Usurper
METAL GODS AND METAL LEGENDS
Lords of the Permafrost
March 22nd 2019
Soul Seller Records
SSR 125
KICK ASS METAL RATING
100 out of 100 Blood Dripping Skulls
Perfect Heavy Metal ALBUM
FULL SCORE
TOP 100 HEAVY METAL ALBUMS OF 2019
For those new to heavy metal, i try to cover the most important of the legendary bands, and those bands that have a KILLER album that has the most virtuosity, talent and creativity.
On thing the internet revisionist can not do to Usurper, is take away all the best coverage in the Heavy Metal Bibles of the pre-internet era, good fucking luck not finding a legendary metal bible, in print edition that did not cover this band.
As a metal fan, in the 1970’s i was pretty just a casaul fan, it was not into the fall of 1982 when i lived 3 blocks away from a metal only record store on October 1st, 1982, before that i lived by a tape only record store, so seeing the top 700 albums in heavy metal in on place, was a god send to say the least.
I have Usurper in my top 700 albums of all-time stack, what I call Heavy Metal Hall of Fame albums, just the perfect metal albums for our genres most authentic and talented bands and for fucking sure, if you were to write a heavy metal book, this band deserves a inclusion in that i am pretty fucking sure, they are in the last history book written, i will check after this review.
I am reminded a lot to “stay on your side of the genre you cover, and police that border” well this is a Avant-Garde, Gothic, and Death Metal age publication, which means most album i buy are from these styles, I decided to add Occult Rock, and Occult Metal to our coverage, since those are the bands that get the most heavy rotation, and in my current top 100 albums of all-time stack…for the Avant-Garde it is a style with rules no and no borders, so i police alongside with Avant-Garde Metal Webzine, a style with no fucking borders.
Some bands earned higher rankings and I just have to go with where a band ranks, Usurper has a few albums which are in the top 10 for certain years, and in our KICK ASS METAL HALL OF FAME ALBUMS best albums stack, and there back catalog is in more than one location, so instead of buying random albums for this or that, just find the bands you really listen to, and find away, to have those legendary back catalogs, backed-up, if you can afford more than one residency.
I would love to read top 100 albums, list for each year in metal from 1970, the decades list, the century list, 20th and 21st, and all-time list, which is harder and harder since the genre is going on 50 years, so my top 100’s are include a top 100 for each century, and i consider Usurper the true successor to Celtic Frost, which is one of my favorite bands of all-time, what separates Usurper from all the bands to rank in this style is they have the same intelligence as Celtic Frost where i fucking matters the RIFFS and in the song-writing.
If your in a band, and you think you might rank higher than this band, your on the fucking crack, your are judged against this band, as a gold standard artist which your a judged against, not the other way around, my record shoppe were i shop at has probably 500,000 titles in stock over the spectrum of all 1,300 music genres, and this album was a stand-out, and the whole store just disappeared from my vision, and this is the metal that matters the most. And has to be covered in the correct serious way.
There are tons of Golden Age of Heavy Metal sites that deal with heavy metal from 1980-1986 Only, but luckily for the fans of the 1990’s when most of my collection from that era comes from Razorback Records, Head Not Found Records, Necropolis Records, Hammerheart Records, and Cacophonous Records…so the era i specialize in is the 1993—2003 era, because like I said, the 1980’s style only places exist, and no one can top them, so i just follow my own personal taste in metal, and get my inspiration from the publications that had the best coverage in heavy metal in that era, that lead to the development of Avant-Garde Metal Webzine.
There are bands who heavy metal altars and hall of fames are built around, and Usurper is one of those bands, whose albums belongs, in your record collection, but i decided to have a altar of metallic madness dedicated to this band, and for sure a you can not tell me, i over-rated this band, because if you can think and remember, were they not covered correctly in the last major true metal heavy metal book written, yes they were, go open that book up and know i am right on this.
Is this record review biased, if i did not go over your head, Celtic Frost and Usurper some are my favorite bands of all-time, and without Celtic Frost thousand if not 10’s of Thousands web-zines and print editions were founded, because of Celtic Frost. And Usurper is there successor, sure other bands my rank higher in other webzines, everyone must oo there own ranking, and live and die buy there discussions.
For those not aware in the early years of the Heavy Metal Only Specialty Labels, Chicago, was such a Hot Bed in Heavy Metal, Important Records had to set-up a Combat Records office and a warehouse there just like they had in New York, California, and Texas.
While this is not a complete or perfect list, but these are the BEST METAL ALBUMS OF ALL-TIME TO COME From the Chicago, Illinois area Keep in Mind a band like Zoetrope is on a best albums list of 1983 to 1986, but do not make it on as the genre gets better and better bands each and every year since this genres inception. And keep in mind this is the top off my mind, from constant play list rotation, and if something is missing, I am OKAY with if a glaring omission happens as long a false inclusion does not happen, so long as it is not a GODLY ALBUM.
Coven “Witchcraft Destroys Minds and Reaps Souls”
Coven “Jinx
Genocide “Mass Genocide”
Macabre “Gloom”
Master “Master”
Master “1985 Unreleased Album”
Sindrome “Resurrection…”
The Skull “For Those Which Are Asleep”
The Skull “The Endless Road Turns Dark”
Slauter Xstroyes “Winterkill”
Slauter Xstroyes “Free The Beast”
Terminal Death “Terminal Death”
Trouble ” Trouble”
Trouble “The Skull”
Trouble “Run To The Light”
Usurper “Skeletal Season”
Usurper “Necromemesis”
Usurper “Twilight Dominion”
Usurper “Crypobeast”
Witchcross “Crypt of the Undead”
Witchcross “Cauldron In Satan’s Shadow”
Zoetrope “Amnesty”
The
Top
100
Heavy
Metal
Albums
of
All-Time
ABATTOIR • Vicious Attack
ABNORMALITY • Contaminating the Hive Mind
ABNORMALITY • Mechanisms of Omniscience
ABNORMALITY • Sociopathic Constructs
ACCEPT • Restless and Wild
ACID • Acid
ACID • Maniac
ACID • Live in Belgium
AGENT STEEL • Skeptics Apocalypse
AGENT STEEL • Mad Locust Rising
ANACRUSIS • Screams and Whispers
ANNIHILATOR • Alice In Hell
ANTHRAX • Fistful of Metal • Megaforce Records • MRI 069
ANTHRAX • Armed And Dangerous • Megforce Records • MRS 05
ANTRHAX • Spreading The Disease
ANVIL • Metal on Metal
ANVIL • Forged in Fire
ANVIL • Live in Concert
ANVIL CHORUS • Thought Crimes
ANVIL CHORUS • The Killing Sun
ARTILLERY • Fear of Tomorrow
ARTILLERY • Terror Squad
ATHEIST • Piece of Time
ATHEIST • Unquestionable Presence
ATTACKER • Battle At Helms Deep
ATTACKER • The Second Coming
ATTACKER • Standing The Test of Time
ATTACKER • Giants of Canaan
ATTACKER • Sins of the World
AVATARIUM • Avatarium
AVATARIUM • The Girl With The Raven Mask
AVATARIUM • Hurricanes and Halo’s
BATHORY • Bathory
BATHORY • The Return…
BITCH • Damnation Alley
BITCH • Be My Slave
BLACK DEATH • Black Death
BLACK SABBATH • Mob Rules
BLIND ILLUSION • The Sane Asylum
BLOODLUST • Guilty As Sin
BLESSED DEATH • KILL OR BE KILLED • Megaforce Records • MRI 1369
BLITZKREIG • A TIME OF CHANGES
CACOPHONY • SPEED METAL SYMPHONY
CAGE • Astrology
CANDLEMASS • Nightfall
CANDLEMASS • Ancient Dreams
CANDLEMASS • Tales of Creation
CATHERDRAL • Supernatural Birth Machine
CARNIVORE • Carnivore
CELTIC FROST • Morbid Tales
CELTIC FROST • Emperor’s Return
CELTIC FROST • To Mega Therion
CHASTAIN • Mystery of Illusion
CHASTAIN • Ruler of the Wasteland
CHASTAIN • The 7th of Never
CHASTAIN • The Voice of Cult
CHASTAIN • For those Who Dare
CHASTAIN • In A Out Rage
CHASTAIN • Surrender to No One
CHASTAIN • We Bleed Metal
CHASTAIN • We Bleed Metal17
Children of Technology • Future Decay
COVEN • Witchcraft Reaps Souls and Destroys Minds
COVEN • Jinx
COVEN13 • Worship New Gods
COVEN13 • Destiny of the Gods
CIRITH UNGOL • Frost and Fire
CIRITH UNGOL • King of the Dead
CRUCIFIED BARBARA • In Distortion We Trust
CRUCIFIED BARBARA • ‘Til Death Do Us Party
CRUCIFIED BARBARA • The Midnight Chase
CRUCIFIED BARBARA • In the Red
CRYPTIC SLAUGHTER • Convicted
CULPPRIT • Guilty As Charged
CYNIC • Focus
DARK AGE • Dark Age
DARK ANGEL • We Have Arrived
DARK ANGEL • Darkness Descends
DARK ANGEL • Leave Scars
DEAF DEALER • Keeper of The Flame
DEF DEALER • Journey Into Fear
DARKNESS • The Gasoline Solution
DARKNESS • First World Violence
DEATH • Scream Bloody Gore
DEATH • Leprosy
DEATH • Spirtual Healing
DEATH • Human
DEATH • Individual Thought Patterns
DEATH • Symbolic
DEATH ANGEL • Act III
DEATH STRIKE • Fuckin’ Death
DEEP SWITCH • Nine Inches of God
DEMONA • Metal Through The Time
DEMONA • Speak With The Devil
DESTRUCTION • Infernal Overkill
DESTRUCTION • Under Attack
DESTUCTOR • Maximum Destruction
DREAM DEATH • Journey Into Fear
DOCTOR BUTCHER • Doctor Butcher
DORO • Fist In The Air
EDGE OF PARADISE • Mask
EDGE OF PARADISE • Perfect Shade of Grey
EDGE OF PARADISE • Immortal Waltz
EDGE OF PARADISE • Alive
EDGE OF PARADISE • Universe
EXCITER • Heavy Metal Maniac
EXCITER • Violence & Force • Megaforce Records
EXCITER • Exciter • Double Play Classic • Heavy Metal Maniac • Violence & Force • 1989 CD —Caroline/Megaforce Records
EXHORDER • Slaughter In the Vatican
EXODUS • A Lesson in Violence • October 30th, 1984 Advance Cassette
EXODUS •Bonded By Blood
EXODUS • Pleasure of the Flesh
EXODUS • A Lesson In Violence (Live @ Studio 54 + March 1986 Paul Baloff Demos)
EXODUS • Another Lesson In Violence LIVE
EXODUS • Bonded By Baloff (A.L.I.V Remastered + Bonus Tracks)
EXUMER • Possessed By Fire
EXUMER • Rising By The Sea
FATES WARNING • Night On Brocken
FORBIDDEN • Forbidden Evil
FORBIDDEN • Twisted Into Form
The GATHERING • Mandylion
The GATHERING • Nighttime Birds
GENOCIDE • Mass Genocide
GRAVE DIGGER • Heavy Metal Breakdown • Megaforce Records
• MRI 869
GRAVE DIGGER • Witch Hunter • Megaforce Records • MRI 1169
GRIFFIN • Flight of The Griffin
HAWAII • One Nation Underground
HALLOWEEN • Don’t Metal With Evil • October 30th, 1984 Advance Cassette Original Artwork
HALLOWEEN • Don’t Metal With Evil
HALLOWEEN • No One Gets Out!
HALLOWEEN • No One Gets Out! • Molten Metal Records Version features the “Vicious” Demo
H-BOMB • Coup de metal
H-BOMB • Attaque
HELL • “Hell” 1982 CD Demos Come on 2011 CD album
HELLION • Screams in the Night
HELLION • The Black Book
HELLION • Will Not Go Quietly
HELLION • To Hellion And Back
HEATHEN • Breaking The Silence
HEATHEN • Victims of Deception
HEATHEN • Recovered
HIRAX • Raging Violence
HIRAX • Not Dead Yet (Raging Violence) on CD
HOLOCAUST • The Nightcomers
ICE AGE * Breaking The Ice
IMAGIKA • Imagika
IMAGIKA • Worship
IMAGIKA • And So It Burns
Imagika • Devil on Both Sides
Infernäl Mäjesty • None Shall Defy
Infernäl Mäjesty • No God
INSANITY • Death After Death
IRON MAIDEN • Iron Maiden
IRON MAIDEN • Killers
IRON MAIDEN • The Number of the Beast
JAGUAR • Power Games
JAG PANZER • Ample Destruction
JUDAS PREIST • Killing Machine
JUDAS PRIEST • Hell Bent for Leather
JUDAS PRIEST • Unleashed In the East
JUDAS PRIEST • British Steel
JUDAS PRIEST • Painkiller
KING DIAMOND • Fatal Portrait
KING DIAMOND • Abigail
KING DIAMOND • Them
KREATOR • Endless Pain
KREATOR • Pleasure To Kill
LADY BEAST • Lady Beast
LADY BEAST • Lady Beast II
LADY BEAST •Metal Immortal
LADY BEAST • Vicious Breed
LEATHER LEONE • Shock Wave
LEATHER LEONE • II
LIEGE LORD • Master Control
LORDS OF THE CRIMSON ALLIANCE • Lords of the Crimson Alliance
LUCIFER • Lucifer I
LUCIFER • Lucifer II
MACABRE • Gloom
MALEDICTION • Condamnés
MALEDICTION • Esclave du vice
MANILLA ROAD • Crystal Logic
MANILLA ROAD • Open The Gates
MANILLA ROAD • The Deluge
MANILLA ROAD • Mystification
MANOWAR • Battle Hymns
MANOWAR • Into Glory Ride • Megaforce Records
MANOWAR • Hail To England
MASSACRE • From Beyond
MASSACRE • Back From Beyond
MASTER • Master
MASTER • 1985 Unreleased Album
MEDIEVAL • Medieval…aka 1983 Medieval Cassette Album
MEDIEVAL • All Knobs to the Right
MEDIEVAL • Reign of Terror
MEDIEVAL • Medieval Kills
MEGADETH • Rust In Peace
The MENTORS • You Axed For It
MERCYFUL FATE • 1982 EP
MERCYFUL FATE • Melissa
MERCYFUL FATE • Don’t Break The Oath
MERCYFUL FATE • Curse of The Pharaohs
MERCYFUL FATE Live From The Depths of Hell
MERCYFUL FATE • The Beginning
MERCYFUL FATE • Return of the Vampire
MERCYFUL FATE • In The Shadows
METAL CHURCH • Metal Church • Ground Zero Records with Bonus Track “Big Guns”
METAL CHURCH • Metal Church 1986 • CD on Elektra Records (C)1984 (P) 1986
METALLICA • Kill em ‘ All • Megaforce Records • MRI 069
METALLICA • Ride The Lightning • Megaforce Records • MRI 769
METALLICA • Whiplash • Megaforce Records • MRS 04
METALLICA • Creeping Death/Jump In the Fire Cd
METALLICA • Master of Puppets
MORBID ANGEL • Abominations of Desolation
MORBID ANGEL • Altars of Madness
MORBID ANGEL • Blessed are the Sick
MORBID ANGEL • Covenant
MORBID ANGEL • Domination
MORBID ANGEL • Entangled In Chaos
Motörhead • Ace of Spades
Motörhead • No Sleep ’til Hammersmith
Motörhead • Iron Fist
Motörhead • Another Perfect Day
Motörhead • No Remorse
Motörhead • Orgamsatron
MindMaze • Mask of Lies
MindMaze • Back From the Edge
MindMaze • Resolve
NASTY SAVAGE • Nasty Savage
NASTY SAVGE • Indulgence
NERVOSA • 2012
NERVOSA • Time of Death
NERVOSA • Victim of Yourself
NERVOSA • Agony
NERVOSA • Downfall of Mankind
NIGHTMARE • Astral Deliverance
NIGHTWISH • Once
The OATH • The Oath
OBITUARY • Slowly We Rot
OBITUARY • Cause of Death
OBLIVION • From This Day Forward
OVERKILL • Feel The Fire • Megaforce Records • MRI 1469
OZ • Fire in The Brain
OZ • III Warning
OZZY OSBOURNE• Blizzard of Ozz
OZZY OSBOURNE • Diary of a Madman
OZZY OSBOURNE • Tribute
PAGAN ALTAR • 1982 Demo Cassette
PAGAN ALTAR • Pagan Altar Volume 1
PAGAN ALTAR • Judgment of the Dead
PANTERA • Power Metal
PANTERA • Cowboys From Hell
PANTERA • Vulgar Display of Power
PILE DRIVER • Metal Inquisition
PENTAGRAM • Pentagram
PENTAGRAM • Day of Reckoning
PENTAGRAM • Relentless • Pentagram retitled
PENTAGRAM • Day of Reckoning/Relentless • Double CD
PENTAGRAM • Be Forewarned
POSSESSED • Seven Churches
RAVEN • All for One • Megaforce Records • MRI 269
RAVEN • Live at the Inferno • Megaforce Records • MRI 969
RAVYN BEDARD • Strange Voodoo
RAZOR • Executioners’ Song
RAZOR • Evil Invaders
REPULSION • Slaughter of the Innocent
REPULSION • Horrified
RIOT • Fire Down Under
RIOT • Thundersteel
RIOT • Privilege of Power
The RODS • Wild Dogs
RUSH • A Far Well To Kings
RUSH • Permanent Waves
RUSH • Exit…Stage Left
RUSH • Signal
RUSH • Grace Under Pressure
RUSH • Power Windows
RUSH • Hold Your Fire
RUSH • A Show of Hands
RUSH • Chronicles
RUSH • Presto
RUSH • Test For Echo
RUSH • Differnet Stages — LIVE
SABBAT • History of a Time to Come
The SABBATHIAN “Latum Alterum”
SATAN • Court in the Act
SATAN • Suspended Sentence
SATAN • Live in the Act
SATAN • Life Sentence
SATAN • Trial By Fire
SATAN • Atom by Atom
SATAN • Cruel World
SAVAGE MASTER • Mask of the Devil
SAVAGE MASTER • With Whips and Chains
SAVATAGE • Sirens
SCORPIONS • Taken By Force
SACRIFICE • Torment In Fire
SACRIFICE • Forward to Termination
SACRIFICE • Soldiers of Misfortune
SACRIFICE • Apocalypse Inside
SEPULTURA • Beneath The Remains
SKULLVIEW • Kings of the Universe
SINDROME • Sindrome 2 demos on 1 CD
SINDROME • Resurrection…
SIGN OF THE JACKAL • Mark of the Beast
SIGN OF THE JACKAL • Breaking The Spell
SLAUGHTER • Strappado
SLAUTER XSTROYES • Winterkill
SLAUTER XSTROYES • Free the Beast
SLAYER • Show No Mercy
SLAYER • Haunting The Chapel
SLAYER • Hell Awaits
SLAYER • Live Undead
SLAYER • Reign in Blood
SMOULDER• Time of the Obscene and Evil Daring
SODOM • In The Sign of Evil
SODOM • Obsessed By Cruelty
STORMTROOPERS OF DEATH • Speak English of Die • Megaforce Records
SUCIDIAL TENDENCIES • Suicidal Tendencies
SYRIS • Unseen Forces
TANK • Filth Hounds of Hades
TANK • Power of the Hunter
TANK • This Means War
TERRORIZER • World Downfall
TESTAMENT • Legacy
TROUBLE • Trouble • Later retitled Psalms 9
TROUBLE • The Skull
TROUBLE • Run To The Light
TYGERS OF PAN TANG • Wildcat
TYGERS OF PAN TANG • Spell Bound
TWISTED SISTER • Under the Blade
UFO • The Wild, The Willing, The Innocent
UNSEEN TERROR • Human Error
USURPER • Skeletal Season
USURPER • Necronemsis
USURPER • Twillight Dominion
USURPER • Cryptobeast
USURPER • Lords of the Permafrost
VAINGLORY • Vainglory
VICIOUS RUMORS Soliders of the Night
VICIOUS RUMORS Digital Dictator
VENOM • Welcome to Hell
VENOM • Black Metal
VENOM • At War With Satan
VIO-LENCE • Eternal Nightmare
VOI VOD • War and Pain
VOI VOD • Rrröööaaarrr
WALK IN DARKNESS • In the Shadow of Things
WALK IN DARKNESS • Welcome to the New World
WARGASM • Why Play Around?
WARFARE • Pure Filth
WARFARE • Metal Anarchy
WARFARE • Mayhem Fucking Mayhem
WARLOCK • Triumph and Agony
WARLORD • Deliever Us
WARLORD • And the Cannons of Destruction Have Begun
WARLORD • Thy Kindgom Come • 1st EP and LP on CD
WARHEAD • Speedway
WARHEAD • The Day After
WATCHTOWER • Energetic Disassembly
WATCHTOWER • Control and Resistance
WILDESTARR • Arrival
WILDESTARR • A Tell Tale Heart
WILDESTARR • Beyond The Rain
WITCHCROSS • Witchcross
WITCHCROSS • Innocent & Evil
WITCHCROSS • Crypt of The Undead
WITCHCROSS • Cauldron In Satan’s Shadow
WITCH CROSS • Fit for Fight
WITCH CROSS • Axe to Grind
WITCHFINDER GENERAL • Death Penalty
WITCHFINDER GENERAL • Friends of Hell
WICHKILLER • Day of the Saxons
ZOSER MEZ • Vizier of Wasteland
