Dark Moor Ranked
While this band has disappointed me many times, it has also made some of my favorite power metal releases and I thought I'd revisit their discography. |
| 1 |  | Dark Moor
The Hall of the Olden Dreams
This was their breakout album with Elisa Martin still doing vocals for the band. This album is simply perfect from start to finish. Each song is great and the performances are fantastic with the particular standouts being tracks like Maid of Orleans, Beyond the Fire, Bells of Notre Dame and Silver Lake. Simply magnificent. |
| 2 |  | Dark Moor
The Gates of Oblivion
This and The Hall of Olden Dreams are practically interchangeable for me depending on the day, especially when you consider the more epic endeavors taken by the band at this point with the impeccable Dies Irae (Amadeus). |
| 3 |  | Dark Moor
Tarot
A surprisingly excellent album after a gradual decline that began after Elisa Martin departed from the band. Despite being a huge fan of Elisa Martin, it was great to see Alfred Romero hit a stride along with the rest of the band. The composition and production were all substantially improved from the two albums that preceded Tarot, making it a standout in their discography. |
| 4 |  | Dark Moor
Shadowland
One may wonder why I have this below Tarot given that I'm a huge fan of Martin-era Dark Moor but honestly, while I like this album, I simply cannot say that the production didn't hinder this album somewhat which left it at fourth on my list. That being said, this is quite a good debut for a band that was just starting out at the time. |
| 5 |  | Dark Moor
Beyond the Sea
There are a few mediocre tracks on here but the instrumentals on here are great and most of the songs are good. I'd glady say that it's an improvement over the self-titled that preceded it. |
| 6 |  | Dark Moor
Ancestral Romance
This is another album with Alfred that ranges from decent to great but here is when things start getting dicey. There are some things that pull it back like "Let's Rock" which is just awful and some other compositional issues with the album that would show problems that would massively hinder the band later on. |
| 7 |  | Dark Moor
Ars Musica
Half of this album feels rather forgettable, if I'm being honest. It felt like they were actually trying on Ancestral Romance but this album was just a complete bore at times due to them just sounding like they were phoning it in. |
| 8 |  | Dark Moor
Autumnal
Utterly mediocre and sometimes downright embarrassing. |
| 9 |  | Dark Moor
Dark Moor
A poor transitionary effort that suffers from a lack of focus and inspiration. |
| 10 |  | Dark Moor
Project X
Abysmal. |
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