I like what the Crazy Cat Lady did with her post, so I think I will do the same!
1.
Nothing But Death Remains: Fairly typical, raw death metal. The Swedish element really wasn't there just yet, as I can hear traces of SCREAM BLOODY GORE, for instance, more than LEFT HAND PATH, and it seems to have more of an American death metal influence on it as a whole. Songs are good, but the production is pretty sub-par, yet still decent considering how young the guys in the band were.
2.
Unorthodox: Worth the price of purchase because of the song "Engima" alone. That clean vocal part Dan does at first still sends shivers down my spine when I hear it, and I only wish he used more clean vocals on that album. Other than that, it is pretty formulaic, downtuned Swedish death in the style of early Entombed. "When All Is Said" is really the only other tune that stands out, in my opinion.
3.
The Spectral Sorrows: Classic! They started arriving at their perfected shape with this one, and the highlights are many, including "Darkday", "Lost", "The Masque", the aforementioned Manowar cover, "The Other Side", etc. Only real flaw with it is the tinny drum sound, but this is as good an album as any EoS album to start with if you're unfamiliar with the band.
4.
Purgatory Afterglow: This was the first EoS album I heard, so it's always held a special place. That said, the quality of music found within is astounding. Dan used his clean vocals more often, the production was the best the band had yet, and every song is a memorable, defined piece of work. Awesome!
5.
Until Eternity Ends EP: This should have been placed between SORROWS and PURGATORY, but I forgot. This 4-song mini-album features an incredible cover of the Police classic "Invisible Sun", and a couple other great tunes, and it is definitely worth owning.
6.
Crimson: Wow, is all I can say! If the band would have released this 40-minute classic in 1999 or 2000, we never would have heard of Opeth, in my opinion! Perfection, in every sense of the word.
7.
Infernal: I liked this one way more when I first heard it than I do now, but it does have it's quality moments. It's pretty much divided right down the middle with a "Swano vs. the other guys" scenario, in that Dan played all the instruments but drums on songs he wrote, and only did vocals on songs he didn't have writing credits on (Plus, there are a couple songs that Dread did lead vocals on, "Helter Skelter" and the very mediocre "Bleakness Of It All"). Still, "Hell Is Where The Heart Is", "15:36", "Damned By The Damned", "Forever Together Forever", "Losing Myself", and "The Last Song" are essential for any EoS fan. Not the best Edge Of Sanity album, and Dan's tenure with the band would have gone down in a way bigger storm had he left after
Crimson instead of this one, but still a decent album.
8.
Cryptic: Boring, generic death metal, except for the opener "Hell Written", which is one of my favorite EoS songs ever. It's like the band said "All right, Dan's gone, so lets be HEAVY again", and it failed miserably.
