This list came into being after reading RaduP's [link]Getting Into: Negura Bunget[/link] article. I have always wondered why people are so in awe of Om and disregard Vîrstele Pămîntului. Since this is not the only band where I tend to prefer another album than what many perceive as the climax of a band. I'd be interested to hear your thoughts.

The ranking of the list is solely based on alphabetical order

Created by:

Dinruth | 31.12.2021

	1.	Abigor - Totschläger (A Saintslayer's Songbook) although Nachthymnen is an absolute classic of the Austrian Black Metal scene, Totschläger is such an array of ideas and styles that somehow manages to melt order out of chaos that I cannot withstand its appeal
	2.	Agalloch - Pale Folklore Most people revere Agalloch for their masterpieces "THe mantle" and "Ashes Against the Grain", but I am just so awestruck by the track "She painted fire across the skyline" that Pale Folklore just takes the win for me.
	3.	Amon Amarth - Versus The World Don't get me wrong .. both "Twilight of the Thundergod" and "With Oden On Our Side" are absolute beasts before Amon Amarth settled for a more accessible style, but both albums have their moments that I find only okay, whereas "Versus the World" is a no filler, just killer album
	4.	Bethlehem - Bethlehem "Dictius Te Necare" sure enough is a great album, but the madness that enclasps the eponymous album drew me in and has not spit me out yet. I have to admit, though, that this was the first Bethlehem album I heard so maybe I am just more nostalgic about it
	5.	Blind Guardian - Nightfall In Middle-Earth As a Tolkien afficionado, I have to choose this one over "Somewhere Far Beyond", although it is not just that.. for me Nightfall also has the more memorable songs in my opinion
	6.	Dornenreich - Her Von Welken Nächten Well, what can I say .. I have spent quite some time with Dornenreich's discography since I shot a horrormovie with some of my students with only Dornenreich music as the score. In this time I really came to appreciate the multifacetted work that is "Her von Welken Nächten"
	7.	Ensiferum - From Afar Okay, this surely has to do with nostalgia. This was one of the first extreme metal albums I got into and I ate it up. That's probabyl why I prefer it over their eponymous work or "Iron"
	8.	Finntroll - Nifelvind probably the same as with Ensiferum .. one of the first albums I really dug my heels into .. and it stuck. I still get excited when I hear it today.
	9.	Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin I + II Sure, "Led Zeppelin IV" has Stairways, but I still prefer the bluesy, tempi-diverse and almost stonerish attitude of its predecessors
	10.	Negură Bunget - Vîrstele Pămîntului Don't believe that I do not appreciate Black Metal, and i certainly do not undervalue the atmosphere that "Om" creates, but Virstele has just more of the Romanian Folk elements that I love about Negura Bunget. It is totally enchanting! Try it while driving through the Carpathians.
	11.	Primordial - To The Nameless Dead Somehow I found this album more memorable than "The Gathering Wilderness" and I cannot even say why
	12.	Septicflesh - Titan While most would call "The Great Mass" their zenith, I have always found that Titan manages to interweave the metal and the symphonic parts much better.
	13.	Sodom - M-16 I never understood why "Agent Orange" is so popular among Sodom fans.
	14.	Wolves In The Throne Room - Celestial Lineage "I will lay down my bones among the rocks and roots" is one of my favourite metal songs .. probably top 10 .. not just black metal, metal in general .. but "C L" draws me in a trancelike state in which I want to dance naked through a starlit forest.