5 albums to soundtrack the 90s New York metal scene

Features
By ( Metal Hammer ) published

Your indispensable soundtrack to the blackness and depravity of 90s New York metal

New York was home to a thriving, snarling, evolving metal scene in the 1990s. These are the five essential albums you need to recreate that feeling at the touch of a button.

Unsane – Unsane (1991)

With one of the most infamous album covers of all time – a photo of a man decapitated by a train – the young “extreme gorehounds” in Unsane spat out one of the most brutal, punishing debuts ever. It’s a gut-punch of searing noise-rock.

Helmet – Meantime (1992)

Post-hardcore, post-noise rock, post-everything, really, Helmet’s signature staccato riffs and nods to jazz and groove-metal cemented them as one of the most eccentric and influential metal bands of the era.

Type O Negative – Bloody Kisses (1993)

Led by the strapping dark lord Peter Steele, Type O rose from the ashes of chest-thumping thrashers Carnivore and went on to create some of the most emotionally tortured goth-metal of the decade. Bloody Kisses is their magnum opus.

Life Of Agony – River Runs Red (1993)

Like their Brooklyn buds Type O, LOA languished in abject misery, but on their hard-charging debut they tempered their free-flowing bummer jams with enough crossover thrash and belching sludge to remind you that they were from one of the most dangerous cities in America.

Prong – Cleansing (1994)

Prong’s breakout album featured half of post-punk legends Killing Joke, almost no guitar solos, and enduring aggro hit Snap Your Fingers, Snap Your Neck. Cleansing’s percussive rhythms and stripped-down approach paved the way for nu metal a couple of years later.

The rise and fall of New York's 90s metal scene

Metal Hammer
Metal Hammer

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