I've never been huge on BM, strongly disliking a majority of the bands and many of the genre-specific elements they adopt in their music. I've always preferred other extreme music way more. That said, I've definitely heard a few rather cool black metal bands, and more specifically, excellent 'albums' and 'songs', regardless of band. You guys have already mentioned a few reputed BM bands in the separate threads in this forum.
Now, I know my thread topic must seem like a pretty pointless, frustrating one to respond to. Just try it out anyway, fellas. Name a personal, stand-out favourite BM album of all time.
Even a mostly non-fan like myself is having a hard time deciding which to pick (maybe a 'poll' would have been simpler)
...Alright, I'm going with:--
Sons of Northern Darkness by IMMORTAL.
Btw, I reckon that most anything by Immortal, Darkthrone, Gorgoroth, Marduk, Carpathian Forest, maybe even Dissection, Burzum etc, oughta be a feast for the average 'newbie' fan wanting to dive right into quality BM.
*On the topic, I wanna also name a few much-loved Aussie Black Metal acts of recent years:
Ruins (featuring one of the Haley brothers from mighty Psycroptic), The Amenta, Astriaal, The Furor, Cauldron Black Ram, and heck there are many more, but you couldn't trust me to ever sing the praises of Black Metal too much.
Wow, I think I agree! SOND is fucking impeccable. The only album that comes close for me is Mayhem's De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas.
Yeah, mate...I'm dead sure that SoND is definitely my runaway favourite BM album. So, two votes for this priceless album. Let's see what the other fuckers feel.
Hard to say - I think Bathory's Under the Sign of the Black Mark, is brilliant in it's simplicity and directness.
Dissections Storm of the lights Bane as well ranks high on my list. I think SOND is one of the best "sounding" black metal albums. And some very awesome songs. But I like Damned in Black a little more in some ways.
Midian by Cradle of Filth
Filosofem by Burzum, or ...And the Forests Dream Eternally by Behemoth.
Deadnight Warrior Wrote: Midian by Cradle of Filth
No, no, no. You meant to say "Cruelty and the Beast". Surely you did.
No sir I did not. I like Midian the most. Although Cruelty is my second favorite.
Good enough for me.
De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas, Sons of Northern Darkness, Transilvanian Hunger, In the Nightside Eclipse, Filosofem, and anything by Bathory.
I'm not very original here. Sons of Northern Darkness and Filofosem are my favorites as well.
For Bathory, "Blood Fire Death" (more originality lol) has to be one of the best BM albums. If I had to rank my top 10, it would look like this (in no real order):
Sons of Northern Darkness - Immortal
De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas - Mayhem
Cruelty and the Beast - Cradle of Filth
Filosofem - Burzum
Diadem of 12 Stars - Wolves In The Throne Room
Transylvanian Hunger - Darkthrone
Blood Fire Death - Bathory
Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk - Emperor
Ordo Ad Chao - Mayhem
Damned In Black - Immortal
Farted, is that a run-down of your own all-time Top 10?? Pucky, earlier, and now you, remind me that I've been meaning to get Burzum's Filosofem for quite some time, but never got around to grabbing that one. This time, no excuses, I'm definitely getting that disc.
Warlock, you sure cited perhaps by second best fave, i.e. Dissection's Storm of the Lights Bane...And yea, you're right about Damned in Black's virtues, as well. I enjoy that one, no question.
Also, all of you would probably strongly disagree, but as decent and good as Mayhem is, I just always found them to be decidedly 'over-rated', overall.
Lastly, strange but true, how I've heard very little of Bathory...And to think they are widely acknowledged as a major forerunner of black metal.
Yeah, that's more or less my top 10. Other albums make come into play at different times, but those are at least some of my favorites. SOTLB would make the list sometimes. Even 1349's "Hellfire", if the mood is right.
Mayhem have always been overrated, but I think they're more over-publicized. All the drama surrounding the band's early years sorta cemented their name into metal culture. DMDS is still a landmark BM album, though. And I loved their newest one.
Haha, re: Mayhem, you're spot-on with that point you make, Farted. But buddy, BM has always been teeming with tons of bands, whether of the minor or major leagues, that have relied on AND often benefited from, controversy-courting antics, 'drama' and gimmicky 'stunts' aimed at cultivating a certain 'image' and steady 'cult' following. Mayhem has always been the original Real McCoy of the sort of sensationalism that helped them scale the heights in the underground fan community.
But my main thing was about their 'music' itself, pure & simple, seeming highly over-rated to my ears Ah, and then there is the occasional, opinionated debates among BM die-hards about the merits (or lack of them) of the so-called "waves" (1st, 2nd, 3rd....etc) in the black metal eras.
On your list, interesting to see that, coincidentally, Immortal is first and last in that top ten. Never heard of Wolves in the Throne Room, and I hate to see CoF there.
..
Hey, I'd be curious to see your DM Top 10 bands/albums sometime.
Haha. Most of their albums (Mayhem) have been quite dull, actually. I look at DMDS and Ordo Ad Chao (their newest) and I realize something: the influence of vocalist Attila Csihar and realize his touches give the albums a heavy dose of credibility and impact. So much so that I can actually hear the rest of the music lacking in this or that and not care at all. If he's doing vocals for it, I'm going to end up enjoying it. I see those two Mayhem albums as landmarks for their particular eras.
Whenever people start dying in a band, they get more attention and inevitably, more success. But when people start killing people in a band, it becomes something else entirely. What that is, I don't have a word for, but it's something along the lines of a real-life soap opera.
Wolves In The Throne Room are, quite simply, amazing. They play a doomish, droning blend of atmospheric black metal that touches base with the concepts of "natural music" and "man returning to the wild". It's very spiritual, very mesmerizing and I'd recommend to ANYONE to check them out. "Diadem of 12 Stars" is the perfect place to start, but any of their albums afterwards are quite good as well. Be prepared if you do, though: all songs run over 10 minutes and the flow is very demanding of a sharp listening ear, as the droning nature of the music takes ideas and rides with them for awhile, while introducing little nuances here and there that can be somewhat difficult, but ultimately very rewarding to pick up on.
My inclusion of COF is basically because they're mostly known for being a BM band. I would be the first to dispute that (I call them "Gothic Black") but hey, what can you do. They were a fucking awesome band in their time though, combining elements of black metal and NWOBHM to sound like a more evil, symphonic Iron Maiden at times. And Dani's vocal range is fucking impressive.
My top DM albums would include Nile, Immolation, Suffocation, and...not sure who else! Honestly I've never been much of a fan of the genre, not sure why as it has a bit in common with BM. I think I need to expand my Death Metal horizons a bit, actually. Any recs in those regards would be more than appreciated. :cool:
^^^^^^
Check out Angel Corpse if you haven't yet. Excellent Blackened-Death. Exterminate & the Inexorable are both top notch and appeal to many black metal fans that I know. Their recent reunion didn't result in a very good album unfortunately. And perhaps thats why they've ceased operations again. But the two I mentioned are their best efforts.
^^ Warlock ain't lying.
I sure reckon Angel Corpse's two very good albums named above are both extremely likely to float your boat a long, sweet way, Farted.
Hey Farted, you made me chuckle with your comment about how you're surprised that you aren't much of a dm fan despite it "having a bit in common with bm"..It's true though; ' a bit in common' is all that dm and bm really share between them. I honestly think that the two genres are far more dissimilar than they have ever been similar. And yeah, some bm aficionados I know are baffled as to why I neglect bm so much. Dm is wayyyy cooler, that's why, is one short stock reply I usually have to offer.
Now, I was sort of guessing that maybe you haven't had an in-depth, extensive exposure to DM. And you actually ask for 'recs' from this DM fanatic.
Gosh, don't start me talkin' or else the floodgates would open about who all I think you oughta check out to become a dm convert, real soon.
Ok, again keeping in mind that you are mainly a bm-resident fan wading into dm territory, I will have to tout the amazing, timeless majesty of veteran death metal powerhouses, Vital Remains----especially their first four albums (Let Us Pray, Into Cold Darkness*, Dawn of the Apocalypse*, and Forever Underground*)---the ones in asterisks are my personal favourites. On all these albums, they play what is sometimes regarded by some fans as 'blackened-death', but heck, I just think of it as extremely tasteful, original, and sadly, 'under-rated' death metal, like no other. The songs are invariably long, and typical album lengths (except FU) average nearly 60 minutes. Fast, technical, atmospheric, brutal, progressive, these guys are superb musicians and I'm sure will be worth your time, if you haven't already heard them through.
Once, you get a little revved up on dm, you know who to ask for further 'recs'.
(05-12-2009 11:50 AM)Farted Wrote: [ -> ]Haha. Most of their albums (Mayhem) have been quite dull, actually. I look at DMDS and Ordo Ad Chao (their newest) and I realize something: the influence of vocalist Attila Csihar and realize his touches give the albums a heavy dose of credibility and impact. So much so that I can actually hear the rest of the music lacking in this or that and not care at all. If he's doing vocals for it, I'm going to end up enjoying it. I see those two Mayhem albums as landmarks for their particular eras.
I dunno. I like Chimera, and I like Maniac's vocals. I've mentioned before (on UM I think) that I've always found Attila's vocals... odd. They're good, but just friggin weird.