Metal Reviews

This is harder than I thought it would be... I took Rio's approach and made more of an "alone in the woods" list rather than an interpretation of the best or most definitive albums.

In a loose order:

1. Emperor – In the Nightside Eclipse
2. Emperor – Anthems To the Welkin At Dusk
3. Nokturnal Mortum – Lunar Poetry
4. Windir – Arntor
5. Burzum - Hvis Lyset Tar Oss
6. Limbonic Art – Moon in the Scorpio
7. Paysage d’Hiver / Lunar Aurora – “split”
8. Drudkh – Blood In Our Wells
9. Forest of Fog – Nebelhymnen
10. Negura Bunget – Om
11. Kvist - For Kunsten Maa Vi Evig Vikke
12. Nokturnal Mortum – Weltanschauung
13. Hellveto – Autumnal Night
14. Elysian Blaze – Cold Walls and Apparitions
15. Krohm – A World Through Dead Eyes

Some alternates and almosts:

Burzum – Filosofem and Aske, Darkthrone – Transilvanian Hunger, Ulver – Bergtatt, Satyricon – Dark Medieval Times, Sacramentum – Far Away From the Sun, Mayhem – De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas, Windir - 1184

-Tyrion

Contra Ignem Fatuum - Detritus
Abgott - Fizala
Enslaved - Vikingligr Veldi
Meads of Asphodel - Damascus Steel
Spearhead - Deathless Steel Command

Just to be different.

Great list. Limbonic Art and Arcturus were two bands I definitely forgot to mention.

I actually prefer Limbonic Art's Moon in the Scorpio album, and from Arcturus the Constellation EP and the demos. Good call on the ...and Oceans album though, it should be in everyone's list.

Yeah, Limbonic Art is the band I missed too. I'd probably put Moon in the Scorpio on the list instead though, as Slayer of Kings mentioned.

I forgot Malign - Divine Facing/Fireborn and you guys made me remember Limbonic Art but mine is Ad Noctum (Dynasty of Death).

The old school:

Venom - Metal Black, Resurrection, Cast in Stone
Slayer - Show No Mercy, Hell Awaits
Sodom - In the Sign of Evil, Persecution Mania
Celtic Frost - Morbid Tales, To Mega Therion

New and "trv" but still old school:

Darkthrone - A Blaze in the Northern Sky

Ok, some "nu" Black Metal:

Emperor - Prometheus The Discipline Of Fire & Demise
Emperor - IX Equilibrium
Cradle of Filth - Dusk and Her Embrace
Cradle of Filth - Cruelty and the Beast
Dimmu Borgir - In Sorte Diaboli
Dimmu Borgir - Enthrone Darkness Triumphant
Sonic Reign - Raw Dark Pure
Watain - Sworn to the Dark
Satyricon - Now, Diabolical

Here it comes.

What's so funny?

i can see people saying venom and in the sign of evil are black metal, but slayer?

Well if we were talking black metal in the 80s meaning, meaning really just thrash played a little more extreme and with Satanic lyrics, then yeah, I can go with Slayer.

Slayer, because Evil has no Boundaries:


Serious: When Venom invented the genre, BM was just satanic Heavy/Thrash Metal, and were the differences between Venom and Slayer really that big (at least for the first two Slayer records)?

Hell, the music of Slayer was all the time more evil, sinister and more frightening as Venoms. And the differences between Slayer and Metallica or Anthrax were bigger, than between Slayer and Venom or early Sodom or Destruction (another co-inventor of BM).

Although a lot of Thrash bands sing about Satan, most would agree nowadays that it doesn't actually make them Black Metal.

Most people don't have a clue about black metal these days.

Some bands that used the term, or who were called by the term before someone came up with the rule that you have to have trem picked riffs, blast beats and certain kind of vocals to be BM:

Amon, Bathory, Celtic Frost, Hellhammer, Kat, Master's Hammer, Mercufyl Fate, Mutilator, Possessed, Root, Sodom, Sarcofago, Slayer, Tormentor (Ger), Tormentor (Hun), Törr, Venom, Vulcano.

Don't forget the Vader demo tapes and their first album. I'm hearing those tremolo riffs on plenty of early Norwegian BM efforts.

Random order:

DsO-Si Momentum..
Blut Aus Nord-The work...
Negura Bunget-Om and 'n Crugu Bradului
Mystic Forest-Romances
Nokturnal Mortum-Lunar Poetry
Graveland-Dawn Of Iron Blades
Drudkh-Blood In Our Wells, The Swan Road
Ulver-Nattens Madrigal
Leviathan-Tentacles of Whorror
Darkspace- Darkspace I
Darkthrone-A Blaze In The Northern Sky
Forgotten Woods-As The Wolves Gather
Nargaroth-Rasluka Pt1 and 2
Nocternity-Onyx
Satyricon-Dark Medieval Times
Taake-Nattestid Ser Porten Vid
Funeral Mist-Salvation

Just for historic reasons, an interesting compilation:

Fenriz presents: The Best of Old-School Black Metal

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fenriz_Pre ... lack_Metal

1. Blasphemy - Winds O The Black Godz
2. Sarcófago - Satanic Lust
3. Celtic Frost - Dawn Of Megiddo
4. Nattefrost - Sluts Of Hell
5. Mercyful Fate - Evil
6. Sodom - Burst Command Til War
7. Tormentor - Elisabeth Bathory
8. Aura Noir - Blood Unity
9. Destruction - Curse The Gods
10. Samael - Into The Pentagram
11. Bulldozer - Whisky Time
12. Mayhem - The Freezing Moon
13. Hellhammer - The Third Of The Storms
14. Burzum - Ea, Lord Of The Deeps[2]
15. Venom - Warhead
16. Bathory - Dies Irae

Why the hell would he put Nattefrost on the list. OI.

Because they are buddies? The choice can't be based on musical quality, and Nattefrost ain't exactly old school. Throw Nattefrost and Aura Noir the fuck out of that list and add Beherit!