My Black Metal (and associated subgenres) Journey
Comments (3)
Almost every album I've heard that is black metal, or is in some way related by genre! List is for the most part ordered by when I listened - if you want a somewhat accurate ranking from my favorite to least, sort by my rating :D
List is mostly for myself to keep track of the black metal I’ve heard, but feel free to look for cool albums here lol
In the process of adding short descriptions or notes to each album :P
Technically the first black metal album I ever heard, although I didn't know anything about the genre when I listened. It blew me away when I first heard it, and coming back, it's still a very good and cool album.
A Black Metal classic! And a surprising one tbh. It's a good album, but you can tell, listening, how the band was kinda falling apart by the time they were making it. Atilla's vocals are okay, the instrumentals are pretty good, but it's true that a lot of these tracks are better (and of course rawer) on their live albums. Still a good album, and definitely a must-listen for classic 90s BM.
Mayhem again, with another "black metal" classic! This one demonstrates their thrashy side more, but still has some cool moments. Worth a listen just for Dead's studio vocals, and the cool instrumental intro lol.
The first atmoblack & DSBM album I ever heard! If the whole album were like the first few tracks, it would be one of my all-time faves; unfortunately, it weakens nearer to the end. But "Tortured by Solitude" is still one of my favorite DSBM songs ever.
Ulver really only ever made 2 black metal albums before deciding to make some incredible, unique electronic music instead. And those 2 albums are (imo) some of the best black metal of the 90s! Bergtatt is an early atmoblack / pagan BM album, and imo it is THE atmoblack album of the 90s (sorry Varg). A combo of cool BM instrumentals and more dark folky sounds - a top tier 90s BM album and atmoblack album in general.
I'm including all of Sigh's discog on this list even though only like 1/3 of it is BM; this album is probably their most black metal sounding one, and it's good :)
The Knell is a must-hear imo - some of their best pre-HHH riffs.
The Knell is a must-hear imo - some of their best pre-HHH riffs.
This album has enough black metal in it to justify putting it on this list! And I will, because it's also one of my favorite works by Phil Elverum.
Raw 90s Norwegian black metal! And imo, the very best representation of the genre. Absolutely horrible recording, screechy vocals, and some insane riffs making up each track, that combine for another cool concept album. I'm glad Ulver made whatever changes they did (Perdition City is an amazing album), but this and Bergtatt make me wonder what else they might have been capable w/ BM and atmoblack.
Atmoblack/DSBM again! This album is weird in that it's very nearly a much higher score for me - it has a very unique and great atmospheric sound, and a few of my all-time favorite BM riffs are here. But, for me at least, it drags too much :,(
Definitely worth a listen, though!
Definitely worth a listen, though!
Not a black metal album! But I'm including it because of its relation to Ulver's 2 other 90s albums. It's some cool dark folk - kinda interesting to see how Ulver kinda divided the genres that made up Bergtatt afterward lol.
![Батюшка [Batushka] - Панихида (Panihida)](https://cdn2.albumoftheyear.org/100x/album/156457-panihida-.jpg)
![Путь [Put] - Песни Смерти](https://cdn2.albumoftheyear.org/100x/album/227761--.jpg)
