Demilich - Nespithe (Necropolis Records, 1993)

 Rounding out the list is Demilich with their initially misunderstood but now widely revered release, Nespithe. This Finnish act stood out for their paradigm-crushing song structures and guitarist/vocalist Antti Boman's windpipe rattling gurgle that usually requires a cupped mic and a pitch-shifter to recreate. The songs had abstract and bizarre lyrics that often sounded like a scary hallucinogenic journey to an alien realm, and the music was painfully heavy despite its fractured approach. Many death metal bands who delved into this kind of technical playing made the mistake of overdoing it or trying too hard to tap into jazz, but Demilich succeeded because their skull-cracking sound was simply that of Antti's unique and guileless sensibility. Nespithe was the band's sole full-length, and it was terribly underrated and poorly distributed upon its debut in 1993. Luckily this became a story of the tortoise beating the hare, and since the turn of the century their reputation as innovators has grown tenfold. The band reformed in 2006 and embarked on their one and only tour of the United States, which only served to raise them to a near mythological level in many circles. There are still whispers of a proper follow-up but Demilich is clearly a band that operates on their own timeline, mostly likely one that exists in an alternate dimension.

 For more info: Check out this week's list and parts 1, 2, and 3 of the best death metal albums.