Dewinged
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Last Active 01-01-70 12:00 am
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12.27.23 Dewi's 2023: A Year in Review ♦12.26.23 10 albums of 1963
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Dewi's Black Metal Odyssey

From absolute ignorance to unparalleled wisdom. Help this BM pleb to become a genre conosseur Sput. One album per band.
1Venom
Welcome to Hell

Myself

Album changed per budgie bro's request. "Black Metal" will be jammed too.

Year: 1981

Venom's sound debut has musically little to do with what I understand today as Black Metal. Coming at the end of the NWOBHM, there is an obvious influence of Judas Priest or Motorhead more than anything else. There are no shrieks, no blasts to be found in "Welcome to Hell", but classic, genre defining metal riffs and solos and the roaring voice of Cronos spewing tunes about wielding axes in the night and fornicating with angels. I can see where the aesthetics, the lyrical themes and the rough sound of the recording had a high impact on Black Metal and formed the base of what was coming along with the rest of the first wave. I really had the wrong idea about Venom so first pleasant surprise of the trip.

Fave track: "Welcome to Hell" (That Psalm 23:4 quote was BM af as well as the beginning of "In League with Satan".)
2Bathory
The Return of the Darkness and Evil

Myself

Album changed per budgie bro's request

Year: 1985

Well, now we talking. After a legit scary and unsettling intro I start to sense the protozoo of Black Metal right here. All these clumsy semi-blasts and Quorthon's eerie and almost unreal shrieks are what I was looking for: an early, unpolished, raw and visceral way of Black Metal. Some really awesome moments, the opening riff of "Born for Burning", that rabid guitar solo in "Possessed" and the intense ending of the title track.

Fave track: "Rite of Darkness" and "Reap of Evil" but this whole thing is pure... yeah, evil.
3Mercyful Fate
Mercyful Fate

Myself

Album changed per budgie bro's request

Year: 1982

I am a huge King Diamond fan but for some obscure and incomprehensible reason I had never listened to a Mercyful Fate album. I had chosen Melissa as my introduction because I didn't even know of the existence of their self titled EP. These are 4 tracks, so fucking metal, that made me shit bricks of silver. Satan would be proud. I always had a soft spot for KD's incredibly alluring mid-range but holy shit he kills those highs in "Devil Eyes". The opener is just bat shit crazy good, heavy metal at its finest, while "Nuns Have No Fun" could very well pass for a Ghost song nowadays. To think these guys broke out with a debut like this, oh man. Melissa will be jammed, but for now, off to HellHammer!

Fave track: "A Corpse Without a Soul" closely tied with "Doomed by the Living Dead".
4HellHammer
Apocalyptic Raids 1990 A.D.

Myself

Album changed per budgie bro's request

Year: 1990

Well this is the sound of 3 dudes that don't give a flying fuck about technical trivialities. Motorhead, Venom, punk, all of it condensed in a rough and uncooked plate of meaty metal. And then, there's Triumph of Death. I feel for the sound engineer that assisted in the recording of Satanic Slaughter's vocals of this track. He was lucky enough to witness a legendary moment indeed, but it was probably one that he never came back from. This 10 minute doom blackened metal ode to despair is definitely a turning point for the genre. I dig the rest of the tracks too, but man this is all about that 10 minute behemoth.

Fave track: Triumph of Death (Did they really play this shit on tour like... every night?!)
5Celtic Frost
To Mega Therion

Myself

Year: 1985

I've heard some scattered tracks of Celtic Frost in the past but it's the first time I listen to a full album. "To Mega Therion" is a stunning album. I can't really say if this is Black metal, Thrash Metal, Heavy Metal, it just sounds like... Celtic Frost, and a lot of the bands that came after sound like... well, like Celtic Frost. I can't really pick a favourite track cause the whole album is so fucking consistent. The horns give it an epic feel and some sections feel like traversing a dead sea on board a ghost ship. Tom's voice is so versatile and works perfectly with the music. This is probably my favourite album of the first 5 I jammed.

Fave track: Let's go with "Eternal Summer".
6Burzum
Aske

Myself

Year: 1993

Album changed per budgie bro's request

Starting to understand the difference between the First Wave and the Second Wave. I was very curious to hear why Burzum is considered one of the spearheads of this second re-shaping of the genre. Apart from the external (to the music) facts surrounding the figure of Varg Vikernes, the whole church burning, murder, etc, it's easy to understand why Burzum was so influential. Everything that I understand as Black Metal nowadays can be found here. I am not gonna lie, this was not a pleasant listen: the way Varg screams and shrieks is like witnessing a man agonizing in pain. What I did enjoy was some of the chord progression and melodies, like really beautiful stuff, man. Overall, I can't say I will come back to this, but I will definitely check some other Burzum record.

Fave track: "A Lost Forgotten Sad Spirit" without a doubt.
7Darkthrone
Transilvanian Hunger

Myself

Year: 1994

Oh man, this was beyond beautiful. Everything that enticed me to take on this BM trip is right here. Those melodies... hot damn motherfuckers, this is what I am talking about. Fenriz keeping the pace with those blasts like a total madman and those guitar leads from the depths of a frozen forest, to anyone interested in getting into Black Metal, from an absolute pleb like myself, start with this one.

Fave track: "Transilvanian Hunger" is my first love, "Skald Au Satans Sol" could be a second.
8Mayhem
Live in Leipzig

Myself

Album changed per bgillesp bro's request

Year: 1993

First, it's crazy that this shit is in Apple Music. Second, it's also crazy to think that while the world was getting eaten by grunge, this was going on and I was totally unaware of it (I was around 16 at the time). Needless to say the album doesn't shine because of the quality of the live recording but because the fury and anger it conveys. Hellhammer's thundering drumming is batshit insane and same goes for Dead's vocals which remain on a solid state from start to finish. Live in Leipzig is a relentless assault where elements of first and second wave Black Metal balance out a hell of a show.

Fave track: "Funeral Fog" maybe but "Pure Fucking Armaggedon" has an indisputable charm.

As a bonus I also checked the Deathcrush EP: The whole thing as budgie said is PURE EVIL. Can't say much about it, the vocals sound like someone being exorcised and the whole thing is just pissed off BM.
9Gorgoroth
Pentagram

Myself

Year: 1993

Gorgoroth is a name that I have been seeing for a long while on this site but never heard it myself. I've gotta say their debut was a pleasant surprise, that is musically. Singer Hat's extremelly sharp shrieks were borderline laughable but they are also strangely fitting. Same as Mayhem, I enjoy how they combine old school elements with blasts and those frosty guitar harmonies. I am curious to see how they sound with Pest as a singer so I may give another album a go at some point.

Fave track: "Katharinas Bortgang" followed closely by opener "Begravelsesnatt".
10Emperor
In the Nightside Eclipse

Myself

Year: 1994

1994 is starting to shape as my favourite year for Black Metal only thanks to Darkthrone and now Emperor. This album is magnificent shite. The kind of stuff that lifts your arm hair like celestial static. That nine minute opener looked quite a trek but it was smooth as hell, could add another 9 minute of that and I will be fine with it. The album drips with atmosphere, loved the gritty but clear production, and I get the feel this thing could co-exist in the same universe of one of my favourite albums of all time, Iron Maiden's Seventh Son. The keys and choruses are beautifully crafted and the musicship is just fantastic. My version had 2 covers, Bathory's "A Fine Day to Die" and "Gypsie" of Mercyful Fate, and both of them ruled. As a pioneer album for symphonic BM, incoming bands had a tough job to surpass this. Let's see if they did.

Fave track: "Inno a Satana" is top notch, as well as "The Burning of Silence".
11Weakling
Dead as Dreams

Adolf & Friv

Year: 2000

Where to start with this... When I saw that track length spawned from 10 to 20 minutes I was worried this would drag in excess with no reason, but oh boy, was I wrong. This feels like the fountain where so many modern extreme metal bands have drank of. Wolves in the Throne Room, Converge, Deafheaven... in one way or another they have come and touch this with more or less intensity at any point in their career. "Dead as Dreams" is an accomplishment of titanic proportions not only for Black Metal made in the US but for the genre in general. The way the San Francisco troopers build songs of such gigantic length and make them feel like a 2 minute jam is a mystery to me. This is definitely an essential album for anyone interesting in expanding their musical horizons in metal music.

Fave track: It's difficult to say cause I would select a part of this and a part of that but, I think "No One Can Be Called as a Man While He'll Die" is the one I enjoyed the most.
12Ulver
Bergtatt - Et eeventyr i 5 capitler

Adolf

Will def. jam Madrigal at some point too Scuro

Year: 1994

I came across Ulver for the first time on this site 2 years ago. It was with "Atgclvlsscap" (can't believe I typed that). I was instantly floored. The year after Ulver released "The Assassination of Julius Caesar" and soon after another outstanding EP. "The Assassination..." became number 2 in my year end list. It's been a long time I've been hearing about the band's Black metal phase but it's the first time I actually heard it myself. Few minutes in "Bergtatt" and Garm's cleans blow me away. The combination of blasts, folk parts and Garm's impressive growls just certify that Ulver is one of the greatest bands out there since their humble beginnings.

Fave track: Braablick Blev Hun Vaer

Right after, and as I write this I am on the sixth track of Nattens Madrigal. The extremely gritty and raw production is indeed a slap in the face to the industry and not for everyone but beneath it lies true, magnificent beauty.
13Dissection
Storm of the Light's Bane

Adolf

Year: 1995

I feel like that meme of the guy on a dancefloor looking as he has just unveiled the darkest secrets of the Universe. Suddenly a lot of the modern black metal and melodic death metal bands make sense to me.Unto the album, the first minutes of "Night's Blood" already blew my head off. The cover is a perfect representation of what is going on in this record. Cold, dark atmosphere with imposing riffs and vocals and meticulous acoustic arrangements scattered throughout the album. Really well executed BM that displays the influence for a lot of "Swedish Metal" bands that would continue the legacy in the years to come.

Fave track: "Night's Blood" first minutes are a ridiculous display of prowess."Where Dead Angels Lie" is quite a jam too.
14Immortal
Pure Holocaust

Adolf

Year: 1993

Welcome to Blas(t)hyrkh! It's kinda refreshing to hear tunes about frosty landscapes and hugging trees. Immortal's approach keeps the gritty production and the extremely sharp strings, same as contemporaneus Mayhem or Gorgoroth. The blasts and kickdrum are pretty damn fast. Love it. Abbath's shrieks don't sound as high pitched so I quite dug those. With a new album coming in July without Abbath on vocals and featuring Demonaz instead I am curious to see how 2018 Immortal sounds like (gonna check the single after I write this).

Darius also recs Sons of Northern Darkness

Year: 2002

I also peek'd a bit of "Sons...". The substantial jump in production values and the more metal-like, less blasted beats sound are really enjoyable, the album sounds heavy and meaty, a high contrast with the chainsaw blade sound of Pure Holocaust. I can't really say I prefer one to the other and I do think both are enjoyable for different reasons. Really looking forward to the new one.
15Drudkh
Autumn Aurora

Adolf

Year: 2004

Out of Scandinavia for a while and into Ukrania and jumping forward in time. I think the closest I can think to Drudkh's music would be something like Alcest, maybe? Some parts also reminded me to early The Gathering, or even Anathema. Now that we have started to branch out a bit between the "satan come and cook me dinner" theme and the "leave me alone to wank in the forest" theme I think I prefer the latter. I've always preferred rainy forests and cold mountains opposed to good, clear weather, if you know what i mean. It carries a certain melancholy that I find very enjoyable for some reason. This album depicts this feeling with absolute mastery. Almost every song rounds 9 minutes but it doesn't feel like it. Melodies are so fucking beautiful, and those synths and keys... oh man, that's the stuff, right there. Funny enough, I had the last Drudkh album downloaded (came out last month) and I still hadn't listened to it. Shame on me.

Fave track: "Summoning the Rain".
16Wolves In The Throne Room
Two Hunters

Zaru

Year: 2007

Going back to US Black Metal, I somehow knew that after hearing Weakling's "Dead As Dreams". things would feel different when listening to these guys. I already knew of Wolves in the Throne Room. Last year's "Thrice Woven" was quite thrilling for me, in part thanks to Anna Von Hausswolff's feature on some tracks. First thing that strikes me of "Two Hunters" is the dense, atmospheric, kind of blackgaze intro, a perfect warm up for the incoming storm. Nathan Weaver breaks his voice like a total boss, I gotta say, I was impressed with the level of despair of those screams. What I really, really loved about this though, was the, once again, feature of a female voice, in this case Jessika Kenney who has also collaborated with Avey Tare and Sunn O))). Those parts give the album a great feel, and although I felt that the some of the harsh parts length was unnecesary, this is a great Black Metal album.

Fave track: "Cleansing" hands down

(Ran out of space for Diadems blurb)
17Deathspell Omega
Fas - Ite, Maledicti, In Ignem Aeternum

Adolf

Year: 2007

This was an absolute mindfuck. It took a good 10-15 minutes to get used/link the dots of what was going on. Once it clicked though... damn. This is some outstanding shit. First of all, the drummer. Is this a machine? a robot? a terminator sent from the future to kill us all? Second, the atmosphere: those remote sounds in between tracks were really unsettling. Good lord, glad I jammed this in the office. And third and last, those guitars, those illogical, mind bending chord progressions and riffs. There were moments of melody, true, few but intense, but the core of this is utter and relentless madness. The voice (and back to Satan's kitchen) was fine, I appreciate the lowest register, closer to a growl than the usual shrieks. Gonna continue with the list before digging further the Omega, cause this band requires some true focus on my part.

Fave track: "Bread of Bitterness"

Sniff recs Circvmspice and Darius also recs A Synarchy of Molten Bones
18windir
Likferd

Ocean

Year: 2003

18 Black metal records later I start to feel some positive effects. First of all, blasts and shrieks were elements from the genre that I found difficult to jam in abundancy in the past. Now I can go through a BM album after another and not feel tired at all. Second I am able to see differences within the genre, which I was not able or didn't understand before. My understanding is still very shallow but I feel a step ahead from where I started. Regarding Windir and this album in particular, this is fantastic stuff. The viking voices, the thrashy beats, the glorious guitar harmonies, the synths and keys, these are all elements that conjure to form a very rich and variated Black Metal album.

Fave track: Torn between "Despot" and "Blodssvik" but also the opener is amazing.

Zaru also recs "Arntor"
19Equilibrium
Sagas

Zaru

Year: 2008

This is the "newest" album I have heard so far and I fall short when I say this is the most METAL (line up Hawk's m/m/m/ infinitely) piece of music I've heard in recent years. Not as much pure and by the book Black metal, "Sagas" is more a conpendium of Symphonic metal, German Power metal where vocalist Helge keeps the album on the BM zone with impervious screams while the rest of the band shifts from one style to the other with impressive swiftness. The flagged review uses the concept of "Epic" as the main theme of the album and it's accurate, there is not a single moment in this 1 hour and 20 minutes losing steam. And then there is "Mana". A 16 minute instrumental behemoth that closes the album not in a modest way. There are enough riffs and pregressions in "Mana" to make a second album out of it lol

Fave track: "Mana" is a given but "Blut Im Auge" and "Die Weide Und Der Fluß" are also amazing.
20Voor
Evil Metal Demo

budgie

Year: 1985

Going back in time, the same year that Bathory released "The Return of the Darkness and Evil" and Celtic Frost would stomp the scene with "To Mega Therion", in Quebec a death/thrash bulldozer called Voor recorded this 4 track demo that well, it is not Black Metal in my opinion, aside from the terrible quality of the recording, which is the only BM element I could get from it. The rest sounds much like Slayer with a bit of Celtic Frost and old school Thrash. It's enjoyable as listening to your friend jamming with his band in the practice room while downing some beers.

Fave track: Err... can't really say, cause it's all muddy as fuck but I think the last track was killer (Like a Snake).
21Morbid
December Moon

budgie

Year: 1986

Lalala, lalala, lalala...

In the 80s, while Sweden and the rest of Europe (also the band) were losing their tits to "The Final Countdown", in some dark basement of Stockholm a young lad called Per Yngve "Dead" Ohlin (aka Pelle) was already channeling the occult with a band called Morbid. Wow. The way he sounds in this short burst of blackened death metal is soooo... I don't know, evil? There were tracks where the band shows they could play really fucking fast, name "Wings of Funeral" or "From the Dark". The whole demo has a really eerie atmosphere and I believe in their time this would make a manly man shrinks his balls in fear without a doubt.

Fave track: First two tracks "My Dark Subsconcious" and specially "Wings of Funeral".
22nme
Unholy Death

budgie

Year: 1986

This reminds me to a punkier, crustier version of Venom, so I would include this "Unholy Death" maybe with the First Wave from the US. 11 tracks with a media of 2 minutes. Correct me if I am wrong but this is somethign like blackened punk with a strong attitude and extremely gritty. The recording seems to be done live (I guess?) or so it sounds, with the vocals peaking here and there and tempos going up and down with absolutely no respect for the metronome. All songs kind of follow the same pattern so second half started to get a bit repetitive but it's a good album to cover your mood when you feel like total filth.

Fave tracks: "Warrior" stands out.
23The Kovenant
Nexus Polaris

budgie

Year: 1998

An unexpected entry into the list. I had to look at the date twice to be sure this didn't come out recently cause it sounds so ahead of its time that is ridiculous. Members of Dimmu Borgir, Craddle of Filth and Mayhem, none the less, gathered to produce the richest of blends of cosmic based melodic black metal. Dragons in space? I'll take it! The whole thing has a strong baroque thing going on too, with the magical vocals of Sarah Jezebel Deva decorating the stage for Nagash shrieks, growls and creepy whispers or legendary Hellhammer conscise but superb drumming (seriously that blast in "Dragonheart" is surreal). Some of the guitar licks and harmonies even reminded me of Iron Maiden, some parts to Ghost (maybe because I am in a huge Ghost kick lately tbh) or even King Diamond at times. Overall, agree with the folk here, this one is special.

Fave track: "The Last of Dragons", but special mention to "Bizarre Cosmic Industries" too.
24Tormentor
Anno Domini

budgie

Year: 1985 (originally recorded, then released as an album in 1995)

Going back to 80s BM after Nexus Polaris was a bit underwhelming but still, this is some solid old school Black Metal, and from Hungary! The production is raw, harsh, and Attila sounds like a rabid dog at times. I kind of prefer the more laid back tracks like "Elizabeth Bathory" since the speedy tracks tend to get a bit chaotic. When the band decides to unleash and go full in is actually pretty cool though. I don't think I'll come back to this but I understand its value as a stepping stone for a lot of things that came after it.

Fave track: Yup, it's gonna be "Elizabeth Bathory".
25Sodom
In the Sign of Evil

budgie

Year: 1984

Budgie is getting me well educated into the early influence and mana fountain where all modern Black Metal drunk until drying it out. Along the early phenomenoms Bathory, Tormentor, Celtic Frost or Hellhammer, enters Sodom with a short but intense burst of blackened thrash metal presented in roughly 5 tracks of merciless destruction, Drums on this thing sound like they are played by a complete psychopath with Tom Angelripper's roaring grunts spitting words of peace and love. Definitely a big influence for the most corrupted and raw BM nowadays.

Fave track: "Burst Command til Waaaaaaaaar" and of course "Witch Metal".
26Onslaught
Power from Hell

budgie

Year: 1985

You know, I still have my copy on vinyl of "In Search of Sanity" so going into "Power From Hell" I thought I KNEW where I was getting into. But nope. Onslaught's debut sounds completely different from Steve Grimmet's clean vocals version of the band. In contrast with Grimmet's, Sy Keeler's vocals are rough, growly and dirty and even if it differs from my taste I admit that it definitely fits them better. On the other hand, this is raw and in-your-face thrash metal as fellowmen Nuclear Assault or Exodus so there isn't any "pure" Black Metal influence to be found here per se, but I can still see some modern bands who bend the genre and include those speedy thrash metal parts in their music reflected in this album. The closing with a straight Carmina Burana rip off was pretty hilarious too.

Fave track: "Skullcrusher I" has a pretty sweet intro, "Angels of Death" is also cool.
27Poison (DE)
Into the Abyss

budgie

Year: 1986

I had trouble to believe that Brett Michaels could pull off those growls but man, did he deliver. The same year that the American Poison released their debut, there was a German band brewing a very different recipe. You know, so far in this binge I have listened to a few 80s and 90s Death or Black Metal, Thrash, etc but I could more or less pinpoint "oh this influenced this, this did that" but that is not the case with "Into the Abyss". There are so many influences and elements here and they are so, so tight together. "Into the Abyss" is basically 4 tracks with a couple of that bang non stop for a good 8 minutes +, mixing crazy guitar harmonies, slow and heavy tempos with speedy trash beats and straight out metal ala Judas here and there. The voice reminds me the likes of Venom, but the singer rocks a very respectable moustache in addition to the sadomaso paraphernalia, so there's that.

Fave track: The change of blast speed in "Yog-Sothoth" is wuuuut!!!
28Samael
Worship Him

budgie

Year: 1991

The last riffage of "The Dark" sounds as I write this. It's hard to believe that this band would end up delving into the clings and clangs of Industrial metal. "Worship Him" sounds stoically skimpy. There's barely any addition to a basic guitar, bass, drum, vocal combo which and some parts of the album feel like they are calling for some keys or doubled guitars but the band restraints and keeps it simple and straightforward. "The Black Face" is definitely the most Black Metal sounding track in an album where slow and heavy tempos reign with some in promptus killer double kick or some early Metallica call back here and there. The beginning was harsh for me, but things caught up quickly with "Morbid Metal". It's a shame that the riff in "Rite of Cthulu" while the track fades away wasn't used before in the track, cause it rips. Pretty curious about the latest imputs from Samael, where did they go after this? I'll know soon.

Fave track: "Morbid Metaaaaaaaal"
30Sacramentum
Far Away from the Sun

Ocean

Year: 1996

Another addition to that tsunami of 90s Swedish and Norwegian Black Metal bands and another classic of the early melodic branch of BM (in my understanding) along Dissection's "Storm of the Light's Bane". If you would point a gun to my head telling me to choose between this and Dissection's I would probably choose "Storm..." but still this is a great album that those looking for expanding that branch of melodic and fast Black Metal. The one thing I like about this album apart from the vocals is the way the band manages to create a dense and rich atmosphere only with layers and layers of guitars. I don't think (although I am not entirely sure) that I heard any single key in the whole album and if I did it was correctly subdued to the guitars creating an oblique wall of sound. Another mention goes to the fantastic drumming of Nicklas Rudolfsson, what a beast to behold. Too bad the band seems to be not around anymore.

Fave track: It would be "When Night Surrounds Me"
31Enslaved
Below the Lights

Ocean

Year: 2003

Enslaved is a band I've been familiar with for a long time because some of my friends were obsessed beyond salvation with them. I had briefly listened to their last album "E" last year but never rooted around their past releases looking for an album that I could connect with. "Below the Lights" seems to be the most listened of their extense career (data from lastfm) so I guess Ocean made a good choice reppin' this one. First thing that strikes me about BTL is the decent amount of experimentation. The band don't stick to classical Black Metal patterns and pushes the boundaries to places where other bands would feel out of their element. The inclusion of clean vocals helps to create a pleasant contrast with the most brutal parts. A very well rounded up album of fair length (46 minutes) to which I will probably come back time to time.

Fave tracks: "As Fire Swept Clean the Earth" is a hell of an opener.
32 Gris
Il Etait Une Foret...

Friv & oldmilwaukee

Year: 2007

"Il Etait Une Foret..." ("There was a forest...") is the fine work of two young gentlemen from Quebec that tells dark tales of oppresive beauty inspired by the enthralling landscapes of frozen forests and neverending winters. The duo accomplishes many things with this recording. Through the harsh production that Darkthrone's Fenriz has always so intensely defended as part of what Black Metal stands for, the album succeeds in capturing the agony and feeling of despair of the most depressive branch of the genre. Not only the vocals feel like his throat is getting ripped apart, the music also has that sense of withering beauty expressed by gorgeous melodies drown in abundant distortion and doom-paced tempos. Its length felt maybe a bit overlong and personally I can't say I enjoy when screams turn into flat out crying but those moments were scarce and finishing the album with a semi neo-classical piece was a good choice.

Fave track: Opening and t/t
33Peste Noire
Ballade cuntre lo Anemi francor

Friv

Year: 2009

Keeping with the French spoken, rough production vein, the best way I can think of to describe this is "unique". There is a lot going on in this record. Post Punk meets Black Metal at times, then they jump on a bluesy tone, then they go straight up weird, then there is an interlude... The thing can only be the product of a madman. I did enjoy what "Ballad for cunts" has to offer (sorry!), from the ethereal female vocals (I wish there were more of those) to the absolute badass guitar work although I have to admit there were some moments of hilariously loud distortion and general meltdowns. All in all, this is a must for noisy, muddy, murky BM fans.

Fave track: "À la mortaille!" has a mindblowing riff from half to the end. The closer "Soleils couchants - de Verlaine" is also remarkable.
34Beherit
Drawing Down the Moon

Astral

Year: 1993

Damn, this is a difficult album for me to evaluate. On one hand you have amazing synths and satanic robot hexes and a guttural voice that comes from the deepest of black holes. On the other I feel like the music is missing something. No matter how much I try to focus, I can only hear drums and a distorted bass/very low tuned guitar? with the voice being very, very on top of it all. Blasts are awesome, riffs rip it all (you gotta think this is 1993 we are talking about) but I kind of wish this would possess a vessel with a greater body and projection. Regardless, I love the atmosphere, if you have ever played the Dead Space series you probably know what I am talking about. There is a sense of degeneration, darkness, hopelessness while being forsaken in the unknown confines of the Universe that is appealing to me. Yes, I love that kind of stuff. Event Horizon meets Satan for a cup of tea in nebulous solitude.

Fave track: "The Gate of Nanna"
35Mystifier
Goetia

Astral

Year: 1993

Black Metal from Brazil?! Nice. This malevolent troop directed by now of legend status guitarist Armando Silva a.k.a. Beelzeebubth that goes by the name of Mystifier has been active for more than 25 years. "Goetia" is probably their peak, since the album has seen several reissues, not only in South America but also in Europe. In my version, opening tracks "Aleister Crowley..." and "An Elizabethan Devil..." sound different than the rest of the album and tbh, my hopes of liking this started to wane. BUT from "The Sign of the Holy Cross" onwards Mystifier shine like I was hoping. Death Metal-like gutturals with frenzy blasts and the occasional keys, the album is a one way trip. I felt the stench of catacombs and the dim light of torches listening to this shit, but there is one thing that stood out for me, and that was the bass. There are moments that it shreds on thin strings and it's just fantastically played. The closer is an absolute beast.

Fave track: "The Sign.."
36Master's Hammer
Ritual

Astral

Year: 1991

Just a couple of years before the Norwegian second wave hit with full force, in some obscure part of what was then Czechoslovakia a jewel of the genre was conceived. Call it the first chromosome of today's most symphonic branch of BM or idk but, holy Satan, did these guys know what they had in their hands? This stuff was contrabanded in abundance, since the country was still under the "supervision" of the U.S.S.R. Cassette tapes would fly all over the world engrossing the evergrowing Black Metal scene in Europe. But on Master's Hammer specifically, when you have a guy in your band named Necrocock, you know you are in for something special. "Ritual" is so easy to listen even if you are only slightly into heavy metal. There are Maiden riffs here and there, that wonderful 80s pad pad sound of drums, just the perfect amount of synths and constantly changing tempos and melodies that keep the album fresh. This is essential.

Fave track: "Geniové" and dat OPENER
37Martyrium (DE)
L.V.X. Occulta

Astral

Year: 1994

First of all, I was alone at home jamming this and fuck those whispers in my ears, this album legit scared me shitless. Second, the drums. What the hell is going on here? There is no way this is played on purpose. I agree that it the probably became a trademark for the record but for the love of Odin, the drummer can't hit the same beat twice, not even by chance. That aside, the album is enjoyable, there are satanic speeches/interludes all over the place that are... very welcoming, and they go at it again, tupatupatupatupatupapishpish! Not a second to waste. I am sure this is not the most deranged album of this list but goddamn it's gonna be up there. If you have a Sunday afternoon and a cup of tea, this is your album.

Fave track: "Forgotten Spheres" seems to me the one with the most consistent drumming.
38Vinterland
Welcome My Last Chapter

Ripping

Year: 1996

It's mindblowing this came out in 1996. Along Dissection, Sacramentum and Windir I think I am starting to find my preferred flavour of Black Metal. The atmosphere is incredible, a withering beauty that sounds majestic and wretched at the same time. I love specially the guitar work here, not so much the flat kick drum sound and the slight clumsiness of what otherwise is my favourite track here, that intense opener called "Our Dawn of Glory", but it's just a diminute drop in an ocean of amazing BM. It is really a shame that with a debut like this, Vinterland lost their momentum as soon as they started. I think they could have become of the greatest names of the genre if they would have followed with a similar release. For now though, I think this enters top 5 of what I heard so far.

Fave track: "Our Dawn is Glory" will be revisited intensely.
39Cobalt
Slow Forever

bgillesp

Year: 2016

The most recent element of the list comes on a huge time gap. In spite of Cobalt's Black Metal beginnings, "Slow Forever" is very far, almost too far from the frosted forests and the satanic realm. Instead, this is a desertic, sludgy, post metal extravaganza. Despite the fact that the album runs for a respectable length of 80+ minutes, I admit it felt overly long at times but I did enjoy it, maybe because it encapsules a lot of elements from sludge, hardcore, etc that I like and reminds me at times to Eyehategod or even Neurosis. On the other hand, I have the feeling this may be not an entry you should consider if you feel like jamming Black Metal. It is true that the band touches on their roots at times, specially with the vocals or at the end of t/t, but make no mistake, this is a wonderful sludge metal album.

Fave track: "Cold Breaker" destroyed my soul.
40Deafheaven
Sunbather

bgillesp

Year: 2013

I've known Deafheaven for a long time; it's fairly impossible to avoid the name if you frequent music sites, but it's the first time I actually sat down with a full album by the post-blackgaze phenomena. Well, it is what I expected, no more, no less. "Sunbather" is powered by frenetic blasts and the furiously distorted voice of George Clarke, but what it bleeds is gorgeous guitar harmonies and pure unalloyed melancholia. The length of the songs is obviously demanding but the motherfuckers... they manage to keep the momentum going even with the mischief of those carefully positioned interludes. "Sunbather" is a great album, even if the marriage between Black Metal and Shoegaze feels like peeing on Euronymus grave, I think it takes the best of both realms in good measure and makes something special with it.

Fave track: "Sunbather" although some parts of "Vertigo" are amazing.
41Moonsorrow
Viides luku - Hävitetty

bgillesp

Year: 2006

The Moonsorrow experience is a phenomena well-known in Sputnikmusic.com that describes being exposed to the music of these crazy Finnish pagan bards for the first time. On Feb. 20th of 2019 I subjected myself to such experience while trying to get some work done at my regular 9 to 5 job. Obviously, no work was done at the time. The words "Tuleen Ajettu Maa" were coming out of my mouth, first as an inaudible whisper, then as a growling mumble and then as a battle cry. I ripped by clothes apart and grabbed my PC, which flew across the room crushing the head of one of my co-workers. I took my lunch box and spilled its content all over my face, miso sauce spilling down my forehead, I used it as warpaint and made the surviving people in the room join me in a war chant. I looked at the window and a storm was brewing, sky wide open and fucking Thor riding a burrito came down and joined us on our rally. Then, we marched on to the combini to get a coffee. Great album.
42Nokturnal Mortum
The Voice of Steel

bgillesp

Year: 2002

There's a lot going on in "The Voice of Steel". If you have played The Witcher 3, the album includes a lot of folky passages that reminded me of that soundtrack, but then there is black metal, pagan, viking stuff, then hard rock, then atmospheric bm and holy shit, my head is spinning. I was reading a lot of nonsense about this band's NSBM tendencies and honestly I don't give a damn. The music is good, and it's not like I was gonna understand the lyrics anyway. In my head, the lyrics went down with smth like: "And I mount the harpyyyyyy, through the mountaaaaaain, and I fell off a cliiiiifff, and the sword's through my pelviiiiiiis". Very epic, very epic. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any stream for this so I had to conform with a filthy youtube rip which didn't sound very good.

Fave track: Ukraine
43Taake
Hordalands Doedskvad

bgillesp

Year: 2005

Today I was introduced to the figure of Hoest. My first contact, or image I was presented with, was of the man singing live in 2003, shirtless, with his weenie and balls coming out through his breached jeans. The second was during the infamous Essen incident, where Hoest decided it would be a great idea to get on stage with a swastika painted on his chest. Needless to say, these set the mood for what is actually a pretty good record. It's also pretty standard, and what I mean is that it doesn't waste time experimenting with other styles and whatever, Taake is strictly, simple, in the face, black metal, without the symphonic, without the atmospheric, just a fine extract of a bm band in the 2000s.

Fave track: Part III has some great moments but the beginning of Part VII got me ahrd.
44Blasphemy
Fallen Angel of Doom

Beautiful

Year: 1990

If you were wondering what was going on in the world during the transition from the First wave to the Norwegian assault of Darkthrone and co. here you'll find one of the few answers to that. 1990 was a transitional year for Black Metal in Europe but in the meantime, in Canada, a wicked band called Blasphemy was just releasing this, their first full length. "Fallen Angel of Doom" is a deformed, ugly, abominable and heinous record. There is not even a glimpse of melody here (well maybe for like 10 secs in Goddess of Perversity) but that's it, the rest is just sheer brutality. The muddy, even atrocious production definitely helps to expand on this feeling. I believe this album was greatly influential for extreme metal in general even if only for the drastically violent approach. I can't say I enjoyed this as a pig rolling in mud but it was... interesting.

Fave track: "Ritual" but specially opener and t/t "Fallen Angel of Doom".
45Batushka
Litourgiya

Neeka

Year: 2015

Wow... Just wow. From the moment the massive sound of "Litourgiya" hits for the first time I already knew I was gonna connect with this. Not gonna lie, I love gimmicks in my metal, and yeah, the monk thing has been used to death but goddamn these guys can back it up. I can't choose a favourite track, because the whole thing is so consistent that I feel I just attended a black mass in some church in Poland. Love the liturgical chanting, the colossal sound of the band, the by-the-book shrieks, everything is really well tied together to create a perfectly solid piece of Black Metal. Of the "modern" BM releases I've heard so far, this is probably the one I felt more comfortable with. Masterpiece.

Fave track: Everythiiiiiing.
46Dakhma
Suna Kulto

Sniff

Year: 2016

First of all, it is a travesti that this album doesn't have a review yet. No comprendo. "Suna Kulto" is basically 2 fierce tracks that round 20 minutes each. Crust Blackened Atmospheric Punk is what I've read about these guys. This is impressive, to say the least. Not an easy listen if you have the patience of a 2 year old but a rewarding experience if you have the wisdom and spirit of a BM sage. The production is on point and in both tracks there are enough variations and movements that save the album of dragging due to their imposing length. Post Rock passages, scarce female vocals, furious drumming and a guy torturing his diaphragm, there is a lot of love encapsuled in this recording, so if you have roughly 40 minutes and you are a sage (beard and all), give this a well deserved listen.

Fave track: Well there's only two and great moments in both... so can't really choose. Just jam the whole damn thing.
47Mortuary Drape
Secret Sudaria

HanSolo

Year: 1997

I wasn't sold on the first minutes of "Secret Sudaria". Although I was happy to see an Italian band coming strong at the tail of the Norwegian second wave, the first minutes felt like a Death Metal band with occult themes. Enter the third track "Abbot" at the 10 minute mark and holy shit things take a serious turn. Some thrash metal chugs here and there, furious blasts and the voice cracking up perfectly between a growl and a shriek. They even dare to divide the album with a tasty dark ambient passage, which feels like a nice brief respite before the next charge. The production is obviously not great, maybe a bit too clean in some parts for an album like this but it sounds cohesive and it has more than enough bite. Definitely an album to watch out for if you are craving some good 90s Black Metal with Death and Thrash influences.

Fave track: "Abbot" for getting things straight and "Necromancer" cause it rips.
48Varathron
Walpurgisnacht

HanSolo

Year: 1995

We're back in the second wave. It's 1995 and the hordes of Scandinavian bands spearheaded by Darkthrone, Mayhem, Emperor & co. have devastated Europe by means of cassette tapes flying all over the world with the must undergrund shit you could imagine. The BM movement is spreading like a plague and Helenic stalwarts Varathron are no strangers to it. Active since 1988, the Greek have been in the game for 30 years at the time of writing this. Walpurgisnrsahtshk is their sophomore album and apart from the inelegant but trve performance, and the gritty production (which I love at this point), there is much to like here. The keys are thrown in the mix like someone throwing a cat through the window but it works somehow. Definitely not a shadow to all time Greek favorites Rotten Christ.

Fave track: Birthrise of the Graven Image
49Katharsis
VVorldVVithout End

HanSolo

Year: 2006

Oh man, this was a rough trip, not gonna lie. SHit has zero dynamics , everything is cranked and goes on NON STOP. I didn't know which track I was listening to or what the hell was going on so I just kinda phased out and let the madness take hold of me. The only track I can honestly say I enjoyed like a maniac was "VVytchdance" because of that wicked riff that drives the song but the rest was like a trance that I barely remember. This might be a bit too much for me.

Fave track: Read above.
50Mutiilation
Vampires of Black Imperial Blood

HanSolo

Year: 1995

This takes me back to those times when I was a beardless wimp, and I would sit on our band's practice room and listen to the other bands that played in the other rooms. There used to be a black metal band playing on Sunday mornings (skipping church how rude!) and I would just sit there and listen to their set without knowing what the hell they were playing. By the time we were into Kyuss, Tool and all that so shrieks were like "whaaaa...t". So yeah, production of this is nil, in-existent, I've read this is a drum machine? Umm, I don't know man, seems pretty organic to me. The French know how to BM, no doubt at this point, plus the whole lore behind Les Légions Noires and all that seems pretty interesting.

Fave track: Raven of my funeral slaps nipples.
51Verdunkeln
Einblick In Den Qualenfall

HanSolo

Year: 2014

Well, well, well, I really dug this. "Dig" like in the sense of digging a grave and creating a passage to a forsaken catacomb beneath my house where a group of necromancers were having a bloody orgy, drinking blood from skulls and dancing with reanimated corpses. This is doomy, melodic, dirty, crusty, and sinister, really hitting the spot right now. It has that wonderful first wave feel of being almost heavy metal but then the production is so gritty and the voice is bathed in reverb and echo which gives it this really cool atmospheric twist. Good times for you and your goth girlfriend.

Fave track: Der Hescherr (17 min.) is the absolute shit
52 Paysage d'Hiver
Winterkaelte

Scuro

Year: 2001

The whole meaning of the word "odyssey" takes form with this album. This is other-wordly Black Metal, a trip to a distant, frozen and devastated realm where a few entities made out of light fight for survival against the corrupting nature of the land. I am not exaggerating when I say I tripped out with this. Certainly, the production, if any, is ridiculously thick. There are moments of absolute beauty, the beginning of Winter, the middle part of Finsternis, little oasis of melody that are soon overwhelmed by aural storms over and over again. It is difficult to discern the drum pattens, but they are there, the guitars are upfront drowning the shrieks in walls of distortion, the whole thing feels like recorded with a broken phone in a blizzard but that's the charm of it, what it needs to be, a ticket to somewhere far, far from here. I can only wait for trv winter to jam this again.

Fave track: "Winter" encapsulates the feeling of this album perfectly.
53Moloch
Verwüstung

Scuro

Year: 2014

Wow, I should have expected this from dungeon synth master Scuro Fantasma. How would fail to see that he would lure me with some tasty black metal into a second half of dark ambient and creepy soundscapes. Definitely didn't see it coming and that's why high praise is in order. When the first 5 tracks of Verwüstung are done, a sort of organ interlude called "Todestiller" gives a bried respite after the wonderful torment that is the first half. Or so I thought, but nope, turns out that the whole second half is based on three ambient tracks that make you feel you are dwelling some abandoned castle lost in the Carpathians. Well played, well played.

Fave track: I love the ambient part, but from the harsh stuff I think the opener, "Blutmond" might be my favorite.
54Axis of Light
L'appel du vide

Scuro

Year: 2015

My ears have been punished for my long absence in regards to this list. "Lo-fi" can't even begin to describe the savagery perpetrated in this production. Whoever is the sadistic mind behind this project knows exactly what frequencies are needed to twist and overload in order to make the human eardrum bend to the album's will, while at the same time leaving you craving for more. Because behind the unwelcoming screeching storm of noise lies paradise, my friends, an ecstasy of riffs and harmonies of pristine beauty that my (now well trained) black metal-proof Eustachian tube have enjoyed like a nun partaking with thy holy cross. Will definitely check more of the Axis.

Fave track: Void :)
55Carpe Noctem
Carpe Noctem

Scuro
56Oak Pantheon
The Void

Scuro
57Behemoth
The Satanist

Papa Uni

Year: 2014

First time listening to Behemoth and I start by their 10th album. Nice. I was reading some stuff about Nergal while jamming this album and did you know that he was a coach in The Voice of Poland? (lol!) Only the fact that he was able to actually give birth to this album years after a bone marrow transplant is enough for me to admire the man's passion towards his music. "The Satanist" is a black metal album by the book, it has everything on it, dem blasts, dem trems but Nergal's monstruous vocals maybe take too much presence. Inferno's drums are hilariously fast and there are some beautiful guitar melodies to be found among the hellish chaos unleashed in this album. The production is by no means raw or harsh, it's actually really, really polished and I thank the seven hells for not letting Colin Richardson touch this record (he was supposed to be the man behind the controls, but didn't happen). Tremendous record.

Fave track: "Amen". Opener is sick too.
58Caladan Brood
Echoes Of Battle

Papa Uni
59Antlers (DE)
A Gaze Into the Abyss

Papa Uni
60Blaze of Perdition
Near Death Revelations

Papa Uni
61Panopticon
Roads to the North

Papa Uni
62Waldgefluster
Ruinen

Papa Uni
63Der Weg Einer Freiheit
Finisterre

Papa Uni
64Nocturnal Graves
Satan's Cross

Papa Uni
65Wildernessking
The Writing of Gods in the Sand

Papa Uni
66The Great Old Ones
Tekeli-Li

Papa Uni
67Abigor
Nachthymnen (From The Twilight Kingdom)

Papa Uni

Astral also recs Orkblut - The Retaliation
68Entropia (PL)
Vesper

Papa Uni
69Arizmenda
Stillbirth in the Temple of Venus

TheSpirit

Year: 2015

Man I gotta be careful now when I click on that edit button. I always feel I'm gonna click on the X and send this to oblivion. Anyway, so I was jamming Arizmenda, great album by the way, god bless your offspring Spirit, and my wife came into the room and asked: "Hey what are you listening to? Can I try?". So I give her the headphones and she immediately starts doing the helicopter with her head, followed by a couple of 360s, exorcist style, with blank eyes and all. She takes the headphones off and half smiling she says "Yeah, it's cool, who are they?". So I tell her about all the Crepúsculo Negro stuff and show her the cover... She haven't spoken to me in the last 2 hours. Onto the album though, this is lit, maybe the only youtube rip quality I could find wasn't great but it helped to give Arizmenda's music character. This is the sort of organized chaos I can dig. And I love that beautiful guitar lead guiding the album. One for the ages.

Fave: Cum in your wound
70Altar of Plagues
Teethed Glory and Injury

JS19

Year: 2013

Wow, this was quite something, there was a lot to take in on first listen. I really dig the degree of experimentation here, the soft touches of post rock here and there and the clean vocal choruses fading in and out. The whole album works on amazing dynamics preventing it from getting stagnant and making it flow almost perfectly. There were very few moments of... discomfort, the wailing combined with the "my son dead, buried" was a part hard to swallow for me, gave me the creeps. Great work also by Jaime Gomez Arellano (Ghost, Ulver) on mixing and production, man that guy knows how to bring out the best of every band.

Fave track: Scald Scar of Water (dat ending) and A Body Shrouded.
71Satyricon
Dark Medieval Times

budgie

Hansolo also recs Fjelltronen

Year: 1994

Die, summer, die already! Jammed Satyricon today in hope it'd bring some frost to these lands, the sky got cloudy and temperature dropped a few degrees so there's that. The Norwegians did have fiery competition by the time this was released. It's not difficult to see why DMT fell a bit back other emblematic BM albums of the second wave. The sound of the album is all over the place and I feel like Satyricon was trying to chew way more that they could technically handle. The result is a disjointed mess of amazing riffs and parts with hardly a fluent transition in between them. On the other hand, Dark Medieval Times is filled with top moments, some crazy good sounds that made my mind travel through that god forsaken cliff on top of my ghostly horse to the beat of those mighty blasts and synths.

Fave: "Into the Mighty Forest" even if it has the shittiest production in the album. The closer "Taakeslottet" is also remarkable.
72Heretoir
Heretoir

budgie
73Dimmu Borgir
Stormblåst

budgie
74Blut Aus Nord
The Work Which Transforms God

Doofus

Year: 2003

I'm gonna be blunt. I didn't enjoy this. In fact this was a sonic torture, a mix between an otorhinolaryngologist session gone wild and a birthday party in Arkham Asylum. And for that it was good. In a way, it achieves what it means to: drag the listener into a deranged rollercoaster of detuned guitars wavering constantly up and down while the subject called Vlad wails and regurgitates blasphemies like an absolute madman. I appreciate the moments of clarity though, which shine even brighter amidst the depraved tracks. I don't think this is a band I can connect with (sorry Doof!) but as an experience I couldn't recommend it enough.

Fave: "Our Blessed Frozen Cells" brings some clarity and air, and "Procession of Dead Clowns" would be great if it was a bit shorter.
75Darkspace
Dark Space I

Darius (And go all chrono)

Year: 2009

I imagine this is how black metal should sound through a boombox while getting swallowed by a black hole. Cold, dark, shapeless and infinite is how this shit sounds like. Fcourse I wish the drums were a bit more upfront, the production less muddy but this is how it's supposed to sound. The combination of atmospheric BM with some coitus interruptus beefy riffs is godly and somehow they manage to maintain the album breathing through over a fucking hour with very little. Some of the melodic passsages drowned in that massive wall of sound really fired my neurons and gave me frosty chills. Will definitely make a run through the rest of their work (and probably fusion with the cosmos in the process of doing so).

Fave: 1.2 hands down, although the closer track has some lit moments too (I love how it sludges its way out).
76Aether Realm
Tarot

Dedes (Updated!)

Year: 2017

I am 50 albums in on this black metal binge and believe me when I say I am no expert on the matter just yet, but this is as Black Metal as my sister is the Queen of Wakanda. Dedes planted this melodic death mole in my precious list and kharma will have him for that someday. As we all wait for Dedes' judgement day all I can say is that this is a fun listen, viking inspired metal, very epic and all so now I feel like that explorer when he found that tribe of wildlings and, after ploughing the chief's daughter, he had to continue his journey. Thanks for the mead, here's to the next time!

Fave track: Anything but that 20 minute monster.
77Destroyer 666
Unchain The Wolves

Rabid

Year: 1997

Destroyer 666 is like that bully in highschool, merciless and terrifying but that, you know, there's something to like about the annoying chap. Now, I have the same "problem" with this album that I already with Peste Noire: I love the music but the lyrics are like a bad parody of themselves. As much as they try to sound like a viking gang raiding on steroids, the whole thing ends up being a Monty Python sketch ("A world without war is like a city without whores"). There you have it. Poetry. The second half of the album though, damn! There's some really good stuff in there, pretty much from "Six curses...", an absolute high-light, onward the album gets fueled baby. Gonna get on their latest material, see if they matured somehow.

Fave track: Read above.
78Bestial Warlust
Vengeance War Til Death

Beautiful

Year: 1994

I don't know man, this seemed unnecessarily extreme overall. I get the feeling that this was Australia's response to the Scandinavian wave, but forcing some muted mic growls into the mix and blasting from start to finish with no rhyme or reason doesn't make it any better. I enjoyed some isolated tracks, the production ranged from shitty to atrociously shitty, as it should be, but the lack of dynamics on this (fortunately) short burst of Aussie Black/ Extreme Metal didn't really tell me anything new.

Fave track: "Satanic" I think although if you play another track I wouldn't be able to tell the difference.
79Ildjarn
Forest Poetry

Izlamic

Year: 1996

I already said it on the album's thread but this album is probably the first one where I had to draw the line. Up to now I've been through albums that were basically a scream gallery, walls of noise, blizzard recordings, etc, but I've always found something to enjoy in them. "Forest Poetry" though, I did not enjoy this, in fact, I suffered (lol!) Not because it was bad, the music kind of sounds like some blackened garage punk, the little I can discern but this just so deliberately badly recorded that is very, very difficult to actually have a good time with it.

Fave track: The opener got my full attention, from there it was a torment
80Velvet Cacoon
Genevieve

Izlamic
81Havohej
Dethrone the Son of God

Hawks

Year: 1993

My man Hawks couldn't get many recs into this list but may be this inverted Jehova album be his legacy to this list. Ex-Incantation drummer seems to be the man (or whatever little of humanity is left in him) after the project known as Havohej, which explains how loud and awsm are the drums on this thing. The vocals are another point of focus on "Dethrone...", they sound gritty, rabid as fuck. The weaker side of the album may be the guitars cause they don't cut so much and they are usually killed by the overwhelming by the drums. The lyrics are the most filthy and blaspheme that I have ever heard. They carry so much hate that the last track is basically reciting them without any music (check the review if you want to read them in their full splendor). The production... well, there is no production, this is tape quality which is fit and even necessary for this album. Solid slab of USBM for your grandma parties at the hospice.

Fave track: Holy Blood Holy Grail
82Silencer (SWE)
Death - Pierce Me

oldmilwaukee

Year: 2001

First of all, the story behind this album, the guy with his hands cut, the pic with pig hands, that's all very fucked up. At this point of the odyssey, I can't help but look back and see how much devastation and degeneration this genre has suffered. Nattram's wails are really disturbing, like someone wanting to fake black metal shrieks and just ending up screaming from the bottom of his soul. Vocals have huge impact on this album, a detraction for some, an appeal for others, but it's really difficult to ignore them. The music though, this is one hell of an album. The quiet passages are superb and there are some moments that could overshadow any of the ancient classics. A conflicting album, very difficult to rate tbh, will have to re-jam.

Fave track: "Stalenails..." is stellar
83Lifelover
Pulver

oldmilwaukee
84Sombres Forets
La Mort du Soleil

oldmilwaukee
85Rotting Christ
Thy Mighty Contract

InFlamesWeThrash666

Year: 1993

Greek extreme metal demigods have been around for so long that I'm actually surprised I managed to get to them virgin as the one that spawned creation. Whoever was the Illuminati that booked a US tour in the 90s with them, Immortal and Blasphemy, which resulted in people cutting themselves and being carried out of the shows by ambulance surely knew that they would become one, if not the most influential metal band coming out of Hellenic territory. This, their first "official" full length have seen so many re-issues that it sums about 26 different editions. "Thy Mighty Contract" is rough, coarse, it sulfurs with a pungent stench. Sakis' vocal performance is visceral, morphing with every song like a deformed creature. Every song feels different and I sort of relate their sound more to 80s bands than to the sound of the Scanadinavian second wave. As an introduction to Greek black metal, I think it's perfect.

Fave track: Exiled Archangels
86Krallice
Diotima

osmark86
87Nocturnal Depression
Nostalgia: Fragments Of A Broken Past

oldmilwaukee
88Pensees Nocturnes
Vacuum

oldmilwaukee
89Inquisition
Into The Infernal Regions Of The Ancient

Astral Abortis
90Necromantia
Promo Tape 1990

Astral Abortis
91Cultes Des Ghoules
Henbane

Astral Abortis
92Grand Belial's Key
Judeobeast Assassination

Astral Abortis
93Serpent Noir
Erotomysticism

Astral Abortis
94Castevet
Obsian

osmark86
95Ash Borer
2009 Demo

Scuro
96Tuman
Transylvanian Dreams

Scuro
97Arnaut Pavle
Demo Tape MMXIII

Scuro
98Toska (IS)
Toska

Scuro
99Absurd (GER)
Der Fünfzehnjährige Krieg

Scuro
100Sarcofago
I.N.R.I.

Adolf
101Vondur
Stridsyfirlysing

My reward if I get to the end of this.
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