Top 20 Essential Black Metal Albums

[crimsonfloyd]

Enthrone Darkness Triumphant
Tormentor of Christian Souls is a fucking awesome classic song

Dimmu Borgir didn't make an original enough contribution to the genre to deserve a spot on the list. They basically watered down Emperor's style. On a few occasions it still resulted in good albums (and on most occasions it resulted in crap ones), but I don't see anything they did as essential.

 

[Lateralus14]

Not at all. The vocals are terrible. It's like Attila listened to Ritual and thought all he needed to do replicate Storm's style was make a bunch of goofy, clown-like gurgles. Also, the production focuses too much on creating a "spooky" atmosphere and consequently sacrifices the vicious element of the compositions, which in my opinion is the most powerful element of Mayhem's sound. The guitar work and drumming is excellent though, I'll give you that.

DMDS has one of the best vocal performances in black metal.

 

[Spiderchrist]

OMGZZZZ GUYZZ CRADLE OF FILTH IS ESSENTIALLLLLLL!!!!!!!!

 

[crimsonfloyd]

DMDS has one of the best vocal performances in black metal.

That could be true if DMDS waste only blak metal album ever recorded. The performance is shit with the exception of the title track, which has some cool operatic vocals; but mostly it's just an embarrassment.

 

[Master_Yoda77]

Not at all. The vocals are terrible. It's like Attila listened to Ritual and thought all he needed to do replicate Storm's style was make a bunch of goofy, clown-like gurgles. Also, the production focuses too much on creating a "spooky" atmosphere and consequently sacrifices the vicious element of the compositions, which in my opinion is the most powerful element of Mayhem's sound. The guitar work and drumming is excellent though, I'll give you that.

Fuck you.

 

[crimsonfloyd]

Fuck you.

Don't be mad at me because you'll put shit on your mantle.

 

[PhlegethonVeins]

With Crimson on DMDS stance.

 

[MasterpieceMesias]

Fuck you.

I actually chuckled out loud upon reading this. . . kudos to you, sir. .

 

[Slayed Necros]

Defending the Throne of Evil- Carpathian Forest
liðskjálf- Burzum

16. Velvet Cacoon- Genevieve: The feeling of becoming one with matter. Its cold, impersonal and emotionless. Yet its beautiful. The only true predecessor to Transylvanian Hunger. Also the frontrunner in the blackgaze movement.

18. Agalloch- The Mantle: A stunning combination of folk, black and doom metal that expresses modern detachment from nature and the desever that gap. Also the frontrunner of the post-black metal movement.

15. Wolves in the Throne Room: Two Hunters

Tormentor of Christian Souls is a fucking awesome classic song

Not at all. The vocals are terrible. It's like Attila listened to Ritual and thought all he needed to do replicate Storm's style was make a bunch of goofy, clown-like gurgles. Also, the production focuses too much on creating a "spooky" atmosphere and consequently sacrifices the vicious element of the compositions, which in my opinion is the most powerful element of Mayhem's sound. The guitar work and drumming is excellent though, I'll give you that.

fags

 

[Lateralus14]

Hey now, while I may agree for the most part, Burzum's second ambient album is pretty great for what it is, even though it has absolutely no place in this thread.

 

[Funerary_Doom]

I love lists, so I'm getting a shot...

In no particular order:

1 - Darkthrone - A Blaze in the Northern Sky
2 - Sarcofago - I.N.R.I.
3 - Mayhem - De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas
4 - Dissection - Storm of the Lights Bane
5 - Burzum - Hvis Lysset Tar Oss
6 - Taake - Natestid ser Porten Vid
7 - Bathory - Blood Fire Death
8 - Emperor - In the Nightside Eclipse
9 - Enslaved - Frost
10 - Deathspell Omega - Si Monvmentvm Reqvires, Circvmspice
11 - Immortal - Pure Holocaust
12 - Behexen - By the Blessing of Satan
13 - Grand Belial's Key - Mocking the Philanthropist
14 - Venom - Black Metal
15 - Gorgoroth - Antichrist
16 - Summoning - Dol Guldur
17 - Ulver - Nattens Madrigal
18 - Graveland - Thousand Swords
19 - Negura Bunget = OM
20 - Rotting Christ - Triarchy of the Lost Lovers

^Really solid list. Few things I'd change and add.
Emperor - Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk
Bathory - Nordland I
Blut aus Nord - Memoria Vetusta
Borknagar - Quintessence
Diabolical Masquerade - The Phantom's Lodge
Enslaved - Hordlanes Land
Immortal - At the Heart of Winter
Nokturnal Mortum - Return of the Vampire Lord/ or NeChrist
The Ruins of Beverast - Rain Upon the Impure
Shining - V-Halmstad
Skyforger - Kauja Pie Saules (Not essential, but an awesome album and a personal favorite).
Windir - Arntor (surprised no one has mentioned them yet!)
Watain- Black Salvation
Arcturus - The Sham Mirrors
Satyricon - Dark Medieval Times

 

[crimsonfloyd]

fags

Retard.

 

[Krow]

Seriously DMDS is iconic black metal.
And velvet cacoon is shit and I like BS-y black metal.

 

[crimsonfloyd]

Sorry DMDS isn't a fraction of the aesthetic accomplishment that Genevieve is. It might be more "iconic", but that's basically another way of saying it's more popular which of course has nothing to do with the quality of the work of art itself. Genevieve explores the paradox of living consciousness recognizing that it is composed of raw material mass but being unable to sufficiently communicate that aspect of its being. The message of Genevieve might be too ambiguous to affect a lot of people. That's not my problem, nor my loss. Nor does that lower the accomplishment of the recording. The album is high art.

DMDS is nowhere near the aesthetic accomplishment. It relies on cliched spooky tropes to try and sound scary when it should have emphasized the visceral and violent dimension of the music, which was the strength of early Mayhem. It's an album with a number of strengths, most notably the excellent drumming, but it is an incomplete and inconstant work of art.

 

[Lateralus14]

 

[Spiderchrist]

DMDS is a kick ass Black Metal album. It's unique.

 

[Estellise Sidos Heurassein]

1. Bathory - Under the Sign of the Black Mark
2. Mercyful Fate - Melissa
3. Tormentor - Anno Domini
4. Venom Black Metal
5. Burzum - Hvis Lyset Tar Oss
6. Beherit - Drawing Down the Moon
7. Darkthrone - Under a Funeral Moon
8. Master's Hammer - Ritual
9. Sacramentum - Far Away from the Sun
10. Mayhem - De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas
11. Immortal - Pure Holocaust
12. Ildjarn - Ildjarn
13. Inquisition - Into the Infernal Regions of the Ancient Cult
14. Varathron - His Majesty at the Swamp
15. Summoning - Minas Morgul
16. Arckanum - Kostogher
17. Emperor - In the Nightside Eclipse
18. Vinterland - Welcome My Last Chapter
19. Mortuary Drape - All the Witches Dance
20. Root - Hell Symphony

I am certain that I would probably pick most of the same albums again even if I wanted to change the order around. I am also certain that a bunch of idiots will arrive to say that Mercyful Fate and Venom are not black metal bands even though they were referred to as such before any of the other bands named in this thread even existed.

 

[Bitencourt29]

Retard.

He actually has a point.....those bands/albums don't fit any "Essential Black Metal Albums" lists imho. BTW he was joking with the fag thing, MalignParadigm is a great guy. His recs are usually top notch.

 

[Estellise Sidos Heurassein]

That guy is definitely smarter than someone who thinks that a self-admitted joke band is the pinnacle of black metal and its aesthetics. Especially so considering the stolen percussion parts and cut-and-paste nature of the Genevieve album.

 

[crimsonfloyd]

He actually has a point.....those bands/albums don't fit any "Essential Black Metal Albums" lists imho. BTW he was joking with the fag thing, MalignParadigm is a great guy. His recs are usually top notch.

Just responding to a stupid insult with another stupid insult. I put Velvet Cacoon on the list because they essentially kicked off the blackgaze phenomena.

Agalloch do the best folk-black metal out there. Its far superior to early Ulver, Borknagar etc. which would have been other considerations to fill that niche. The Mantle might also be the first black metal album to integrate post rock elements. However, I will grant that it's a bit more of a push, since a lot of the songs contain no black metal at all.