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| Key Release: Symbolic (1995) |
There may have been earlier death metal bands (Possessed is
often credited with being the first), but none shaped the genre with way the
aptly-named Death did. The brainchild of guitarist Chuck Schuldiner, Death
released its debut Scream Bloody Gore in
1986 to the shock and awe of fans who previously had thought they knew “heavy.”
Full of horror-themed lyrics and sporting gruesome cover art, Death’s first
three albums (Scream Bloody Gore,
Leprosy, and Spiritual Healing) laid
the blueprint for bands like Morbid Angel and Deicide who would take the genre
to new popular heights.
