GMD Poll: Top Ten Albums of 1997

[dwellerINTHEdark]

1. Empyrium - Songs of Moors and Misty Fields
2. Summoning - Dol Guldur
3. Haggard - And Thou Shalt Trust... The Seer
4. Angizia - Das Tagebuch der Hanna Anikin
5. Angizia - Die Kemenaten scharlachroter Lichter
6. Osculum Infame - Dor-Nu-Fauglith
7. The Eye - Supremacy
8. Lord Belial - Enter the Moonlight Gate
9. Obtained Enslavement - Witchcraft
10. Thy Serpent - Lords of Twilight

 

[Phylactery]

1. Aeternus - Beyond the Wandering Moon (so many Howling Fjord and Dragonblight memories from World of Warcraft with this!)
2. Moonblood - Blut & Krieg
3. Nokturnal Mortum - Goat Horns
4. Gontyna Kry - Welowie
5. Destroyer 666 - Unchain the Wolves
6. Grand Belial's Key - Mocking the Philanthropist
7. Shub Niggurath - The Kinglike Celebration
8. Sorhin - I det glimrande morkrets djup
9. Forest - Like a Blaze Above the Ashes
10. Obtained Enslavement - Witchcraft

Honourable mentions:

Hades - The Dawn of the Dying Sun
Kampfer - Mellom Skogkledde aaser
Ulver - Nattens Madrigal
Summoning - Nightshade Forests
Arckanum - Kostogher
Graveland - Following the Voice of Blood
Niden Div. 187 - Impergium
Molested - Stormvold
Order of the Ebon Hand - The Mystic Path to the Netherworld
Crown of Thorns - Eternal Death
Lord Belial - Enter the Moonlight Gate
Osculum Infame - Dor-nu-Fauglith
Nox Intempesta - Die Lieder von Tod und Ewigkeit
Absu - The Third Storm of Cythraul
Gorgoroth - Under the Sign of Hell
Eucharist - Mirrorworlds
Sadistic Intent - Ancient Black Earth
Necrophobic - Darkside
Unhola - Mustan Syvyyden Tuulet
Thirdmoon - Grotesque Autumnal Weepings
Crimson Evenfall - Winterheart
Caducity - Whirler of Fate
Borknagar - The Olden Domain
Helheim - Av Norren Aett

Fuck, so much stuff of a similar quality. This was really hard to narrow down to 10. I might change the order a bit before the deadline. Really want that Hades and Kampfar on there.

Song of the year is a 3 way tie:

Aeternus - Sworn Revenge



Forest - By the Roar of Hammers Call



Destroyer 666 - Unchain the Wolves

 

[crimsonfloyd]

Christ... I thought my list was just about done and then you reminded me that I forgot about Moonblood and Nokturnal Mortum. Such a great year for black metal...

 

[Phylactery]

Christ... I thought my list was just about done and then you reminded me that I forgot about Moonblood and Nokturnal Mortum. Such a great year for black metal...

It really is. So much quality stuff. Are you familiar with that Forest album? I imagine you'd like it.

 

[CiG]

Going to suck tallying up all this shitty black metal.

 

[crimsonfloyd]

It really is. So much quality stuff. Are you familiar with that Forest album? I imagine you'd like it.

I've heard it, but not in years and not enough times to develop a fully informed opinion on it.

 

[Phylactery]

All this fucking awesome black metal you mean!

It's going to suck tallying this up because there's a lot of albums that have been listed and no real clear winners! I remember one I did where there was over a 100 unique fucking albums listed! Took forever.

@dwellerINTHEdark you've reminded me about that The Eye album. Need to listen to it. It's not as good as the first two BAN or Children of Maani from what I remember, but yeah, definitely need to listen to it again.

 

[dwellerINTHEdark]

@dwellerINTHEdark you've reminded me about that The Eye album. Need to listen to it. It's not as good as the first two BAN or Children of Maani from what I remember, but yeah, definitely need to listen to it again.

I feel it's the spiritual companion of those first two BAN albums. I remember not being too impressed with Children of Maani, but I only gave it the one listen back in the day. I'll have to revisit.

 

[Serjeant Grumbles]

Top Ten

1. Empyrium - Songs of Moors and Misty Fields
   
2. Nagelfar - Hünengrab im Herbst
   
3. Septic Flesh - Ophidian Wheel
   
4. Ulver - Nattens madrigal: Aatte hymne til ulven i manden
   
5. Emperor - Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk
   
6. The Gathering - Nighttime Birds
   
7. Obtained Enslavement - Witchcraft
   
8. Limbonic Art - In Abhorrence Dementia
   
9. Windir - Sóknardalr
   
10. Rhapsody - Legendary Tales

Honourable Mention

• Symphony X - The Divine Wings of Tragedy (an honorary '97 release)
• Jag Panzer - The Fourth Judgement
• Diabolique - Wedding the Grotesque
• Nokturnal Mortum - Goat Horns
• Arcturus - La Masquerade Infernale
• Electric Wizard - Come My Fanatics...
• Thorns of the Carrion - The Scarlet Tapestry
• Gorgoroth - Under the Sign of Hell
• Lord Belial - Enter the Moonlight Gate
• Eucharist - Mirrorworlds
• Graveland - Following the Voice of Blood

EPs

• Katatonia - Sounds of Decay
• Funeral - To Mourn Is a Virtue
• Summoning - Nightshade Forests

 

[crimsonfloyd]

1. Emperor- Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk
2. Gontyna Kry- Welowie
3. Graveland- Following the Voice of Blood
4. Summoning- Dol Guldur
5. Nokturnal Mortum- Goat Horns
6. Ulver- Natten's Madrigal
7. Fates Warning- A Pleasant Shade of Grey
8. Borknagar- The Olden Domain
9. Arcturus- La Masquerade Infernal
10. Nagelfar- Hunengrab im Herbst

11-20:
11. Dimmu Borgir- Enthroned Darkness Triumphant
12. Moonblood- Blut und Krieg
13. The Gathering- Nighttime Birds
14. Stratovarius- Visions
15. Old Man's Child- The Pagan Prosperity
16. Rhapsody- Legendary Tales
17. Empyrium- Songs of Moors and Misty Fields
18. Destroyer 666- Unchain the Wolves
19. Enslaved- Eld
20. Skepticism- Lead and Aether

 

[no country for old wainds]

i'll try to throw a list up tomorrow

 

[Serjeant Grumbles]

Then you better start bingeing right now.

 

[Phylactery]

Forgot to add to my post that Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk is definitely the most disappointing album of the year for me. As well as being incredibly frustrating. It's not even close to being terrible like some would have you believe, but I find it pretty inconsistent and largely overblown. I enjoy "Ye Entrancemperium", "Ensorcelled by Khaos" (yes, even including the ludicrously pompous synths) and the last few minutes of "With Strength I Burn" which I maintain is genuinely moving. The rest of it ranges from mediocrity to crap, though. On a recent listen I found myself actually cringing at certain points in "The Loss and Curse of Reverence". "You and this world ripped my fucking heart out again and again!" Lol. Hard to believe that just three years prior they were writing sublime multifaceted pieces like "Into the Infinity of Thoughts". An album of decently high peaks and spectacular lows with a whole lot of mediocrity sandwiched in between for me. It's still way better than their following two albums.

Perhaps if I keep revisiting every so often it will finally fully click with me. But I'll stick with Emperor and In the Nightside Eclipse in the meantime, both of which I consider to be top tier black metal.

 

[challenge_everything]

I love Anthems, it has a fair bit of nostalgia value for me, but I can understand comments like that. They had grandiose ideas for the album and unsurprisingly not all of it works. For me the highs outweigh the lows. Ye Entrancemperium is manic, furious; I can't think of much that rivals it in terms of energy. With Strength I Burn is epicness personified and I even love Ihsahn's clean vocals, but as you say it's the final few minutes that really take it next level.

 

[Phylactery]

It was one of my first black metal albums. Came not long after ItNE and Transilvanian Hunger I think. I was not ready for “Ye Entrancemperium”. I remember it was too intense, chaotic and extreme for me at the time! Those blasts disorientated me! Funny how things change over time.

I remember near the the start of high school, there was a Pantera fan and I found the vocals on “I’m Broken” to be way too distorted and unpalatable! I was 12 or 13 then. Now, a huge chunk of the music I listen to features only growling/screaming.

 

[jimmy101]

Yep, I used to despise growling in metal songs when I first listened to it also. Took a little while to burst my cherry and move past that.

 

[Mort Divine]

1. ocean machine - biomech
2. in the woods... - omnio
3. empyrium - songs of moors & misty fields
4. catharsis - samsara
5. aeternus - beyond the wandering moon
6. sorhin - I det glimrande mörkrets djup
7. destroyer 666 - unchain the wolves
8. summoning - dol guldur
9. the eye - supremacy
10. caducity - whirler of fate
11. intestine baalism - an antomy of the beast

fuck if i know how to even order this

Ocean Machine's Biomech is my runaway favorite for the year with Omnio right behind it.

i guess it feels about in order of quality after that

empyrium rules. sucker for nonsense no riffs atmospheric folk shit
catharsis kills. essential metalcore
sorhin is good melodic black metal in the swedish tradition, i'm going to like it
etc. too tired to talk about the rest unprompted

edit: forgot aeternus somehow

 

[crimsonfloyd]

Forgot to add to my post that Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk is definitely the most disappointing album of the year for me. As well as being incredibly frustrating. It's not even close to being terrible like some would have you believe, but I find it pretty inconsistent and largely overblown.

That's so weird. It's one of the few albums, of any genre, that I think is phenomenal from start to finish. The bridge on "Acclimation of Bonds" is the only moment I can think of that is less than stellar.

I enjoy "Ye Entrancemperium", "Ensorcelled by Khaos" (yes, even including the ludicrously pompous synths) and the last few minutes of "With Strength I Burn" which I maintain is genuinely moving. The rest of it ranges from mediocrity to crap, though. On a recent listen I found myself actually cringing at certain points in "The Loss and Curse of Reverence". "You and this world ripped my fucking heart out again and again!" Lol. Hard to believe that just three years prior they were writing sublime multifaceted pieces like "Into the Infinity of Thoughts".

"Sublime" is subjective so there's no point in debating it, but the songs are objectively multifaceted, and if you don't realize that you're simply not paying attention when listening to them.

For example, the structure of Loss and Curse of Reverence: A1-B-C-D-E-A2

Typical pop song, right?

 

[Allfader]

Anthems is fantastic from a compositional standpoint, but the sound is abysmal. The Wanderer is a marvelous closer.

 

[crimsonfloyd]

Anthems is fantastic from a compositional standpoint, but the sound is abysmal. The Wanderer is a marvelous closer.

I think that is a more reasonable critique, as the mix is super muddy. However, I think it's really effective in creating this absolutely overwhelming and smothering sonic expeirence that really is one of a kind.