Top 50 of albums I rated 8 and above.

Album count: 222
Average rating: 6.96

1.Ahab - The Divinity Of Oceans

2.Insomnium - Across The Dark

3.Fen - The Malediction Fields

4.Ghost Brigade - Isolation Songs

5.Isis - Wavering Radiant

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Just did a month-long binge and song-by-song rating on Immortal's discography. Remarkably consistent band, great workout music. Even their 'weak' albums are good.

1.Immortal - At The Heart Of Winter

2.Immortal - Pure Holocaust

3.Immortal - Northern Chaos Gods

4.Immortal - Sons Of Northern Darkness

5.Immortal - Damned In Black

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A list of my favorite album covers

1.Celtic Frost - To Mega Therion

2.Mercyful Fate - Melissa

3.Slayer - Reign In Blood

4.Motörhead - Motörhead

5.Iron Maiden - Powerslave

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This is a list of black metal (and blackened metal) albums based on their artwork (in reverse alphabetical order). It includes iconic cover art from classic albums as well as fascinating work from more recent releases.
There is a saying that "you should not judge a book by its cover", which is of course also true in the case of music albums. However, the artwork can complement the production and give a visual introduction to the musical theme and atmosphere. More than for any other kind of music, this may be true for metal.

(Updated 02.10.2023)

1.Zeal & Ardor - Zeal & Ardor

2.Yoth Iria - As The Flame Withers

3.Watain - Lawless Darkness

4.Vreid - Lifehunger

5.Venom - Black Metal

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I never hear it brought up but I wanna throw 2009 into the Best Metal Year conversation, comparing this to the year before it's insane. I didn't even give my favourite band an honourable mention as there was already too many.

D666, Ruins, Nazxul, Razor of Occam, Pestilential Shadows... Nice year for Aussie Black Metal.

1.Behemoth - Evangelion

2.Deströyer 666 - Defiance

3.Alice In Chains - Black Gives Way To Blue

4.Heaven And Hell - The Devil You Know

5.Artillery - When Death Comes

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1.Windir - 1184

2.Enslaved - Isa

3.Keep Of Kalessin - Armada

4.Alcest - Écailles De Lune

5.Immortal - Sons Of Northern Darkness

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A list of albums I listen to and rated with a small commentary. This list is not meant to have an order, or a best-to-worst classification.

Links to connected lists:

Album & Artist Impressions (Part 2)

Rating:

10 - Timeless classic
9 - Masterpiece
8 - Excellent
7 - Solid
6 - Uneven
5 - Tainted by tone-deafness

1.Igorrr - Hallelujah

2.Strapping Young Lad - Strapping Young Lad

3.Cro-Mags - Revenge

4.Sepultura - Chaos A.D.

5.Blut Aus Nord - Hallucinogen

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1.Afgrund - Vid Helvetets Grindar

2.After Forever - After Forever

3.Agalloch - The Mantle

4.Agalloch - Ashes Against The Grain

5.Alcest - Souvenirs D'un Autre Monde

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1.Immortal - Sons Of Northern Darkness

2.Immortal - Battles In The North

3.Immortal - Pure Holocaust

4.Immortal - At The Heart Of Winter

5.Immortal - Diabolical Fullmoon Mysticism

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1.Alice In Chains - Black Gives Way To Blue

2.Behemoth - Evangelion

3.Insomnium - Across The Dark

4.Immortal - All Shall Fall

5.Nile - Those Whom The Gods Detest

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With Immortal finished for the foreseeable future, it seems relevant to look back on their stellar catalog and reflect on one of the best black thrash acts to ever grace the genre.

1.Immortal - Sons Of Northern Darkness

2.Immortal - Pure Holocaust

3.Immortal - At The Heart Of Winter

4.Immortal - Battles In The North

5.Immortal - Damned In Black

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For many, some of the more extreme types of metal can be challenging to penetrate. I'll admit that my first time listening to Burzum was nearly the equivalent of listening to a buzz-saw. But over time, I found my ears became acclimated, so to speak. All of the beauty and subtlety within became more and more apparent. Now I find listening to Darkthrone to be little different from listening to Vivaldi. Okay, maybe that is an overstatement, but you get the idea. The point of this list to help those looking for a more gradual path from unkvlt to kvlt, if you will. IHopefully it provides some assistance. The top represents some of the more mainstream, well-produced (but still solid) releases, while working your way down results in a stripping away of sound quality, melody, and radio-friendly content. The list ends with a mixture of gritty second wave and mentally challenging avant guarde stuff. This is far from comprehensive, so feel free to hit the forums for some deeper cuts. I also welcome thoughts on reordering as this was no easy task for one set of ears.

1.Dimmu Borgir - Death Cult Armageddon

2.Melechesh - Enki

3.Enslaved - Axioma Ethica Odini

4.Immortal - All Shall Fall

5.Dimmu Borgir - Enthrone Darkness Triumphant

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Listen to these today. I limited later Enslaved releases, as they become less and less "black metal" as time goes on. That is not to say you should not check them out.

1.Immortal - Sons Of Northern Darkness

2.Enslaved - Mardraum - Beyond The Within

3.Enslaved - Isa

4.Gorgoroth - Ad Majorem Sathanas Gloriam

5.Absu - Tara

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1.Immortal - All Shall Fall

2.Downfall Of Gaia - Suffocating In The Swarm Of Cranes

3.Triptykon - Eparistera Daimones

4.Cult Of Luna - A Dawn To Fear

5.Amon Amarth - With Oden On Our Side

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1.Asphyx - Death... The Brutal Way

2.Behemoth - Evangelion

3.Immortal - All Shall Fall

4.Deströyer 666 - Defiance

5.Supreme Pain - Nemesis Enforcer

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