Seriously though, I personally feel that Hammerheart and Blood Fire Death are the worst of the first 5, which means they are still better than 99% of all BM.
Why make a distinction between the first five and the rest? Twilight of the Gods is Bathory's magnum opus in my opinion. Even if you don't agree there's not really any consensus regarding the quality of the first five albums versus this one. There is a major stylistic difference, but that's also the case between 1&2-3&4-5.
Yeah, I agree, while I don't think it his best album it is probably better than all of his first three.Why make a distinction between the first five and the rest? Twilight of the Gods is Bathory's magnum opus in my opinion. Even if you don't agree there's not really any consensus regarding the quality of the first five albums versus this one. There is a major stylistic difference, but that's also the case between 1&2-3&4-5.
I think he got better with each release with his first five actually, so: Hammerheart > Blood Fire Death > Under the Sign of the Black Mark > The Return > Bathory
I agree here too... put an Iron Maiden or Priest bassline up against a Duran Duran or Madness one for technicality & we'll see who comes up trumps...
Controversial metal opinions:
1. Metallica suck huge cock & always have (average at best)
2. Iron Maiden & Judas Priest annoy the shit out me most of the time, amuse me some of the time & impress me far less often then they should, given the amount of people who won't shut up about them.
3. Raining Blood is not the only Slayer song, I don't care who the fuck you are, cover something else.
4. Metalheads in general bore & irritate the shit out of me. (yes I am into metal)
5. Because someone is a pioneer, it does not make them THE authority/benchmark. (Black Sabbath, Jimi Hendrix, Eddie Van Halen)
6. "Broodal" & "kvlt" aren't even real fucking words... why do so many metalheads insist on using them... "brutal" shits me too... english is a fascinating language, use it & all it's adjectives.
7. "throwing horns" is just fucking AAAARRRGHHHHH!!! Why are you doing it?!!
8. putting clean vocals in a song, where the bulk is screamy or growly (or vice-versa) has been done to death, leave it.
9. On paper, Opeth should be my favourite band... yet they're boring as shit & fucking suck... AND...
10. Metal is dead... or at best stagnant.
What was their contribution to metal outside from a slew of lame, unambitious albums that take as much from AC/DC as they do Priest/Sabbath/etc? When I hear people praise them, it's because they were evidently inspiring to the early thrashers. Scott Ian met Clemente doing the butter-bust jerky, after all.