# My old heavy metal top 200 albums



## Xaltotun (Sep 3, 2010)

I was feeling bored so I decided to dig out my old list of the best 200 heavy metal albums. 7"s are out, 10"s, EPs and MLPs are mostly out too, only added in "exceptional cases" and when they feel like complete albums. So, at its core, it's a list of full length albums. Some years are off by a year or two, because I wrote them out of my memory when making the list. "Enjoy!" I hope I'll be able to make a similar list about classical music records at some point!

1.Morbid Angel: Abominations of Desolation (1986)
2.Blasphemy: Fallen Angel of Doom (1990)
3.Entombed: Left Hand Path (1989)
4.Mortuary Drape: Into The Drape (1992)
5.Sadistik Exekution: The Magus (1986)
6.Master's Hammer: Ritual (1991)
7.Slayer: Show No Mercy (1983)
8.Slayer: Haunting the Chapel (1983)
9.Beherit: Drawing Down the Moon (1992)
10.Mercyful Fate: Don't Break the Oath (1984)
11.Mercyful Fate: Melissa (1983)
12.Manowar: Hail to England (1984)
13.Manowar: Into Glory Ride (1983)
14.Rotting Christ: Passage to Arcturo (1991)
15.Sarcofago: INRI (1986)
16.Morbid Angel: Altars of Madness (1989)
17.Celtic Frost: Morbid Tales (1984)
18.Darkthrone: A Blaze in the Northern Sky (1991)
19.Grotesque: Incantation (1989)
20.Tiamat: Sumerian Cry (1989)
21.Bathory: Hammerheart (1989)
22.Iron Maiden: Live After Death (1984)
23.Iron Maiden: Iron Maiden (1980)
24.Iron Maiden: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1987)
25.Carnivore: Carnivore (1985)
26.Impaled Nazarene: Tol Cormpt Norz Norz Norz (1992)
27.Impaled Nazarene: Ugra-Karma (1993)
28.Sodom: In the Sign of Evil (1984)
29.Vulcano: Bloody Vengeance (1986)
30.Celtic Frost: To Mega Therion (1985)
31.Exodus: Bonded by Blood (1984)
32.Destruction: Sentence of Death (1984)
33.Burzum: Det Som Engang Var (1992)
34.Burzum: Burzum (1991)
35.Burzum: Hvis Lyset Tar Oss (1993)
36.Angel Witch: Angel Witch (1980)
37.Slaughter: Strappado (1987)
38.Death SS: In Death of Steve Sylvester (1988)
39.Mortuary Drape: All the Witches Dance (1987)
40.Exorcist: Nightmare Theatre (1986)
41.Slayer: Reign in Blood (1986)
42.Morbid Angel: Blessed Are the Sick (1991)
43.Beherit: The Oath of Black Blood (1991)
44.Rainbow: Rising (1976)
45.Rotting Christ: Thy Mighty Contract (1993)
46.Necromantia: Crossing the Fiery Path (1992)
47.Dismember: Like an Ever Flowing Stream (1991)
48.Emperor: Emperor MLP (1992?)
49.Emperor: In the Nightside Eclipse (1993)
50.Bathory: The Return. (1984)
51.Darkthrone: Panzerfaust (1994)
52.Bolt Thrower: Realm of Chaos (1989)
53.Samael: Worship Him (1990)
54.Nocturnus: The Key (1991)
55.Merciless: The Awakening (1989)
56.Manilla Road: Crystal Logic (1982)
57.Mystifier: Wicca (1992)
58.Mystifier: Goetia (1993)
59.Necromantia/Varathron: Black Arts Lead to Everlasting Sins (1993)
60.Obituary: Slowly We Rot (1989)
61.Anathema: Crestfallen (1991)
62.Accept: Restless and Wild (1984)
63.Paradise Lost: Gothic (1991)
64.Bestial Summoning: The Dark War Has Begun (1992)
65.Rainbow: Long Live Rock'n'Roll (1978)
66.Motörhead: No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith (1982?)
67.Manowar: Sign of the Hammer (1984)
68.Cloven Hoof: Cloven Hoof (1984)
69.Imperator: The Time Before Time (1991)
70.Black Sabbath: Heaven and Hell (1980)
71.Metallica: Ride the Lightning (1984)
72.Metallica: Master of Puppets (1986)
73.Metallica: ...And Justice For All (1988)
74.Behemoth: Sventevith (Storming Near The Baltic) (1994)
75.Bathory: Under the Sign of the Black Mark (1986)
76.Entombed: Wolverine Blues (1993)
77.Barathrum: Eerie (1994?)
78.Sabbat (Jap): Envenom (1991)
79.Death SS: Black Mass (1989)
80.Immortal: Diabolical Fullmoon Mysticism (1992)
81.Order From Chaos: Stillbirth Machine (1991?)
82.Sacrifice: Torment in Fire (1985)
83.Unleashed: Shadows in the Deep (1991)
84.Edge of Sanity: Unorthodox (1992)
85.Mayhem: De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas (1993)
86.Hellhammer: Apocalyptic Raids (1983)
87.Slayer: Hell Awaits (1985)
88.Candlemass: Epicus Doomicus Metallicus (1986)
89.Root: Zjeveni (1992)
90.Enslaved: Vikingligr Veldis (1993)
91.Type O Negative: Slow, Deep and Hard (1991)
92.Sepultura: Morbid Visions (1986)
93.Deicide: Deicide (1990)
94.Immortal: Pure Holocaust (1993)
95.Tarot: The Spell of Iron (1986)
96.King Diamond: Fatal Portrait (1986)
97.King Diamond: Abigail (1987)
98.Messiah: Hymn to Abramelin (1985)
99.Demigod: Slumber of Sullen Eyes (1992)
100.Amorphis: The Karelian Isthmus (1992)
101.Dio: Holy Diver (1984)
102.Running Wild: Gates to Purgatory (1984?)
103.Exciter: Violence and Force (1984)
104.Necromantia: Scarlet Evil Witching Black (1995)
105.Amorphis: Tales from the Thousand Lakes (1995)
106.Paradise Lost: Icon (1994)
107.Ancient: Svartalvheim (1994)
108.Gorgoroth: Pentagram (1994)
109.Dimmu Borgir: För All Tid (1995)
110.Ulver: Bergtatt (1995)
111.Cradle of Filth: The Principle of Evil Made Flesh (1994)
112.Satyricon: The Shadowthrone (1994)
113.Satyricon: Dark Medieval Times (1993)
114.Immolation: Dawn of Possession (1991)
115.Megadeth: So Far, So Good. So What! (1986)
116.Iron Maiden: The Number of the Beast (1982)
117.Iron Maiden: Powerslave (1984)
118.Impiety: Asateerul Awaleen (1994)
119.Belial: Wisdom of Darkness (1992)
120.Sepultura: Beneath the Remains (1988)
121.Carcass: Symphonies of Sickness (1989)
122.Funeral Nation: After the Battle (1991)
123.Possessed: Seven Churches (1984)
124.Monumentum: In Absentia Christi (1995)
125.Exciter: Heavy Metal Maniac (1983)
126.Expulser: The Unholy One (1992)
127.Carnage: Dark Recollections (1990)
128.Death SS: Black Mass (1991)
129.Vader: The Ultimate Incantation (1993)
130.Kreator: Pleasure to Kill (1986)
131.Kreator: Endless Pain (1985)
132.Destruction: Infernal Overkill (1985)
133.Venom: Welcome to Hell (1980)
134.Carcass: Necroticism - Descanting the Insalubrious (1991)
135.Enslaved: Frost (1995)
136.Sorcery: Bloodchilling Tales (1992)
137.Blasphemy: Gods of War (1992)
138.Slayer: Seasons in the Abyss (1990)
139.Iron Maiden: Somewhere in Time (1985)
140.Iron Maiden: Piece of Mind (1983)
141.Korrozia Metalla: Orden Satani (1988)
142.Grand Belial's Key: Mocking the Philantropist (1996)
143.Moonspell: Wolfheart (1995)
144.W.A.S.P.: W.A.S.P. (1984)
145.Infernäl Mäjesty: None Shall Defy (1987)
146.S.O.D.: Speak English or Die (1985)
147.Deep Purple: In Rock (197?)
148.Therion: Symphony Masses Ho Drakon Ho Megas (1993)
149.Therion: Beyond Sanctorum (1992)
150.Törr: Armageddon (1991?)
151.Mayhem: Deathcrush (1986)
152.Obituary: Cause of Death (1991)
153.Dödheimsgård: Kronet Till Konge (1995)
154.Megadeth: Peace Sells. But Who.s Buying? (1985)
155.Death: Scream Bloody Gore (1987)
156.Sodom: Persecution Mania (1987)
157.Messiah: Extreme Cold Weather (1987)
158.Cirith Ungol: King of the Dead (1984)
159.EXE: Stricken by Might (1987)
160.Mutilator: Immortal Force (1987)
161.Bestial Warlust: Vengeance War .Till Death (1994)
162.Black Sabbath: Black Sabbath (1970)
163.Judas Priest: Sad Wings of Destiny (1976)
164.Graveland: Carpathian Wolves (1994)
165.Sigh: Scorn Defeat (1993)
166.Mötley Crue: Shout at the Devil (1983)
167.Dissection: Storm of the Light.s Bane (1995?)
168.Havohej: Dethrone the Son of God (1993)
169.Pestilence: Consuming Impulse (1989)
170.Impetigo: Ultimo Mondo Cannibale (1990)
171.Venom: Black Metal (1982)
172.Sadistik Exekution: We Are Death Fukk You (1993)
173.Root: The Temple in the Underworld (1994)
174.Sinister: Cross the Styx (1992)
175.Tiamat: The Astral Sleep (1991)
176.Onslaught: Power From Hell (1985)
177.At War: Ordered to Kill (1985)
178.Accept: Metal Heart (1985)
179.Virgin Steele: Invictus (1998)
180.Goatlord: Reflections of the Solstice (1992)
181.Autopsy: Mental Funeral (1992)
182.Samael: Blood Ritual (1992)
183.Demilich: Nespithe (1993?)
184.Judas Priest: Painkiller (1990)
185.Iron Maiden: Killers (1981)
186.Burzum: Filosofem (1996)
187.Bulldozer: IX (1988)
188.Acheron: Rites of the Black Mass (1991)
189.Deicide: Legion (1992)
190.Suffocation: Effigy of the Forgotten (1991)
191.Sentenced: Amok (1995)
192.Nifelheim: Nifelheim (1995)
193.Rytmihäiriö: Surman Siipien Havinaa (1990)
194.Terrorizer: World Downfall (1989)
195.Necrodeath: Into the Macabre (1987)
196.Samael: Ceremony of Opposites (1994)
197.Kvist: For Kunsten Maa Vi Evig Vike (1995)
198.Hobb's Angel of Death: Hobb's Angel of Death (1986)
199.Celtic Frost: Into the Pandemonium (1987)
200.Coroner: R.I.P. (1988?)


----------



## regressivetransphobe (May 16, 2011)

A lot of legit stuff in that. Obviously my list would be different if I was insane enough to make one, but interesting top pick.

That controversial Blasphemy album at #2, too, vurrry interesting.


----------



## Xaltotun (Sep 3, 2010)

I really feel that "Abominations of Desolation" is the peak of all heavy metal. Later Morbid Angel is of course great too, but... it's different, and it never reaches the heights of this one. It's that wild, completely unashamed, even _joyful_ feeling of evil.. like a complete surrending to evil with no regrets, not even subconscious ones. The unrestrained, natural feel of the music. The laughter of Dionysus if you will! Like the band is not in opposition to the universe, but in complete _accordance_ with it. I don't know if that makes sense


----------



## Xaltotun (Sep 3, 2010)

regressivetransphobe said:


> That controversial Blasphemy album at #2, too, vurrry interesting.


I like that one much more than "Gods of War"... it's the chaos, freedom of restraints, feeling of extasy... sure, the sound quality is what it is, it all blurs together... but I feel that also the _listener_ blurs together with the music, melting away... if I even start to _think_ about how "Fallen Angel of Doom" sounds, I start to physically shake. Demonic possession indeed!


----------



## regressivetransphobe (May 16, 2011)

It's definitely better than Gods of War. That murky, "horrible" production is part of the cryptic charm. Same applies to a lot in the same genre.

Maybe the new Morbid Angel album deserves a spot on the list.
Ha ha funny joke.


----------



## Xaltotun (Sep 3, 2010)

Yeah, it's a worthy successor to "Abominations..." *COUGHCOUGH*


----------



## cwarchc (Apr 28, 2012)

You've missed one of the earliest, and IMHO one of the best
"Black Sabbath" by Black Sabbath 1970, great riffs by Tony Iommi.

On a personal note:
no 53 Bolt thrower, I was the lead singer's, Karl Willets, manager for a couple of years. Really interesting guy


----------



## Iforgotmypassword (May 16, 2011)

cwarchc said:


> You've missed one of the earliest, and IMHO one of the best
> "Black Sabbath" by Black Sabbath 1970, great riffs by Tony Iommi.
> 
> On a personal note:
> no 53 Bolt thrower, *I was the lead singer's, Karl Willets, manager for a couple of years. Really interesting guy*


Nice... Very cool.


----------



## jurianbai (Nov 23, 2008)

I think this is a more all kind of metal. Your list seems orientated to black/death metal feel. Morbid Angel as no.1 is ..... can't be serious ;p , good meantioning and I need to refresh my memory with Abominations, it was a demo I think.

btw, here the other metal albums that I think worth sneak into anybody top 200.

Anthrax - Persistence of Time
Pantera - Vulgar display of power
Metal Church - The Dark
Stryper - TO Hell with the devil
Saxon - most of the 80s

and maybe Anvil - Metal on Metal +
GnR and Van Halen, if we can called it heavy metal.

but no Megadeth's Rust In Peace, any of Helloween and Testament's album (Legacy or Souls of Black, maybe)??

Good list, will keep it for further investigation.


----------



## TheBamf (Apr 21, 2012)

Great list!

I do not have the patience to make a top 200 list my self but here are some of my favorites of the different genres:

My favorite death metal albums are:
Carcass - Necroticism: Descanting The Insalubrious
Autopsy - Mental Funeral
Death - Human
Demigod - Slumber of Sullen Eyes
Demilich - Nespithe
Atheist - Unquestionable Presence
Krypts - Open the Krypts

Black metal:
Drudkh - Blood in our Wells
Darkthrone - A Blaze in the Northern Sky
Dissection - The Somberlain
Immortal - Pure Holocaust
Immortal - At the Heart of Winter
Destroyer 666 - Cold Steel... For An Iron Age

Thrash metal:
Kreator - Coma of Souls
Slayer - Seasons in the Abyss
Megadeth - Rust In Peace
Sodom - Agent Orange
Vektor - Black Future
Artillery - By Inheritance


----------



## regressivetransphobe (May 16, 2011)

Good to see Rust in Peace getting some respect. Metal bands have generally sorta missed the point of technicality as a means to an emotional end ever since that album.


----------



## TheBamf (Apr 21, 2012)

regressivetransphobe said:


> Good to see Rust in Peace getting some respect. Metal bands have generally sorta missed the point of technicality as a means to an emotional end ever since that album.


Well said. I feel that, for many bands, technicality is something cool to slap on. People forget to just make music, that their technical ability is a tool rather than the goal. Rust In Peace is a lovely album, it is full of tempo, agression, rythms and masterful solos.

Note that I do like a lot of stuff not mentioned, bu I only added albums which every track is near 5/5 or 5/5.


----------



## norman bates (Aug 18, 2010)

i'm more curious to see a top 200 (or 100, or 50, 30, 20) of single pieces. A lot of pieces in the heaviest metal (black/grind/death) tend to sound often very similar to me, if not the same.
By the way, what's so great in the ep of Mortuary Drape? I do know that in italy they have a cult status (very underground anyway), but even for a genre that i know only superficially and i don't love at all it seems to me that there are much better albums.


----------



## TheBamf (Apr 21, 2012)

norman bates said:


> i'm more curious to see a top 200 (or 100, or 50, 30, 20) of single pieces. A lot of pieces in the heaviest metal (black/grind/death) tend to sound often very similar to me, if not the same.
> By the way, what's so great in the ep of Mortuary Drape? I do know that in italy they have a cult status (very underground anyway), but even for a genre that i know only superficially and i don't love at all it seems to me that there are much better albums.


I will try to do a top 10 of some genres.

*Death metal*
1. Death - Zombie Ritual
2. Carcass - Corporal Jigsore Quandary
3. Morbid Angel - Fall From Grace
4. Autopsy - In The Grip of Winter
5. Bolt Thrower - Powder Burns
6. Horrendous - Eye of Madness
7. Ripping Corpse - Anti-God
8. Atheist - Retribution
9. Death - Leprosy
10. Morbid Angel - Maze of Torment

*Thrash metal*
1. Megadeth - Holy Wars... The Punishment due
2. Slayer - Angel of Death
3. Sodom - Agent Orange
4. Vektor - Black Future
5. Demolition Hammer - .44 Caliber Brain Surgery
6. Kreator - When the Sun Burns Red
7. Coroner - Mistress of Deception
8. Artillery - By Inheritance
9. Sodom - Nuclear Winter
10. Kreator - Pleasure to kill

*Black metal*
1. Immortal - Withstand the Fall of Time
2. Darkthrone - In The Shadow of the Horns
3. Satyricon - Mother North
4. Dissection - Where Dead Angels Lie
5. Mayhem - Freezing Moon
6. Kvist - Ars Manifestia
7. Immortal - The Sun No Longer Rises
8. Destroyer 666 - Cold Steel...
9. Drudkh - Furrows of Gods
10. Dunkelheit - Burzum

*Mixed grind*
1. Exhumed - Carnal Epitaph
2. Mammoth Grinder - Pulverizer
3. Carcass - Reek of Putrefaction
4. Insect Warfare - Cancer of Opression
5. Mammoth Grinder - Total Extinction
6. Napalm Death - The World Keeps Turning

I am not big on grind.


----------



## regressivetransphobe (May 16, 2011)

For grind, all you need is the first couple (few, if you're feeling charitable) Napalm Death albums, Repulsion's Horrified, and maybe Terrorizer's World Downfall. 

Talking about individual tracks would be silly since the genre is a faster, messier deconstruction of crust punk, an already concise, album-oriented genre.


----------



## Tero (Jun 2, 2012)

What did you make of Rytmihäiriö?

Of Finnish bands, I only have Mokoma and Children of Bodom. Mostly for the guitar work. The cookie monster vocals are comical.


----------



## norman bates (Aug 18, 2010)

TheBamf said:


> I will try to do a top 10 of some genres.
> 
> *Death metal*
> 1. Death - Zombie Ritual
> ...


thanks, there are things that i've never listened before. I suppose you're not a big fan of metallica and bathory


----------



## norman bates (Aug 18, 2010)

regressivetransphobe said:


> For grind, all you need is the first couple (few, if you're feeling charitable) Napalm Death albums, Repulsion's Horrified, and maybe Terrorizer's World Downfall.


i do know repulsion and napalm death (and carcass and brutal truth too), but frankly my knowledge of grind stops here. Never heard the album of terrorizer.


----------



## TheBamf (Apr 21, 2012)

norman bates said:


> thanks, there are things that i've never listened before. I suppose you're not a big fan of metallica and bathory


I do not mind either at all, I like Blood Fire Death, Under the Sign of the Black mark and Hammerheart by Bathory, but I am not as excited about him as a lot of other BM bands.

Metallica I just got tired of, I still think their first four albums are very good.


----------



## regressivetransphobe (May 16, 2011)

Another note: let's be honest... overrated or not, Paranoid deserves a top 10 spot. It's such a pure, expressionistic album.

Master of Reality is also great but it's heavier on the schematic rock artifice, if you know what I mean.


----------



## Xaltotun (Sep 3, 2010)

cwarchc said:


> You've missed one of the earliest, and IMHO one of the best
> "Black Sabbath" by Black Sabbath 1970, great riffs by Tony Iommi.
> 
> On a personal note:
> no 53 Bolt thrower, I was the lead singer's, Karl Willets, manager for a couple of years. Really interesting guy


Oh but I do have it! It's #162! I've never been much into the other songs in it, but the title track is one of the very best ever.

You were Karl Willet's manager? What can I say... awesome!


----------



## Xaltotun (Sep 3, 2010)

regressivetransphobe said:


> Another note: let's be honest... overrated or not, Paranoid deserves a top 10 spot. It's such a pure, expressionistic album.
> 
> Master of Reality is also great but it's heavier on the schematic rock artifice, if you know what I mean.


I have no problems calling those two excellent albums, but somehow they don't touch me on a personal level, unlike something like 'Heaven and Hell'.


----------



## Xaltotun (Sep 3, 2010)

Tero said:


> What did you make of Rytmihäiriö?
> 
> Of Finnish bands, I only have Mokoma and Children of Bodom. Mostly for the guitar work. The cookie monster vocals are comical.


I like Rytmihäiriö's first album and the old 7"s.


----------



## Xaltotun (Sep 3, 2010)

regressivetransphobe said:


> For grind, all you need is the first couple (few, if you're feeling charitable) Napalm Death albums, Repulsion's Horrified, and maybe Terrorizer's World Downfall.
> 
> Talking about individual tracks would be silly since the genre is a faster, messier deconstruction of crust punk, an already concise, album-oriented genre.


Can't agree with you more here, and you named the best albums. Still, I could try to mention some highlight tracks for me: Napalm Death's 'Scum', Repulsion's 'Black Breath', Terrorizer's 'Dead Shall Rise'.


----------



## Xaltotun (Sep 3, 2010)

norman bates said:


> i'm more curious to see a top 200 (or 100, or 50, 30, 20) of single pieces. A lot of pieces in the heaviest metal (black/grind/death) tend to sound often very similar to me, if not the same.
> By the way, what's so great in the ep of Mortuary Drape? I do know that in italy they have a cult status (very underground anyway), but even for a genre that i know only superficially and i don't love at all it seems to me that there are much better albums.


If you need to ask, you'll never know! 
OK, I'll try to answer anyway. With Mortuary Drape, it's the dense atmosphere. The venomous bass and the monstrous vocals. It's very frightening music. To me, there are very few better albums in this genre... and I know this genre like my pockets.

Hmm, that isn't a very good explanation, really. How about this one: listen to late 80's/early 90's underground metal daily for 10+ years, and then let's see what are your favourite albums


----------



## Xaltotun (Sep 3, 2010)

Regarding 'Rust in Peace', I do like it, but not enough for it to make top 200 (see, top 200 to me means VERY GOOD). I don't like the technicality there, you see. I much prefer something like 'So Far, So Good, So What' with its more primitive approach and echoey production.

My guitarist friends love 'Rust...', though.


----------



## Xaltotun (Sep 3, 2010)

jurianbai said:


> I think this is a more all kind of metal. Your list seems orientated to black/death metal feel. Morbid Angel as no.1 is ..... can't be serious ;p , good meantioning and I need to refresh my memory with Abominations, it was a demo I think.
> 
> btw, here the other metal albums that I think worth sneak into anybody top 200.
> 
> ...


Yeah, it's quite heavily oriented to death/black. With thrash, I prefer German bands like Sodom/Destruction/Kreator, or more "evil" North American bands like Exodus and Exorcist. In traditional metal, I like almost all the classics (not Helloween though), and I think Mercyful Fate is the ultimate apex of that style (I should add their EP to the list, it deserves it). I always prefer primitive over polished, and the seemingly ridiculous to the boring and commonplace. I should also add Exciter's first album... some Piledriver... more Manilla Road... etc. In the time scale, I prefer metal from about 1982 to 1993, as you can see.


----------



## Xaltotun (Sep 3, 2010)

TheBamf said:


> Great list!
> 
> I do not have the patience to make a top 200 list my self but here are some of my favorites of the different genres:
> 
> ...


I like your death metal list the best. If you like slow and/or muddy stuff, here's some recommendations:

CONVULSE: "World Without God"
BELIAL: "Wisdom of Darkness"
XYSMA: "Above the Mind of Morbidity"
GOATLORD: "Reflections of the Solstice"
DISEMBOWELMENT: "Transcendence to the Peripheral"
any IMPETIGO
and earlier CARCASS of course!


----------



## TheBamf (Apr 21, 2012)

Xaltotun said:


> I like your death metal list the best. If you like slow and/or muddy stuff, here's some recommendations:
> 
> CONVULSE: "World Without God"
> BELIAL: "Wisdom of Darkness"
> ...


I am familiar with all of those except Xysma, thanks for the recs though: )


----------



## regressivetransphobe (May 16, 2011)

Xaltotun said:


> I always prefer primitive over polished, and the seemingly ridiculous to the boring and commonplace.


I think you might want to check out Boredoms - Soul Discharge

(Warning! Not a metal recommendation! Punk/no wave recommendation!)


----------



## Iforgotmypassword (May 16, 2011)

This is an excellent thread, I was really into this stuff a couple of years ago. Now I rarely seek out metal, but I do still listen to it fairly regularly. 

I've recently however become more interested in black metal... though thus far the only band (or project) that I really found to be impressive was Burzum (particularly the album "Filosofem")


----------



## regressivetransphobe (May 16, 2011)

Iforgotmypassword said:


> This is an excellent thread, I was really into this stuff a couple of years ago. Now I rarely seek out metal, but I do still listen to it fairly regularly.
> 
> I've recently however become more interested in black metal... though thus far the only band (or project) that I really found to be impressive was Burzum (particularly the album "Filosofem")


The best way to find black metal more accessible is to throw all the media cliches out the window. A lot of people think it's about nihilism and negativity, but it's not; even the "Satanic" bands were usually so in a symbolic Nietzschean, highly pagan sort of way. I think the best way to sum up its ethos is the Mayhem lyric "the past is alive".

Assuming you're familiar with the Norwegian canon, have you heard these? (Certainly not "the best albums", but they cover some interesting musical bases)
Beherit - Drawing Down the Moon
Peste Noire - La Sanie des siècles: Panégyrique de la dégénérescence
Sigh - Scorn Defeat
Dissection's first two albums
Mütiilation - Vampires of Black Imperial Blood
Sacramentum - Far Away From the Sun


----------



## norman bates (Aug 18, 2010)

Xaltotun said:


> If you need to ask, you'll never know!
> OK, I'll try to answer anyway. With Mortuary Drape, it's the dense atmosphere. The venomous bass and the monstrous vocals. It's very frightening music. To me, there are very few better albums in this genre... and I know this genre like my pockets.
> 
> Hmm, that isn't a very good explanation, really.


yes, to tell the truth it seems a good description for every black metal album i've listened :lol:
But mine was just a curiosity, when i've listened to it i've found a bit tame considering the guitar and drums parts and not so extreme, but it means nothing. 
Another curiosity, they are not considered exactly a metal group, but what do you think of Swans? I was wondering if their first albums ("filth", "cop", the EP "i crawled") influenced in any way the birth of the most extreme metal genres.


----------



## regressivetransphobe (May 16, 2011)

Early Swans is actually heavier than like 99% of metal, even though they weren't metal at all.

I'd say their influence on the genre is limited. They influenced grindcore (Napalm Death were big fans, grindcore was even named after Swans' "grinding" sound) as well as Godflesh (who were fairly unclassifiable), but other than that Swans seem to cast a bigger shadow over the experimental/indie world.


----------



## Iforgotmypassword (May 16, 2011)

regressivetransphobe said:


> The best way to find black metal more accessible is to throw all the media cliches out the window. A lot of people think it's about nihilism and negativity, but it's not; even the "Satanic" bands were usually so in a symbolic Nietzschean, highly pagan sort of way. I think the best way to sum up its ethos is the Mayhem lyric "the past is alive".
> 
> Assuming you're familiar with the Norwegian canon, have you heard these? (Certainly not "the best albums", but they cover some interesting musical bases)
> Beherit - Drawing Down the Moon
> ...


Yeah I've heard of a couple of those, but there are several that I haven't heard as well. I'll definitely check em out. Yeah I've found black metal to be a very primal music form which is why I'm so drawn to it. Very minimalistic and geared toward atmosphere... well at least that's what I've come to find with Burzum.

Edit: I'm also a bit of a fan of Emperor, though I don't own any albums. I've just heard their first album and liked it a lot.

This is a pretty mindblowing album by a band that I can't pronounce the name of. I suppose they would fall into the black metal category, though not traditional black metal.






This also was impressive to me.


----------



## norman bates (Aug 18, 2010)

regressivetransphobe said:


> Early Swans is actually heavier than like 99% of metal, even though they weren't metal at all.
> 
> I'd say their influence on the genre is limited. They influenced grindcore (Napalm Death were big fans, grindcore was even named after Swans' "grinding" sound) as well as Godflesh (who were fairly unclassifiable), but other than that Swans seem to cast a bigger shadow over the experimental/indie world.


i'm not sure of it but i think they influenced also groups like Neurosis and similar bands, anyway i think it's strange that their sound didn't influenced any of the heaviest metal groups, because it's true they didn't use tremolos and blast beats but the atmosphere (and even the singing style of Michael Gira) of their music in some way reminds that of later doom/black/grind/death metal albums. But at least for what i know i don't remember them mentioned by metal musicians.


----------



## regressivetransphobe (May 16, 2011)

Yeah, that could probably said of most oldschool industrial-related stuff (Throbbing Gristle, Whitehouse, so forth). Very dark music.

That Ved Buens Ende album is possibly the best progressive black metal album ever made, by the way. Love the commitment to screwing with the listener's head without a single gimmick.


----------



## Ravndal (Jun 8, 2012)

Great list, same taste in music i had 5-6 years ago. "Kvist - for kunsten måtte vi evig vike" - Great album. Very proud to come from Norway


----------

