The Abyss (1988) André Delvaux, Gian Maria Volontè, Sami Frey, Jacques Lippe

The follow-up to the minor self-titled comeback effort of a year earlier, Into the Abyss might feature a somewhat distracted Hypocrisy on the downward end of its creative journey, but the band still smolders on this 2000 Nuclear Blast effort, refusing to allow much if any distance to appear between itself and the best Scandinavian metal outfits. Starting off with some the most furious Hypocrisy tracks in years, Into the Abyss avoids all subtlety as the straight-ahead death metal (and maybe a little thrash) of "Legions Descend" and "Blinded" sets a furious standard for the following eight tracks to uphold. This energy is maintained for the most part as the band churns through some of its fastest material in years. Besides those already mentioned, other standouts include the full-on death metal of "Digital Prophecy" and "Total Eclipse." Perhaps not Hypocrisy's finest record but far from an afterthought, Into the Abyss is a solid effort from one of Sweden's most brutal '90s metal exports.