Whoracle

In Flames’s post-millennial output drove off a cliff so spectacularly that it tarnished everything that came before, but their first five albums remain master classes in Gothenburg death metal. They hit their peak on Whoracle, a seamless blend of At the Gates’s gnarly aggression with NWOBHM dual axe-throwing. The two shredders back Anders Friden’s Cthulhu-summoning snarl with melodies so enormous on antisocial anthems like “Food for the Gods” and “Episode 666” that you’ll forget some Swedish dude is screaming at you.