If you could choose just 3 songs that epitomise the spirit of each genre...

[no country for old wainds]

Which would they be?

note: If you're really totally at a loss and can't possibly bring yourself to answer such a mind-numbingly impossible question, you can do albums instead.

 

[Crimson Velvet]

Well, I suppose I could try...

Black Metal:
Darkthrone - Transilvanian Hunger
Burzum - Det Som en Gang Var
Immortal - Blashyrkh (Mighty Ravendark)

I would say that those three covers the minimalistic, ambient and brutal parts of black metal fairly well...

Other genres... I can't even possibly imagine... Maybe melodeath would go something like this:

At the Gates - Raped by the Light of Christ
Dark Tranquillity - Punish My Heaven
Eucharist - My Bleeding Tears

 

[Snowblind]

Hmmmm....I'm going to have to pick albums.
Black Metal:
Darkthrone - Transilvanian Hunger
Graveland - Thousand Swords
Burzum - Hvis Lyset Tar Oss

Death Metal:
Demilich - Nespithe
The Chasm (any album, but probably Deathcult)
Amorphis - The Karelian Isthmus

 

[Necro Joe]

I'm doing albums since these kind of bands seem to keep whatever 'spirit' they're going for consistant throughout a whole record.

Death metal: Autopsy - Mental Funeral, Morbid Angel - Blessed are the Sick and Suffocation - Peirced from Within
Black metal: Mayhem - De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas, Immortal - Pure Holocaust and Bathory - Under the Sign of the Black Mark
Thrash: Megadeth - Peace sells...But who's buying?, Kreator - Pleasure to Kill and Slayer - Reign in Blood
Classic Doom: Candlemass - Epicus Doomicus Metalicus, Trouble - Psalm 9 and Black Sabbath - Volume 4
Extreme Doom: Skepticism - Stormcrowfleet, Esoteric - The Pernicious Enigma and Evoken - Quietus

 

[Cynical]

Death metal:
Gorguts- The Art of Somber Ecstacy
Immolation- Higher Coward
Demilich- Within the Chamber of Whispering Eyes

Black metal:
Burzum- Dunkelheit
Emperor- Into the Infinity of Thoughts
Darkthrone- Graven Takeheimens Saler

 

[Jean-Pierre]

Speed Metal:
Accept - Fast As A Shark
Helloween - Ride The Sky
Judas Priest - Painkiller

 

[AsModEe]

Power metal :
Rhapsody - Emerald Sword
Blind Guardian - Mirror Mirror
Symphony X - Evolution ( The Grand Design )

Thrash: ( Most will disagree on that one )
Metallica - Dyers Eve
Testament - D.N.R.
Exodus - Tempo of the Damned

Death Metal: ( my tastes in death metal are pretty different from most people in GMD )
Decapitated - Nihility
Necrophagist - Fermented Offal Discharge
Immolation - Higher Coward

I don't know BM enough to name a list.

Prog Metal:
Adagio - Underworld
Dream Theater - Pull me Under, Lie, Mirror ( obviously )

Melodic Death metal:
Skyfire - Mind Revolution
Vehemence - A song from God Was Created
Dark Tranquillity - Lost to Apathy ( thought it can be argued )

 

[BikerMiceFromMars]

black:
enslaved - vetrarnótt
immortal - storming through red clouds and holocaustwinds
darkthrone - crossing the triangle of flames

death:
therion - future consciousness
morbid angel - fall from grace
immolation - failures for gods

 

[Unfaithfully Metalhead]

BM: Emperor - In The Nightside Eclipse/Anthems ( The Majesty of the Nightsky/The Loss and Curse of Reverence)
Bathory - Blood Fire Death (A Fine Day to Die)
Mayhem - De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas (though im not too fond of it because of Attila's horrible vocals and also i always thought the songs needed to be a little more structured) (Freezing Moon)

TM: Metallica - Ride the Lightning (Fight Fire with Fire/Creeping Death)
Slayer - Reign in Blood (Angel of Death/Reign in Blood)
Megadeth - Peace Sells/Rust in Peace (My Last Words/Holy Wars)

 

[RosesofShadow]

^ I think Dead is their vocalist at that time...

DM:
Death - Scream Bloody Gore
Morbid Angel - Altars of Madness
Immolation - Dawn of Possession

BM:
Mayhem - De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas
Bathory - Under the Sign of the Black Mark
Beherit - The Oath of the Black Blood

GM:
Theatre of Tragedy - Velvet Darkness they Fear
Within Temptation - Mother Earth
Sirenia - At Sixes and Sevens

TM:
Metallica - Kill Em All
Kreator - Pleasure to Kill
Slayer - Reign in Blood

PM:
Dream Theater - Images and Words
Symphony X - The odyssey
Adagio - Underworld

 

[The Grimace]

Japanese Avant-JizzCore

-

Nascar Bukkake : You can't spell "Indianapolis 500" without "anal" and "panda"
Nascar Bukkake : Sponsored by Tide - It Gets "Special Stains" The Fuck Out!
Nascar Bukkake : The Man who dreamed about racecar gearshifts and The Man who dreamed about violent handjobs and what these two have in common

 

[Slayed Necros]

Black metal:

Beherit - Salomon's Gate
Darkthrone - En As I Dype Skogen
Graveland - The Dark Battlefield

Death metal:

Demigod - As I Behold, I Despise
God Macabre - Into Nowhere
Massacra - Apocalyptic Warriors

 

[Cythraul]

Evoken - Quietus

FUCK.YES.

 

[Naggamanteh]

Death:

Suffocation - Deceit
Cryptopsy - Defenestration
Disgorge - Demise of the Trinity

Black:

Nehemah - Black Winds Over the Walls of Csejthe
Infer - In Cold Being
Drudkh - Glare of Autumn

 

[Henrik Main]

Black/related:

Emperor - Towards The Pantheon
Darkthrone - In The Shadow Of The Horns
Mayhem - Life Eternal

(Also - Enslaved's "Midgards Eldar" or "Vetranott")

Death metal:

Cannibal Corpse - I Cum Blood
Morbid Angel - Unholy Blasphemies
Decapitated - Perfect Dehumanization

(Also - Suffocation's "Infecting The Crypts", Cryptopsy's "Serial Messiah" and Deeds Of Flesh's "Mark Of The Legion")

 

[stefan86]

Thrash Metal:
Kreator - People of The Lie
Slayer - Angel of Death
Exodus - Bonded By Blood
Megadeth - Holy Wars (couldnt settle for 3 )

Death Metal:
Cannibal Corpse - Meat Hook Sodomy
Death - Pull The Plug
Dismember - Override of The Overture

Gothenburg Metal:
At The Gates - The Swarm
Dark Tranquillity - Punish My Heaven
In Flames - Behind Space

Black Metal:
Bathory - A Fine Day To Die
Darkthrone - Transylvanian Hunger
Satyricon - Mother North

 

[Freanan]

Black Metal:
Burzum: en ring til aa herske
Gorgoroth: Gorgoroth
Ildjarn: Skogssvinet
ambient, evil, animalic - three facets.

There should be an own list for proto-black-metal...

Power Metal:
Blind Guardian: Mirror, Mirror
Iced Earth: Night of the Stormrider
Iron Maiden: Number of the Beast
epic,harder kind, roots.

 

[10293847]

Von - Veadtuck
Burzum - Snu Mikrokosmos Tegn
Beherit - Nocturnal Evil

Morbid Angel - Abominations
Gorguts - Nostalgia
Mortem - Death Rules Supreme

 

[skeptik]

Speed Metal:
Accept - Fast As A Shark
Helloween - Ride The Sky
Judas Priest - Painkiller

Victory. That is exactly what Speed Metal is.

 

[KMADD]

Im going to get plastered for this but.
Black Metal
1.) Gorgoroth-Open The Gates Of Hell
2.) Dark Funeral-Hail Murder
3.) Lord Belial-Unholy Crusade

Death Metal
1.) Cannibal Corpse-Hammer Smashed Face
2.) Morbid Angel-Where The Slime Live.
3.) Entombed-anything off of Clandestine and Left Hand Path.

Thrash Metal
1.) Slayer-Seasons In The Abyss
2.) Metallica-And Justice For All
3.) Anthrax-Madhouse

Classic Metal
1.)Black Sabbath-Anything from the first album
2.) Iron Maiden-Rime Of The Ancient Mariner
3.) Judas Priest-Dreamer Deciever