Themed Mixtape Game

Darkthrone - Where the Winds Blow 8/10

I don't personally get a nature vibe from this song at all in terms of lyrics or atmosphere, but I might be missing something. That said, it was a brave selection and an underrated effort from Darkthrone's most death metal-tinged black metal album.

Sort Vokter - Bak To Lysende Øyne 8/10

I love this song. The title means "Behind Two Gleaming Eyes" and it captures the essence of being isolated in nature and being stalked by a hunting creature and seeing its eerie glowing eyes in the shadows. The weird shrieks are also super cool.

Branikald - Rdjandalir 8.5/10

@no country for old wainds must have picked this one. This is an absolute epic that totally captures the spirit of the theme. People who need riffs and hard percussion will be disappointed, but I'm not.

Scald - Night Sky 9/10

I thought about picking this, but it once again comes down to picking tracks that will stand out over picking tracks that I think will win. That isn't a knock on this amazing track. Agyl is my hero forever. This really belongs in this mixtape.

Bloodbath - Outnumbering the Day 1/10

I don't consider songs about world-ending catastrophe and the dead rising up to be about nature. The cringe-worthy rhyming scheme of the lyrics sounded like some stupid edgy nu-metal song and the music was basically the same thing interpreted as wannabe old-scool Swedeath. Fuck this shit.

EDIT: I listened to this again and it's still shit.

Panphage - Storm 8/10

I don't get a nature vibe from this and I don't honestly know if it's about nature of not. It seemed more than solid enough, but it failed to reach me in terms of "nature" vibe. The drumming was pretty ferocious, so there's that toi.

EDIT: I listened to this again and I thought it was much better this time. I'm still unsure that this is about nature, but I like the intro and the song is crushing and cool.

Hate Forest - Black Forest 7/10

This is the type of black metal that really makes me think of nature. I really love the guitar sound on this track and the vocals were totally beastly and inhuman. I did notice that the end of the video clips the song, but I'm not going to fault the track for the uploader's mistake. Well done.

Alchemist - Part 1: The Bio Approach 3.5/10

Despite a couple of short sections that seemed promising, this song mostly just annoys me. It also seems that an effort was made to pack in as many different edgy vocal styles as possible. The lyrics are also stupid. Definitely not for me.

EDIT: I listened to this again and I still dislike it a lot.

Ancestors - Mother Animal 4/10

This song seriously overstayed its welcome. It's the only long track on this playlist that I felt that way about. I'm also not into the vocals. I suppose that it could be worse, as it at least had me somewhat interested for a few minutes.

EDIT: I listened to this again and I like it less than before.

Sacramentum - When Night Surrounds Me 9/10

This song captures the cold, unforgiving and solitary majesty of the night. I love everything about this track. It's one of my all-time favorites and a great selection for this mixtape. This was one of my favorites out of this theme.

Atheist - Green 4/10

Despite having all of the right lyrical elements to fit this theme, I really just don't like this song. It's one of the most annoying and soulless examples of its style. Sorry. I gave it a merciful rating because it isn't overly long.


Dead Can Dance - The Arcane 8.5/10

I don't know whether or not this is about naturfor sure, but it's one of my all-time favorite tracks by one of my all-time favorite bands. I wasn't expecting this to be here. This song is beautiful and absolutely haunting. I love the lyrics too, and they seem nature enough when I think about it.

Arcturus - Icebound Streams and Vapours Grey 6.5/10

I'd much rather have early Ulver than early Arcturus. This song is still decent and themed appropriately. The clean vocals have always amused me. Very spirited effort, just not a song that inspires me much.

EDIT: I listened to this again and I think my original rating was fair.

Drudkh - Forests in Fire and Gold 8.5/10

This one just screams "nature" and is also the perfect audio representation of the feelings that I get when I look at the cover of Forgotten Legends. I love this song so much. Amazing riffs. This is just one of my all-time favorites.

Waldgeflüster - Herbst befiel das Land 4/10

I just don't like most modern interpretations of atmospheric black metal. The mixing is all wrong and it kills the atmosphere in favor of an in-your-face type of sound. There's nothing about this that stands out for me.

EDIT: I listened to this again and I still think it has no atmosphere at all.

Demolition Hammer - Cataclysm 6.5/10

I wasn't expecting this. At least this world-ending catastrophe seems natural in origin. I like the bass on this track and enjoy the energy, although I find that it runs a bit long for this style of thrash.
 
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Here it is!

Darkthrone - Where the Winds Blow
Sort Vokter - Bak To Lysende Øyne
Branikald - Rdjandalir
Scald - Night Sky
Bloodbath - Outnumbering the Day
Panphage - Storm
Hate Forest - Black Forest
Alchemist - Part 1: The Bio Approach
Ancestors - Mother Animal
Sacramentum - When Night Surrounds Me
Atheist - Green
Dead Can Dance - The Arcane
Arcturus - Icebound Streams and Vapours Grey
Drudkh - Forests in Fire and Gold
Waldgeflüster - Herbst befiel das Land
Demolition Hammer - Cataclysm



oh man. This is going to be a good one for me. Also, no Agalloch? I'm shocked
 
Darkthrone - Bleak atmosphere. Guitars are not discernable enough most of the time, hidden under layers of fog which I guess makes sense. It's not bad as this style goes, but I'm not itching to listen to it again. 6/10

Sort Vokter - Oh this band again. Repetitive nonsense again. This time riffing on one note over and over. No thanks. 2/10

Branikald - Neat intro, seems like a harbinger of great things to come... Ok 3 minutes is enough time for an intro, great things can happen now... 4 minutes... oh what, a voice?.. 7 minutes.. Sorry I don't have the patience for this, it's just the same thing over and over. Was cool at first. 4/10

Scald - This has enough to be interesting. Fairly good vocalist. Too long for what it is. 6/10

Bloodbath - Good energy instrumentally. The singer has that derivative 'look ma I'm so brutal' feel though. Feels fake. 5/10

Panphage - Pleasant folk intro, not too long. First song on this list that has made me move. Plenty of guitar melodies to keep it interesting later on. I can dig it. 7/10

Hate Forest - Instrumentally, this style of music sounds like a very nervous person with OCD tapping on their desk. Never got the appeal of tremolo in classical pieces either. Bleh. I guess it's more interesting than Sort Vokter at least. 3/10

Alchemist - I've listened to these guys before. Reminds me of a richer sounding Tool in some ways. Pretty cool track but doesn't really stand out. 7.5/10

Ancestors - What a surprise this was, this is actually awesome. Slow stoner doom, but with plenty of riff changes and interesting drumming. I like the vocalist too. Keyboard harmonizing in the background is a nice touch. I guess it's progressive stoner? A bit too long, should be two songs. 9/10

Sacramentum - This is a lot closer to the type of black metal I enjoy. Stuff like Dissection or Windir. Melodic riffs and interesting rhythmically. 8/10

Atheist - One of my current favorite bands, and this track is fun and experimental. 9/10

Dead Can Dance - Hmm very unexpected. Not metal but it still has a dark mood. I kind of like it. Song probably needs a climax though, it just sort of passes by. 7/10.

Arcturus - This sounds like the instruments were recorded on a SNES midi file. Vocalist is absolutely awful and off key (in a bad way) half the time. It still has some sort of old school charm. Hopefully this was made in a garage in the 80's or else wow.. 5/10

Drudkh - The guitar riffs are soo boring. Same rhythm over and over on just slightly different power chords. Vocalist is boring and slow. Meh to this song. 3/10

Waldgefluster - What? This guy seems really pumped up about something right away. The music is not doing anything to pump me up to his level though that's for sure. Awful guitar riffs once again - this seems like a theme in black metal? The clean part was nice I guess. 4/10

Demolition Hammer - Hell yeah. The playlist absolutely needed this. This track has balls for days. 9.5/10
 
Darkthrone - Where the Cold Winds Blow
2/10


I fucking hate Darkthrone. They make me think of 16 year olds trying their damndest to impress the big kids. Oooh, look at all my cymbals! We filled an entire room with cymbals then FUCKED CORPSES IN IT! Even worse that this fucking song is 7 minutes long. I guess it's nature-themed but that's about it.

Sort Vokter - Bak To Lysende Øyne
3/10


This was kinda cool. It was reminiscent of the last band (which remember, I totally hate) in a few ways, but more well done and less try-hardsy. I'll admit it got really repetitive though. Then it started to remind me of low grade electronica. Actually, I'm almost done with this song now, and I really don't care for it. I'm sure it's a great message.

Branikald - Rdyandalir
6/10


Thank fucking god, something that I might actually like. Beautiful intro. A bit winding, but not winded. The picture in the vid really cemented the feeling of traversing a windswept, dry winter landscape. An absolute tundra. I'll admit waiting till the 5 minute mark for vocals and some variety to kick in did not do any favors, could have started at 3, but shit did get more energetic. This song was basically "atmospheric black flamenco". Definitely too long, but I dug it, and when you're doing a nature theme I think there's a certain propriety to lengthy repetition.

Scald - Night Sky
7/10


Fuuuuuuck yeah. Fucking thunderstorm shit, fucking echoing clean vox, rotating guitar work. Admittedly there were some points where those vocals sounded like Trey Parker's mockery and then I was down the rabbit hole of imagining this entire band as south park characters, but I got over it after a few minutes, and the sparkly atmospheric droning behind the guitars really does paint the night sky vividly. 'The screeching breakdown' was wonderful, I love elevated elongated vocal work. Very dramatic and chill. SIMULTANEOUSLY. Good shit.

Bloodbath - Outnumbering The Day
6/10


This was fucking cool, eerie without being quiet, if ya know what I mean. It was strong in it's doomsday vibe, and the celebration of the destruction of nature. The siren-spinning guitars were a really sweet touch. Didn't care for the outro but overall a solid track.

Panphage - Storm
9/10


Aw, that's cute. I like that intro. Wait a second... this isn't fucking cute. Sudden pagan-inspired shadowed woods, a storm brewing amidst angry druids, heavy accents making it even more foreign and feral. I imagine robed figures shouting around dying embers as the tempest rages. The slightly disjointed, incoherent shouting is an excellent accompaniment to the very fluid instruments. Holy shit, are those maracas? A cabasa? Surely some kind of shaker! Excellent touch, very unexpected. This song was fucking great. Best so far. And I love the comedic relief of 'STORM!' being shouted repeatedly as it ends.

Hate Forest - Black Forest
5/10


Mmmmmmmmeh. Not bad, not good. It's clearly about a forest. I bet most of their songs are, bet most of their songs sound like this one too. This could have been done a lot better honestly. There's lo-fi, then there's, we're a collection of musicians from different bands who have all shared the same radioshack $20 microphone for the past decade.

Alchemist - Evolution 1 The Bio Approach
7/10


Ooh, this is gonna be fun. Already the title is an interesting take. My inner biologist rejoices! And right away, we got some desert rock vibes. That shit... is my shit. I've heard some Alchemist but I don't remember them being this keenly my style. I feel like I'm coasting along DNA strands as an atom. And to reinforce that viewpoint, guitars quickly go almost surf. Faster, faster, down the gene trail. Great fucking track, and again, really cool take on the theme.

Ancestors - Mother Animal
9/10


Love this band, love this song. But when I'm being forced to listen to 15 songs I'm not too thrilled with one being 15 minutes long, to be honest. You really get the feeling of an old shapeshifting hag with this. Know Flemeth from DA? This could be one of her theme songs. I imagine this playing as she goes about her usual daily tasks alone in the wild, contemplating. There's an ancient tricky power to this track with some psychadelica creeping in, and enough variety to forgive its length, even if you aren't a fan of the genre.

Sacramentum - When Night Surrounds Me
5/10


Oh my, somebody's excited! The nightman cometh! Pretty song, something I probably would have enjoyed more back in the day. Not that my tastes have improved, just changed a little, I don't dig this shit much as I used to. It's very goth and tortured, which while being about nature, makes it more about wearing black and being sad or angry. Fine song really.

Atheist - Green
6/10


You fucking people. This band is always fun. Didn't care for this as much as U.P. tracks, but it's still okay. I thought it was a neat idea to go with the idea of green as an element, really big props to whoever submitted for their creativity. It's almost mocking. Like, HEY DUDE. GREEN? GREEN. GREEEEN! And for that, we thank you.

Dead Can Dance - The Arcane
3/10


A band I've heard much about but never listened to so thank you for making me. It's fucking goth as fuck. It also has precisely nothing to do with nature, and I know that because the video had lyrics. What were you thinking, that having the word 'seed' qualifies? Fuck you, you lazy turd. This is an alright song but very poor choice for the theme.

Arcturus - Icebound Streams and Vapours Gray
7/10


One of the songs I considered submitting, pretty big Arcturus fan. All varieties of Arcturus. In usual avant-garde style, they expertly summon winter's chilling baths. Streams of water and synth rushing through the atmosphere hot, slowing as they hit a higher pitched ice-ridden sound, falling hard and solid upon the powdered ground and the boom of the instruments. Synth metal done well? Right fucking here.

Drudkh- Forests In Fire and Gold
9/10


SHOCKER. This song in particular has the strong scent of autumn, evidenced very obviously by its title. I love the alternation between quick drumming and a more fluid groove. You can imagine this track playing as a single solitary figure explores the forest's edges, looking for something desperately. Something important. Maybe a loved one screaming as they die, trying to find and save them. There's such keen sadness here, but not hopelessness. On the verge of, without being so. But night closes in. The sun sets. The loved one is dead.

Waldgeflüster - Herbst Befiel Das Land
7/10


This was a good choice to put after Drudkh, very similar style, and equally saddening feelings. But this song doesn't have the searching urgency. It has the thought of someone wandering in circles aimlessly amongst various clearings in the forest, trying to formulate a plan but failing, trying not to give up but falling to their knees again and again. It's so fucking pathetic at times, it's harrowing. Random quickenings keep it interesting, and overall, a very solid choice.

DEMOLITION HAMMER - Cataclysm
5/10


At first I was gonna bitch that this wasn't about nature, but it actually totally is. Like, entirely. Almost every line is a reference to some natural form or occurence. I really didn't care for the song based on the sound and instrumentation, it was far too muffled and I thought the vocals were pretty gay. The lyrics are the saving grace though, very clever.
 
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I'm going to do my ratings on Sunday, but I don't understand how that Dead Can Dance song is not about nature. It's about a blind man standing in a garden who has succumbed to the powers therein. It's Paradise Lost 101.
 
Darkthrone - Where Cold Winds Blow
8.5/10
A demented nightmare of being lost and dying in the cold, forgotten woods.

Sort Vokter - Bak To Lysende Øyne
3/10
Tell me this was a Finntroll demo and I would have believed you. blech.

Branikald - Rdjandalir
1/10
First song to nearly put me to sleep in the three games I've posted in, so congrats for that.

Scald - Night Sky
9/10
Just beautiful.

Bloodbath - Outnumbering the Day
6/10
I feel like I rate arg's songs higher than most of you guys. solid enough death metal from the days Bloodbath tried to be anthemic.

Panphage - Storm
7.5/10
Slayed Necros talks about these guys a lot. Not what I had in mind but I liked it quite a bit.

Hate Forest - Black Forest
5/10
Ive never really been a fan of Hate Forest. This sounds like standard black metal song #6 million.

Alchemist - Part 1: The Bio Approach
3/10
da fuq was that?

Ancestors - Mother Animal
7/10.
Pretty sure Carpe posted this. Gutsy, sticking to her guns round after round knowing there just arent enough stoner fans here to mount a surge. This is a good song.

Sacramentum - When Night Surrounds Me
7.5/10
I've never been a big fan of this band. Its a good song I guess.

Atheist - Green
6/10
My least favorite Atheist album, even after Jupiter.

Dead Can Dance - The Arcane
3/10
I usually like DCD but idk, felt kinda nasty about this one.

Arcturus - Icebound Streams and Vapours Grey
7/10
Liked this one a lot. Not sure I've ever listened to an Acturus full length.

Drudkh - Forests in Fire and Gold
10/10
Someone happened to ping on one of my favorite black metal albums and my favorite song. Gold money shot.

Waldgeflüster - Herbst befiel das Land
5/10
Competent black metal... yet I feel... nothing.

Demolition Hammer - Cataclysm
8/10
Just recently rebought their first two albums seperately because my compilation was shitty and didnt have the original arts. Legendary thrash. Legendary Cataclysm.
 
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I'm going to do my ratings on Sunday, but I don't understand how that Dead Can Dance song is not about nature. It's about a blind man standing in a garden who has succumbed to the powers therein. It's Paradise Lost 101.

Gardens don't really equate to nature for me. This was about a dude staring at a well-manicured lawn.
 
I'm kinda drunk so kinda fuck you maybe. But I laughed at like two or three posts on this page so maybe not so much fuck you but still fuck off you fucks.
 
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