1992

Alternative rock and grunge very quickly found themselves in the centre of the action in the field of hard guitar music. Glam metal, central up until that point, suddenly found itself on the side-lines, but the decline in the popularity of bands with a stylised image in no way meant a decline in interest in metal music. Even those metalheads who did not strictly listen to extreme underground genres but, at the same time, wanted to shake their heads to something harder than the new Def Leppard album, had several reasons to be cheerful in 1992.

Fans of B-movies, horror, and cheap thrills could easily fall in love with White Zombie. After a series of independent recordings, they managed to earn the trust of a major label, which they did not disappoint with La Sexorcisto: Devil Music Volume One. A continuous stream of metal riffs interspersed with excerpts from obscure films gives the impression of an extravagant metal party in a godforsaken video rental store. Following the record, a great number of fans made it possible for them to go on a two-year tour and provided for generous support from MTV. Pantera went through a drastic genre change on their previous album while, on the next one, they confirmed that they stood behind their new musical direction one hundred and twenty percent. Vulgar Display of Power is a more than apt name for this collection of songs with a dense groove and coarse vocals, and the cowboys from hell had definitively erased the traces of their glam metal past.

Following the path that Metallica had indicated in the previous year, their traditional companions and rivals also joined the imaginary struggle for the thrash metal throne. Megadeth slowed down significantly, simplified their compositions towards greater songfulness, and, in contrast to the past, added strong melodies. This resulted in the most commercially successful album of their entire, long, career, one they do not have to be ashamed of even with the passing of time. Today, Countdown to Extinction can easily be included among the most essential metal records of the '90s.

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At the beginning of the '90s, various forms of electronic music began to appear more and more in the music charts, although radio stations practically did not play it. Its countless offshoots and subgenres found a fertile ground in dance clubs, as well as at clandestine parties organised throughout the country. Initially taking place in various abandoned warehouses, but gradually also in increasingly large open spaces, 'rave' parties reached multiple thousands of visitors and provided unmistakable evidence of the lively happenings on the electronic scene.

It was at one of these events that the producers from Opus III met their enigmatic singer, and their first joint single, It's a Fine Day, made fans dance all over the world. They also decorated the rest of their Mind Fruit album with clever production, accented with pop elements, showing, in an accessible form, many curious listeners what 'house' sounds like. The Prodigy chose a much more uncompromising approach. On their debut Experience, they avoided light melodic vocals; instead, they proved their excellent ear and sense for catchy samples, punctuating their wild 'breakbeat hardcore'. Nothing was sacred to them; they just as happily distilled from hip-hop and funk as from radio plays or educational films for children. Just for a change, they spiced up their memorable hit Out of Space with an old reggae record from the '70s.

The Orb explored the calmer waters of 'ambient' in their work. The first single Blue Room from their album U.F.Orb took sales up to number eight on the singles chart. At just under 40 minutes, the single is the longest track to ever do so. Based on this success, they were invited to perform a shortened version of the piece on the TV show called Top of the Pops, known, among other things, for its performers not playing live. The Orb dealt with the situation in their own way. Instead of simulating a live performance, they chose to play a game of chess on live TV while their music video played in the background.