United States Metal & Hard Rock Albums of the 1990s - Page 3

These Days keeps Bon Jovi’s arena-scale reach while stepping into more reflective, grounded writing.

Dawn introduces Paul Laine and moves Danger Danger toward darker guitar color and a more reflective mood.

Death's sixth album, issued by Roadrunner on 21 March 1995. It keeps the technique and steps a long way towards melody, and it is where the band arrives.

Dysfunctional reunites Don Dokken, George Lynch, Jeff Pilson and Mick Brown, bringing Dokken’s tense melodic metal back with a more contemporary weight.

Down's debut, issued by EastWest in 1995. The title abbreviates New Orleans, Louisiana, and the record keeps the damp of the American South inside it.

Waiting for the Punchline moves Extreme away from its brighter funk-metal identity and toward thick riffs, rougher textures and a more tense atmosphere.

Fear Factory's second album, issued by Roadrunner in 1995. It is built on machine-like repetition and on a voice that moves between roaring and clean singing.

3 refines FireHouse’s sturdy hard-rock feel around C.J. Snare’s high-reaching vocal and blues-based guitar work.

Love Parade is a useful way to hear JEFF SCOTT SOTO from a different angle within the 1995 catalogue.

The sixth album, self-titled: a looser, blues-leaning record produced by Glyn Johns.

Eternity finds Kamelot’s debut-era sound in the meeting point of heavy guitar and neoclassical melody.

Love Is an Illusion centers Lana Lane’s clear vocal within thick keyboard layers and progressive song development.

The eight soundtrack and tribute tracks Megadeth never put on a studio album, gathered onto one 1995 Capitol EP.

Nevermore's debut, from February 1995. It is the first record of the band Warrel Dane and Jim Sheppard started after Sanctuary broke up, and two different drummers play half of it each.

Feeding off the Mojo retains Night Ranger’s large choruses and guitar-led momentum while moving toward a drier, more mid-1990s sound.

Down to the Bone moves Quiet Riot a little away from its flashy 1980s image and toward bluesy riffs and rougher groove.

The Brethren of the Long House shapes Riot’s strong riffs and rising melodies into narrative-minded power metal.

Savatage's ninth album, released in September 1995: a rock opera set in wartime Sarajevo, whose "Christmas Eve (Sarajevo 12/24)" caught on with American radio.

Subhuman Race strips away much of Skid Row’s earlier glam-metal shine in favor of thick riffs, low-slung groove and vocal frustration.

Fear No Evil keeps Slaughter’s high-reaching vocal and catchy choruses while adding heavier guitar weight and more shadow to the songs.

An EP written and recorded in under six weeks, stripped back to guitar, bass and drums.

Suffocation's third album, issued by Roadrunner in 1995. It recovers from a badly received predecessor and became the yardstick for its style.

The Damnation Game gains the powerful vocal of Russell Allen and brings Symphony X’s neoclassical guitar, heavy riffs and progressive construction into sharper focus.

Tambu keeps Toto’s precise ensemble work but shifts its center of gravity toward lower, heavier rhythms and muted color.

Balance keeps Van Halen’s sense of lift while moving into a heavier, more reflective atmosphere.

Still Not Black Enough frames Blackie Lawless’ anger and isolation through the large riffs and theatrical vocal character associated with W.A.S.P.

Ultraphobic keeps Warrant’s melodic strength but turns toward rougher, heavier guitar tones.

Musically Incorrect strips Y&T back to straight-ahead hard rock centered on Dave Meniketti’s voice and guitar.

Walk On is a useful way to hear BOSTON from a different angle within the 1994 catalogue.

Still Climbing finds CINDERELLA in a phase that reconnects Cinderella's earthy blues-rock feel to hard-rock force and puts tactile playing ahead of glamour.

David Lee Roth's fourth full-length album, released by Reprise on 8 March 1994 and produced by Nile Rodgers, ranges from country to reggae.

Awake, DREAM THEATER's third album, turns inward from the openness of its predecessor with heavier guitars, dense keyboards and tense song construction.

Inside Out, FATES WARNING's seventh album, is mature progressive metal that lets complex meters and tight ensemble work flow quietly inside the songs.

Mr. Moonlight finds FOREIGNER in a phase that reunites Foreigner around Lou Gramm's powerful voice and Mick Jones's guitar, once again drawing large melodic shapes.

Great White's seventh studio album, released by Zoo Entertainment in May 1994, came with the bonus live disc Anaheim Live in the US.

Korn finds KORN in a phase that uses down-tuned guitars, elastic bass and exposed emotional fracture to lay a foundation for what would become nu metal.

Kyuss's third album, issued by Elektra in 1994. It is the first with bassist Scott Reeder and the last with founding member Brant Bjork.

The fourth L.A. Guns studio album, released by Polydor / Mercury in 1994 with fifteen songs. Mercury issued the Japanese edition on 5 October 1994 as PHCR-1254. It is the band's last album of the PolyGram years.

Burn My Eyes finds MACHINE HEAD in a phase that channels street-level anger, low-cut riffing and hard groove into a debut that announced a new kind of 1990s metal weight.

Introduction is a MARTY FRIEDMAN instrumental album that weighs exotic melody, the afterglow of tone and the use of space as much as speed.

Youthanasia finds MEGADETH in a phase that keeps Megadeth's thrash-born tension while shifting weight toward thick mid-tempo motion and denser melody.

Mötley Crüe finds MÖTLEY CRÜE in a phase that moves Mötley Crüe away from earlier gloss and toward heavier riffs, hard grooves and a newly configured vocal presence.

Nine Inch Nails' second album, out on 8 March 1994. It follows one man's disintegration from end to end, and it was made in a house in Los Angeles turned into a studio.

Overkill's seventh album, released in July 1994: self-produced, a return to fast thrash after the weight of its predecessor, and their last for Atlantic.

Far Beyond Driven, PANTERA's seventh album, pushes the weight and edge of its groove metal to the limit, turning aggression into physical force.

Promised Land finds QUEENSRŸCHE in a phase that deliberately steps away from the broad success of Empire and explores a darker, more inward sound.

Savatage's eighth album, released in August 1994, less than a year after Criss Oliva's death, with Alex Skolnick of Testament on lead guitar.

Divine Intervention is SLAYER's sixth album and first studio record with Paul Bostaph on drums, keeping the urgency of merciless thrash intact.

Soundgarden's fourth album, released in 1994. It entered the Billboard 200 at number one, and "Black Hole Sun" and "Spoonman" both won Grammy Awards.

Symphony X, the self-titled debut by SYMPHONY X, crosses classical construction and neoclassical guitar with technical playing.

Bust a Nut finds TESLA in a phase that keeps Tesla rooted in tactile American hard rock while moving toward a heavier, tighter sound.

Low finds TESTAMENT in a phase that keeps Testament's thrash precision while moving into lower tuning and heavier groove.

Get a Grip finds AEROSMITH in a phase that joins the band’s blues-rooted roughness to a huge pop scale through heavier riffs and sharply defined vocal hooks.