Slaughter of the Soul

Commonly known as the album that launched a thousand metalcore bands a few years hence, Slaughter of the Soul still stands as a high watermark in the history of death metal — Swedish, melodic, or otherwise. The concise songwriting, catchiness, and sheer visceral punch helped make the sound accessible to those wary of the genre’s grisly reputation. It hasn’t lost any of its impact in the quarter-century since.