I don't listen to much melo death but here's my top DM albums of both years:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfPc1O9kvA0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNAltRQ-8mM

In addition to the albums previously mentioned I would recommend:

Drawn and Quartered-Congregation Pestilence

Hyperdontia-Hideous Entity

What's the best beginning album for Possessed?

Seven Churches! It’s a classic!

Seven Churches as Overtenmy said.

If you like it, you can listen to Beyond the Gates which is pretty solid. And don't sleep on The Eyes of Horror, it's really good.

What's some heavy, melodic death metal in which the guitarists are hell bent on writing the best, catchiest riffs?

I mean like "God Was Created" by Vehemence or "Blood, Cum And Tears" by Psychiatric Regurgitation, even though the latter is influenced by melodic black metal too.

Check out Intestine Baalism if you haven't heard of them, one of the best melodic death metal bands of all time.

Looking for progressive death metal in the vein of Cryptopsy around Once Was Not, and Immolation around Close to a World Below, with similar production to those albums. I love the raw aesthetics of the production(s), combined with the off-kilter drumming and dissonance, and the jazzy touch that Cryptopsy had in those days.

I’d recommend Phobocosm and Altars. Their sound is influenced by Immolation.

Phobocosm


Altars

Got any recent death metal with powerful/deep bass been released recently? Old-school-style or doomy stuff preferred just because those sound profiles fit the bill, but wanna be open-minded! Got some new speakers and a new sub and looking to drag my knuckles and make my vision a bit wavy on some sick riffing.

A bit darker and less unhinged than I was looking for, but very good nonetheless. Getting Arkhon Infaustus vibes from Phobocosm, and that is always a good thing. Thank you!

Hi guys, im looking for some really weird, "out there" death metal, im a big fan of PanThyMonium, Phlebotomized, Baring Teeth etc.
Recommend me something that's so weird but still death metal haha, hope im not too broad in my request. Experimental, avantgarde, dissonant, proggy etc...

Maybe a bit less weird than those, but quite experimental IMO... And yes it's a Russian band but I know they do not support the actions of the current Russian government.
https://vonnegut.bandcamp.com

^^
Czech band Hellyum is quite a bit "out there". I think they mix in some avant-garde type stuff.

Here's 4 songs from their sole album: https://bandzone.cz/hellyum

I need some help! I wanna try Demilich, but I'm torn. Should I listen to the original version of Nespithe, or the remastered version on "20th Adversary of Madness"? I can't gauge which sounds better just by skimming.

Quite different from the bands mentioned so far, but I have a feeling you might like this...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sn_Chsf ... TYOfficial

Hey everybody, any help appreciated. I am not exactly sure how to describe what I am looking for.

The best I can do is that I am looking for bands/albums that have a similar sound to Morbid Angel's Altars of Madness and Immolation's Dawn of Possession.

I have not seen these two albums compared often, or at all, but they are for some reason the only two I can point to. The qualities I am looking for are:

-The Raspy vocals they share (for lack of a better description - I have not seen this vocal style often, even in MA and Immolation's follow-up albums - most obviously between Dawn of Possession and Here in After, Ross adopts a much more deep/powerful growl versus the higher level of rasp).
-a lot of riffing and obvious guitar leads
-Varied/eclectic percussion
-Similar production where it is not completely polished, but not so muddy that the guitar, bass, and percussion sound like a massive wall (...again, sorry for bad description - I am not a musician and having real trouble putting to words what I am trying to describe here).

The last three points seem obvious, but there is a huge amount of death metal that I have heard that focus on extremely fast drumming/constant blasting with wall-of-sound guitar/bass/vocals.

I am hoping somebody more knowledgeable than myself is able to look at these two albums and my descriptions above and kind of discern what I am looking for.

This is a good challenge.
I agree that "Dawn of Possession" is the spiritual successor to "Altars of Madness" (much more so than "Blessed are the Sick"), so I agree with your comparison.
That said, it is difficult to find stuff that hits this vein. It is easier to find stuff which sounds like early Morbid Angel than early Immolation.
I assume you've heard the "Thy Kingdom Come" demo already (if not, check that first). Then...

Fatal - "A Somber Evocation of Nihilism" (1990)
Similar rasps to early Morbid Angel, same era, similar sound but much more melodic (influenced by Coroner). Drumming is inventive as hell. Totally underrated.

Eternal Dirge - "Morbus Ascendit" (1992)
Closer to Morbid Angel than to Immolation, maybe a bit thrashier than either. Well worth checking.

Goreaphobia - "Omen of Masochism" (1991)
Perhaps a little closer to the Immolation record. Plenty of dirtiness and rasping and a supernatural atmosphere. Worth checking.

Liers in Wait - "Supernaturally Uncontrolled Art" (1992)
Clearly influenced by MA and Deicide, maybe a little further from your exact request but worth hearing.

Massacra - "Final Holocaust" (1990)
Plenty of the raspy early Morbid Angel vibe here, a bit thrashier and more 'European' maybe. Good stuff.

Necrovore - Divus De Mortuus (1987)
This one is a little more primitive and violent, but still worth listing as it is similarly interesting.

Terminal Death - Faces of Death (1985)
The earliest true death metal recording? This one is pretty raw and thrashy, sounds a bit like a primitive version of early Morbid Angel (nothing like Immolation though).

Hey man, thanks for the recommendations. I knew it was a bit of a tough one.

I listened to the two above on my way to work today and will give the rest a listen throughout the week.

The Fatal EP has super cool production - I feel like I am at a small venue listening to them, especially with how the drums hit.

Eternal Dirge album was quite rad - sounds exactly as advertised. Like Morbid Angel, but some fun thrash riffing sections. Catchy record. Will be listening to this one again for sure. I'll check out their follow-up album too.

No worries, I can't think of anything that exactly hits the mark between the two records, but have a listen through that bunch and see what catches your ear.
Another one I'd add to the list is the final Ripping Corpse demo from 1992 ("Industry"). Only three songs, but it has a better production than their 1991 album, and the songs are much more sophisticated.
They were keeping the spirit of "Altars of Madness" alive on that demo - more so than Morbid Angel themselves.

Oi fellas,

Can I get some recs for death metal with mathcore influences? Something fast, angular, and non-stop aggressive.

Try "Obscura" by Gorguts, avant-garde death metal with parallels to mathcore. There's also Krosis, they're more of a djent/deathcore kind of thing.

I'm well acquainted with Obscura, I'm looking for something less dark and atmospheric and more downright violent; so nothing like Gorguts or Ulcerate, for example, but more like TDEP's Calculating Infinity gone death metal.

I don't think i've ever heard a band being described as death metal/matchcore, but, from my own ear i would describe bands like seputus, baring teeth and maybe pyrrhon as having some definite math influence

Human Remains would be the obvious one, "Using Sickness as a Hero" EP from 1996 (big influence on Gorguts I presume).
I don't like it much (their earlier stuff is way better) but it was a massively important record for this sound.

You might also want to check out old jazzy-death/hardcore bands like:
Cross Fade - Untitled Demo 1994 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYsBGm1TakU
Candiria - Subliminal Demo 1994 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGVuYKA9hiw
These are not as fast as DEP but they have a similar angularity and 'mathiness'.

Answering in order:

Anata — I had forgotten this band existed, last time I saw them mentioned must have been over 10 years ago. Fantastic rec, I'm really enjoying it. Love how forward the sound is.

Seputus/Baring Teeth — I know and like them a lot, but they're defo more on the atmospheric and sombre side. I'm looking for something that's inherited the aggression coming down from the branch of punk, music that feels the same being in a fist-fight does.

Pyrrhon — Hadn't checked them out until now for whatever reason. Abscess Time is great, crazy stuff.

Human Remains — Not quite what I was looking for, and I'm not even sure if it's an album I'll end up liking, but very interesting nonetheless. It reminds me of Cryptopsy's BMF in that it feel completely marred by a production that doesn't fit the music at all.

Cross Fade — I don't really hear any mathcore in this, though there's definitely a NYC hardcore influence. Amazing music, and I can't get enough of that crunchy 90s sound. Is it me, or the singer sounds a lot like a more powerful version of Chuck?

Candiria — It's ok, but wasn't really hooked.

Thanks everybody for the recs! I've got more than enough to digest now.

You got it man Let us know if you ever find some death math