songs full of horror, pagan myth and blood-slicked romance.