In a day when there were only two cores—hard and grind— and before anyone crabwalked their way through a music video, before there was a scene for which there could be hair, before anyone auto-tuned the clean vocals in their songs, Morbid Angel released an album called Domination. The year was 1995 and I was 13 years old. I had been listening to Morbid Angel for some time at this point. I owned 1989's Altars of Madness and 1991's Blessed Are The Sick, but it was their third album, 1993's Covenant that was the important one. I have no idea how many times I've listened to this album, but it must be in the healthy triple digits. The count was probably into the triple digits when Domination came out in 95. It was right up there with Vulgar Display of Power and Chaos A.D.

I listened the living hell out of that record. In case you are somewhere around my age and are unfamiliar with Covenant but you were around to see Beavis & Butthead, then you might recognize this video.

http://www.dailymotion.com/videox1qz30

Pretty killer song right?

I know it is.

And then Domination came out and for some reason I thought they'd gone soft on me. I was disappointed with the album and it never really enter heavy rotation the same way that Covenant had. The songs were weak and soft. They basically made a fucking pussy ass country record I thought. I felt betrayed, so Domination was lodged into the back of my brain as Morbid Angel's failed mid-career attempt at selling out.

Then a few weeks ago, I decided I'd give their "new" record a shot. Of course, this was early 2010, 15 years after its release. Morbid Angel had released three records afterward, yet in my head, for whatever reason, Domination was still the "new" one. Weird how that happens.

And, wow. Was I wrong in my opinions of the album. Domination fucking SLAYS. Perhaps you'd be interested in hearing the song that pretty much convinced me that Morbid Angel had gone soft on this record? Here it is.

http://www.dailymotion.com/videox1elnb

What the hell? Was I serious? Something in me thought that this wasn't heavy enough? "Where The Slime Live" is an amazing song, yet 13-year-old Joe thought it was total pussy crap. I was an idiot! In all likelihood I still am!

In case the sample wasn't enough, here are a couple more tracks from the record I had dismissed as not heavy enough.

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Yeah. I know. Totally soft right?

I think I've proven myself here. If you've got some old records around that you maybe didn't get into the first, give them a listen. You might be pleasantly surprised by what you hear.

http://www.vimeo.com/4766246

Pretty sweet, metal as hell video. The song's a little spastic, but overall it's pretty damn cool. This seems like a band that is really going to come into its own on their second record. I look forward to it. A lot of potential here and a sweet video.

I don't know what it is about these guys, but I am totally in love with this. I only checked out the video out of curiosity, but these guys totally kill it. Maybe it's the way these guys, deliberately or not, nailed the updated 90s metal feel. Maybe it's just nostalgia for the metal of my youth washing over me. Maybe it's that I can understand the words, but the band is clearly aggro as hell. It's as if 90s hardcore and Southern Metal had a baby and that baby was awesome. It's heavy, it's thick, it's crunchy, it's punk, it's metal, it's fresh.

Seriously, best new band I've heard in a while. I can't wait to pick up their record.

And the video is pretty rad too. I usually HATE videos with lots of performance, but the silhouette against the projection thing is really working for me. Amazing.

Did I say that I liked this yet? I do.

http://www.vimeo.com/6722853

Say what you will, I think Evergreen Terrace is an awesome band. Over time, they've been shifting from a good, if not exactly unique, hardcore band, to a totally rocking hard edged rock band. This song is a perfect example of that evolution. I also like that the dude who does clean vocals doesn't sound like anyone else and totally avoids the whiney emo-tinged wailing you find so often in sub-par bands who imitate but do not innovate. Devil Wears Prada, I'm looking at you.

And isn't the name "Evergreen Terrace" totally awesome? 10 points if you get it.

Today I learned about a genre of metal called "New Old School Death Metal" or NOSDM. While I think the resurgence of old school style Death Metal is awesome, I'm a little surprised by it. Had it really gone anywhere? I was always of the opinion that since its inception, there have been dudes playing Death Metal the same way. Sure, the bands change and the members of the bands change, but hasn't there always been a core of old school Death going on somewhere?

Did I miss out on something? Was I too busy listening to Old Old School Death Metal (OOSDM) records to notice?

Did Death Metal change so much that we're experiencing a revival of the classic form much in the same manner as thrash suddenly became huge again about three years ago? Do we refer to Municipal Waste and Toxic Holocaust as "New Old School Thrash Metal" or NOSTM? Are all these labels really necessary? If we didn't call these new DM bands NOSDM, but just plain called them Death Metal, would it be so hard to understand? Would it be wrong?

Let's posit that Death Metal in its traditional form peaked about 1994, to be superseded by the Swedish style that dominated the later 90s and early 00s. (No, nü-metal doesn't fucking count.) The earliest known uses of the term "Death Metal" were found somewhere around 1984, giving Death Metal a 10 year run. Now, if a style falls out of favor but does not disappear completely, can we really call its resurgence by a new name? Composers wrote Baroque music for 160 years. It's not like when Baroque first showed up, went through a wave of initial popularity, decreased slightly in public opinion, and then showed up again they called it New Old School Baroque Music (NOSBM), did they?

The whole thing, and really the extreme fragmentation of metal subgenres in general, seems pretty silly to me.

And, because I am such a caring person, I won't let you go without some examples.

Let's do a chronological survey of some of my favorite Death Metal, shall we?

1987's "Beyond the Unholy Grave" - Death

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1987's "Bleed for the Devil" - Morbid Angel

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1989's "Sacrificial Suicide" - Deicide

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1990's "Burden of Evil" - Monstrosity

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1991's "Jesus Wept" - Suffocation

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1992's "Hammer Smashed Face" - Cannibal Corpse

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1993's "Preacher of Sodomy" - Broken Hope

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1994's "Born Headless" - Cryptopsy

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1995's "Nothing But Fear" - Morbid Angel

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1996's "Permanently Disfigured" - Dying Fetus

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1997's "Save To The Cross" - Deicide

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1998's "Flame To The Surface" - Cryptopsy

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1999's "Blowtorch Slaughter" - Cannibal Corpse

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2000's "Christians To The Lions" - Behemoth

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2001's "Blind The Vision That Shatters" - Neuraxis

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2002's "Dead Sea Scroll Deception" - Lock Up

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2003's "History Is Rotten" - Misery Index

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2004's "Sensual Sickness" - Decapitated

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2005's "The Victorious Reign" - Hate Eternal

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2006's "The Crawl Inside Me Uninvited" - Coldworker

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2007's "Rebirth In Blood" - Blood Red Throne

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2008's "Slaughtering The Will To Live" - Bloodbath

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2009's "Carrion Sculpted Entity" - Cannibal Corpse

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Sorry, for some reason I don't have any Death Metal from 1988 on my iPod right now. I'll fix that oversight when I get home tonight.

Now, listen to the bands on an article by Decibel Magazine about NOSDM. It seems to me that besides some basic evolution in the quality of the productions, that Death Metal has been alive an well since at least 1987. So, do we need this new label at all? Can we not just keep calling it Death Metal? Do we need OOSDM, MEOSDM (Mid-Era Old School Death Metal), and NOSDM? What happens when NOSDM becomes Old New Old School Death Metal (ONOSDM)?

For the initiated and uninitiated out there who take the time to read and listen to this, what do you think? Comment away.

Is this the best song title of all time or is it the best song title ever?

However, I do have to admit that basically everything I've ever heard from Nuclear Holocaust reminds me of Beneath The Remains-era Sepultura.

Don't know what I'm talking about? Hear for yourself.

Only a 17 year difference! The video even has all the trappings of 80s thrash. Totally awesome and clearly deliberate. It's like these guys are saying, "We love thrash so much, we're going to live in a timewarp." I respect that.

Because Devin can do no wrong and this homage to Evil Dead supports my case. Seriously though, is Strapping Young Lad not one of the best metal bands ever? Recently on Invisible Oranges, they asked what bands made us proud of our native countries and what bands made us ashamed. I was bummed that I couldn't put SYL on my list because I'm not a Canadian.

Also, because Protest The Hero slays, you should see this video.

And the original.

Because I think all of you need more Death Metal in your lives.

Because tonight is clearly a night of superlatives, here is one of the best songs off one of the best metal records by one of the best metal bands of all time performed live.

Jesse and I went to see At The Gates here in New York at Irving Plaza in July of 2008 and it was amazing. Not just amazing, but Jesse's first metal show. And what a show.