Depraved

Gorgoroth - Antichrist

At the moment - Paradise Lost. Recently lots of 1349, Gorgoroth, and some Burzum. 

They're one of my most favorite black metal bands, but I can't say I've been dazzled by anything they've done in the last twenty years. Dark Medieval Times and The Shadowthrone are essential listening, in my opinion. I love Nemesis Divina too, but after that, nothing really holds my interest minus a few decent songs. I probably wouldn't even bother to give the newer stuff a try if it wasn't for Frost's drumming, but there are much better avenues to hear him in his element. Don't get me wrong, I have a ton of respect for these guys, but their recent output just sounds too same-y to me, and I get bored of it quickly. It's not terrible, and Satyr plays some interesting riffs here and there, but a lot of songs kind of meander and sound tired and/or uninspired. That being said, very few albums released in the 21st century have really blown me away. I dig older music way too much.

This was originally posted in another thread on this forum, but I thought it was a travesty that the inventors of gothic metal did not have their own thread. Hopefully some PL fans can come here and talk about what they like and don't like about one of the greatest bands in the world. 
Here's my list of their studio albums from least favourite to best favourite, as well as a brief outline of my thoughts. Please feel free to contribute etc. 
 
15. Believe in Nothing (2001)
This album is terrible. Flat, thin, rock that is presumably a response to the lack of mainstream success 'Host' was supposed to have but never did. From the bees on the cover to the emotionless musical pap throughout, this is what a great band sounds like when they no longer care. The first song is pretty good though. Bees on the album cover. 
14. Symbol of Life (2002)
This is ok, and the band is clearly trying to get a bit of weight back into their sound after the previous two albums, although they still sound a bit lost in the woods. The first two tracks are cool enough but there's not a lot bringing me back to repeated listenings, except for maybe 'No Celebration' which is a great New Years Eve song. Futuristic looking album artwork which is pretty cool, but not very Paradise Lost. 
13. Host (1999)
The electronic album. Everyone hated this at the time - I certainly did - but I have to say it's grown on me and I can appreciate it a lot more now. The songs are structured like regular PL tracks but all the beeps and squeaks (and haircuts!) are a bridge too far. I'll put this on sometimes and tell myself it's ok. Album cover matches the music, and it's pretty cool. 
12. Medusa (2017)
This is still fresh from the factory, but I have to say that I'm a bit empty after listening to this. The sludgy guitar tone is very sludgy, the riffs feel a bit bland and I don't get much of a chill or thrill from any of it. It feels more like a grindy sort of Cathedral album along the lines of 'The Last Spire'. Some of this is cool though, like the title track and the opening and closing songs. Overall though, it's not hitting me like these albums usually do. Maybe it will grow in time? The deliberately retro album cover is also a bit underwhelming. EDIT: This album has grown worse, not better, with time. 
11. One Second (1997)
This is the album that is personally responsible for the wimping out of Amorphis, Moonspell, My Dying Bride, Theatre of Tragedy and any number of bands who now wanted electronic elements in their sounds and to make 'rock' songs. 'One Second' is a cool album for sure and a huge shift for the gothic metal genre. When this came out after DT my friends and I were into it, but it was something of a disappointment. Mercifully, most of the bands listed here have returned to making quality metal again so all is forgiven. It just goes to show how influential Paradise Lost are. They started the genre then changed it and everyone followed them. Don't believe me, check out the dates of these bands' experimental phases. I'm sure you could probably name more bands who also went down this path at the time. The album cover is a (pretty) good idea but I hate that sickly grey colour. 
10. Lost Paradise (1990)
The death metal album that started it all. Not sure how much I truly love this or if it's simply because it's a PL album, but there's a lot of feeling for this admittedly rough collection of 'songs'. Nick is death growling, the band are youthful and enthusiastic for death metal but still with hints of what would come. Absolutely wacky album cover of a robot-alien shooting a laser into the sky (I think). Those were the days. 
9. Tragic Idol (2012)
This is a very good album but sounds quite similar to the two albums released prior to it, and although there are obvious differences I thought at the time, and still do, that they needed to change it up a little. It's good but doesn't really have much in the way of classics as far as songs are concerned. Beautiful box set artwork. 
8. The Plague Within (2015)
A very good album so late in their career. All the band's trademarks are here with possibly my favourite track of theirs 'Beneath Broken Earth' which gives me chills every time I hear it. There's a sense of darkness and rawness here. Great use of minor orchestration to give the rough songs texture. I have cooled on this a little bit since it first came out, but I still really like it. Amazing album cover. 
7. In Requiem (2007)
The return to metal! When this came out I was blown away and so overjoyed that they were playing this style again. The songwriting is top notch too - definitely metal but with the rock structures that they had been entrenched in for so many years. Excellent production. They're totally inspired and you can tell. Album cover is great and I've got the shirt somewhere. 
6. Faith Divides Us, Death Unites Us (2009)
Title track is a genre masterpiece and the rest of the songs are emotive and atmospheric. 'Last Regret' is also so emotional and wonderful. This is the best of their recent return to heaviness, and mirrors 'In Requiem' as far as production and overall approach is concerned. It's almost 'In Requiem' part 2. The cover art is pretty cool in a medieval way, but it's not evocative and I actually had to look it up just now as I couldn't remember it. 
5. Paradise Lost, otherwise known as X (2005)
A beautifully polished album that sits between their heavier material and the more melodic. An amazing production and just great songs. If I'm feeling in between, then this is perfect. Nick sounds smooth and sophisticated, Gregor's guitars sound stunning. This might be a bit 'modern' for the denim and leather set, but the bourgeoisie love it. If they released this instead of 'Host' they would be millionaires by now. Great cover artwork but doesn't feel like it relates to anything apart from looking good (like my wife).  
4. Shades of God (1992)
Really an in-between album but a full blown classic nonetheless. The songwriting here is brilliant and of course 'As I Die' could well be their greatest song. Production is a touch underdone but that is part of its charm. The wonderful artwork is done by none other than Dave McKean. 
3. Gothic (1991)
The album that created a genre. For 1991 no one was doing this, with a touch of female vocals and a truly gothic atmosphere through a bit of synth. It sounds a little rough by today's standards but the songs are brilliant and there's something really special about the moment in time when this was created. O brave new world that has such albums in it. Simple yet classic album artwork. 
2. Icon (1993)
A little more robust in sound than DT, this is the first truly polished gothic metal album from the band. A little more metal. They've finally nailed it after shifting (creating!) genres. For 1993 this is so far ahead of its time. 'Embers Fire' is another song for the ages and should be played at everyone's funerals. Excellent artwork and huge fold out inlay. 
1. Draconian Times (1995)
The gothic metal masterpiece. Perfect production (the drums) and a beautiful vibe throughout. Songs like 'Enchantment' and 'The Last Time' will remain anthems until the end of time. I got this when I was 15 the year it came out, so it's really shaped me. This is what happens when an inspired band touches something really special in the studio and create a sound that could never really be repeated. I get chills every time I hear those opening piano notes... Best album cover of their careers, too. 

Four years is too long for no direct discussion of Satyricon in their own thread. I've been doing a lot of listening lately and feel ready to put my 23 year following of the band into perspective after first discovering the magic as a 15 year old in 1995. This band has divided opinion. Here is my divided opinion: 
Requiem's Ranking of Satyricon Albums from Abominations to Exaltations
9. Satyricon (2013)
I was open to this album. I loved the artwork prior to release;  it's probably their best album cover of the current era. It boded well. Woodland scene, pagan god/creature in a tree. Brilliant. But then you hear the intro track, with the weakest, lamest riff ever put to guitar. It's plucked out as if with a dead fish, and Satyr has about as much passion as one. God knows what Frost thinks about all this. His drumming here is the soft pitter-patter of infant feet in slippers on a deep carpet. Despite some people liking the clean vocal track 'Phoenix', I still sort of despise it. This is one of the lamest albums I've ever heard from a signed band. Great cover art though. 
8. Rebel Extravaganza (1999)
This is an ok album that is significantly better than the lame duck above it. I still don't like it all that much though. At the time it came out I loved 'Tied in Bronze Chains', and still like it, but the rest of the album is a bit too modern sounding, and there just aren't enough hooks. Where are the hooks? That Moonfog guitar tone that every bloody band copied after this really isn't my thing, but I can live with it. Coming after 'Nemesis Divina' this was an outright tragedy. Cover art is curious and I don't hate it, but I wouldn't hang it on my wall. 
7. The Age of Nero (2008)
Pretty good, pretty dark. This is the fourth album in a row with the exact same guitar tone and style, and it's pretty boring by now, especially if you've waited years to hear a new Satyricon album. It just amazes me that Satyr sits down to write a new album, plugs his guitar in, steps on the same damn pedal and records any damn riff that comes out. They should be putting albums out every sixth months with this level of quality control. 'Commando' is a pretty good song. The cover art is really nice, with that crow. 
6. Now Diabolical (2006)
This is part of the quality slide, but overall it's a decent listen, if not brilliant. The title track and 'K.I.N.G' are great songs. But there's that guitar tone again. In fact, it's risible that it took four years between 'Volcano' and this. This is basically an album of single riffs, with hardly any overdubs or melodies. It's just riffs. Shouldn't take four years. Cover is pretty diabolical, now and then. 
5. Deep Calleth Upon Deep (2017)
I owe this album a massive apology. When I originally posted this list I had this back at number 8 and I really hammered it, but the truth is, this is actually a really exciting and quite hard-hitting album. I really hadn't listened to it with proper diligence. I started listening to it on youtube at work for some reason, and I'm now convinced. Much heavier than 'Satyricon', with a greater depth of layering and melody, this is a really good album. I'm buying it now for sure. 
4. Volcano (2002)
This is the best of the modern sounding Satyricon albums by miles. Songs like 'Repined Bastard Nation' and 'With Ravenous Hunger' are amazing. 'Fuel for Hatred' is one of the catchiest metal songs ever written. Go back and listen to it now, it's brilliant. The guitars sound phat and catchy, and there's a modern coolness that I really dig. If only they had left that style here, we'd have one brilliant band on our hands.  This should have been the final Satyricon album, and the evolution would have been complete. Alas... The snake album cover is a bit random, given the album's called 'Volcano', but it's pretty cool. 
3. Nemesis Divina (1996)
A stunning, meaningful album that, in conjunction with Emperor's 'Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk', really signals the final moments of the transcendent Norwegian second wave. Obviously 'Mother North' is the highlight, and probably the best thing to ever happen to black metal, but the rest of this album is brilliant too. It's definitely a step away from the earlier albums, but gosh this works. Brilliant album cover and booklet. 
2. Dark Medieval Times (1993)
One of the best Norwegian black metal albums of all time, this is the sound of two young men in the throes of Euronymous worship, writing and performing as if the very forest itself were their muse. The feel that comes through on this album is of a special moment in time - the sense of history just pours from the speakers. This is quite a harsh album and they get better, but what we have here is a treasure and a delight. The album cover is rustic but very cool, and the back cover, with Satyr and Frost in the snow, framed with nekro-frames, remains iconic. 
1. The Shadowthrone (1994)
This is my favourite black metal album of all time, and also the first I ever bought, back in 1995. I read about this in a magazine, saw the photos and just had to have it. When the grim voice starts the album off, I damn near fainted, and history was set in motion. 'Hvite Krists Dod' is a stunning masterpiece. What amazes most, however, is the attention to detail here. The true passion. The acoustic guitar moments, the layered vocals, the keyboards that project the listener over the Norwegian forests, under a starry sky of loneliness and beauty. Emperor, Burzum, Mayhem - none have reached the standard of this. Put it in my coffin with me when I die. Haunting cover and booklet of fjords, forests, dark drawings. Faultless.