Ahhh, Broken Hope. If you’re a fan of death metal and have never heard of them, first off, call every single one of your friends and family members and personally apologize for ever having told them that you listen to death metal. We’ll wait. Done? OK, second off, don’t let the band name mislead you. These twisted fucks from Chicago have written some of the heaviest, sickest, gore-swamped death metal to have ever existed. True fans of the genre know that they’re up there with titans Cannibal Corpse, Death, Morbid Angel, et al. as one of the best and certainly most influential exemplars of the genre to come out of the U.S. Their output has run the gamut from technical death metal to brutal death metal to good old-fashioned old-school death metal. Because of this, we’re bound to piss off some of you with the below rankings, but we presume you’ll keep the comments civil. After all, metalheads are known to NOT show themselves to be hyper-opinionated assholes, right? Right??
7. Grotesque Blessings (1999)
Recorded during a rather tumultuous time in the band’s history, and just before a hiatus that would last well over a decade, “Grotesque Blessings” is by no means a bad album. It’s just lacking something that definitively made every other album Broken Hope. The riffs at times feel technical just for the sake of being technical. If that’s your thing, more power to you, and the death metal bands willing to scratch that itch are a dime a dozen. There are flashes of their former brilliance, as “Earthburner” hearkens back to their early nineties sound, and “Wolf Among Sheep” has some headbang-worthy ferocity. And then comes “Internal Inferno”. Is that *gulp* nu-metal we hear around the two-minute mark? It was 1999, after all. Maybe it was best that we left these riffs, as well as the PlayStation 1 graphics on the album cover, to be consumed by the apocalyptic hellfire that swept the planet due to the Y2K bug.
Play it again: “Chemically Castrated”
Skip it: “Christ Consumed” (points for blasphemy, but the song itself is kind of all over the place)
6. Swamped in Gore (1991)
Now we’re talking! Broken Hope’s 1991 opus is pretty much the polar opposite of “Grotesque Blessings,” as the riffs aren’t technical in the slightest. Joe Ptacek, the late, great guttural crusader, crawled out of the fucking swamp to introduce the world to a death growl that makes the infamous Brown Note sound like Seals & Crofts by comparison. This is a classic old-school death metal offering that’s filled with horror-influenced, vomit-inducing fun. Virtually every aspect of the band’s music would be improved upon by subsequent releases, but isn’t that supposed to be the case? For now, fix yourself a nice plate of fresh viscera and enjoy this album for what it is. Just resist the temptation to fork your loved ones in the eye when the double-bass in “Dismembered Carcass” kicks in.
Play it again: “Gorehog”
Skip it: “Awakened by Stench”
5. Repulsive Conception (1995)
We hate to harp on Joe Ptacek again, but GODDAMN that guy could growl. From the second the vocals in “Dilation and Extraction” kick in, we start swooning like a Baby Boomer at a Rick Springfield concert. This album is packed with groovy, slimy riffs that gave Morbid Angel’s “Domination” a run for its money and helped make 1995 a banner year for the neck brace industry. At 15 tracks, however, this one gets a little bloated in the back half with no real standouts (and it ends with a Twisted Sister cover? Really?) With that being said, the songs still slay, and plenty of fans top their Broken Hope lists with this bad boy. While we don’t necessarily take umbrage with that, we just feel it’s outshined by the albums below.
Play it again: “Pitbull Grin”
Skip it: “The Internal Twin”
4. Loathing (1997)
We know this one is a personal favorite amongst the brutal death metal crowd, so we have ensconced ourselves in our offices in anticipation of an invasion of angry middle-aged men in cargo shorts. Please be gentle with us; we bruise easily. On the whole, this is a killer album that serves as a greatly improved version of “Grotesque Blessings.” There’s still some overly technical wankery in the riffs, but with enough signature Broken Hope groove thrown in for a healthy balance. This one in particular goes hard in the whip, so blast “Auction of the Dead” if you’re looking for random metalheads to nod respectfully at your 2013 Honda Fit. Self-care is important.
Play it again: “I Am God”
Skip it: “Reunited”
3. Omen of Disease (2013)
Wow! Over a decade of crickets from the Broken Hope camp yields a truly stellar outing with a largely reformed lineup. New frontman Damian Leski steps into the shoes (actually, boots, who are we kidding?) left by Joe Ptacek and delivers a performance undoubtedly worthy of even the most discerning of fans. This album hits the sweet spot between the old school death metal they started with and the brutal death metal they helped to cultivate. Just listen to those grooves on “Womb of Horrors” to start it off. So sick! Throw some dynamic leads from guest guitarist Chuck Wepfer, and you’ve got a recipe for a really kickin’ vomit and severed body parts gumbo. Bon appetit!
Play it again: “Give Me the Bottom Half”
Skip it: The skit at the end of “Rendered Into Lard” (but only after you’ve listened to it once, as it is pretty funny)
2. Mutilated and Assimilated (2017)
This album took everything that was great about “Omen of Disease” and just gave us more of it. More headbang-y riffs, more gut-wrenching vocals, more killer guitar solos. Fuck yeah! Sole original member and rhythm guitarist Jeremy Wagner should get into corporate recruiting, because that motherfucker knows how to amass talent. The title track and, presumably, the instrumental “Beneath Antarctic Ice” are both influenced by John Carpenter’s “The Thing.” What more can a metalhead ask for? And just look at that album art. We have no clue what that is, but we’re secretly hoping it follows us on socials. So pump up the volume and angrily pour some J&B into your 1982 Chess Wizard computer. One more to go!
Play it again: “The Bunker”
Skip it: “The Necropants” (actually, don’t skip it because it rips, but wtf is up with that title?)
1. The Bowels of Repugnance (1993)
Go ahead and let the haunting and weirdly beautiful intro “Repugnance” lull you into a false sense of relaxation, because “The Dead Half” is going to emerge from the 7th layer of hell and force-feed you rotting human meat. Late drummer Ryan Stanek keeps you on your toes with ridiculous blast beats (just listen to “She Came Out in Chunks” and “Decimated Genitalia,”) and we think we’ve already gotten the message across on those vocals. Overall, this album is just a shining example of everything that makes old-school death metal great. Sickening, heavy, putrid, and mind-numbingly brutal. We probably have an article on Weezer forthcoming, so up your metal street cred in anticipation and give this a listen!
Play it again: The whole goddamn thing
Skip it: Don’t make us sic the cannibals on you