BlutAusNerd

Their Legion fronted period is noticeably weaker than their Af Grav fronted albums, but it's still decent. Their newer stuff with Mortuus on vocals does show some improvement though.
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Marduk - Heaven Shall Burn... When We Are Gathered
Marduk - Panzer Division Marduk
Marduk - Plague Angel
Martyrdöd - Paranoia
Martyrdöd - Elddop
Still alphabetical, but with the unifying theme of the bands being of Swedish origin.
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Marduk - Heaven Shall Burn... When We Are Gathered
Marduk - Panzer Division Marduk
Marduk - Plague Angel
Martyrdöd - Paranoia
Martyrdöd - Elddop
Still alphabetical, but with the unifying theme of the bands being of Swedish origin.
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This x 1000.
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So has everything since North From Here TBH.
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I'm compensated with a healthy amount of worn out sandals, so I can't truly consider my time here as altruistic volunteering...
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Ah, I've never seen that.
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I've seen them twice now, once at MDF, and once here in town. I don't have any MDF photos of them on this phone, but I did get a couple of shitty ones from the recent show here (broke part of my camera at Voivod). They played the first track, Myr, and Nordbundet IIRC, and were just fantastic. One of the best black metal bands I've ever seen.

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Hey Aqualung!
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It was the same thing when I saw them. They have a nasty habit of touring with bullshit deathcore bands lately, and they show the scene kids hoe that sound is supposed to be done. The worst part is that the fans don't get it, a bunch of people left after Whitechapel when I saw them saying "it's not going to get more brutal than that tonight!", not even realizing that those bands are pussifying the punishment that Suffocation pioneered by mixing it with pop/emo.
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I heard that they did pretty well, despite not even really being Suffocation at this point...
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Old Peaceville is untouchable. Autopsy, Darkthrone, Paradise Lost, My Dying Bride, Anathema, how the hell do you top that lineup?
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Last few:
Manowar - Sign of the Hammer
Manowar - Kings of Metal
Marduk - Dark Endless
Marduk - Those of the Unlight
Marduk - Opus Nocturne
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Old Peaceville is untouchable. Autopsy, Darkthrone, Paradise Lost, My Dying Bride, Anathema, how the hell do you top that lineup?
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Last few:
Manowar - Sign of the Hammer
Manowar - Kings of Metal
Marduk - Dark Endless
Marduk - Those of the Unlight
Marduk - Opus Nocturne
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Old Peaceville is untouchable. Autopsy, Darkthrone, Paradise Lost, My Dying Bride, Anathema, how the hell do you top that lineup?
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Two of the longest running and most consistent metal labels that I've come across, especially in their earlier years, are Osmose and Peaceville. I don't know that I could pinpoint another label that has released as much top tier material as those two, but there are plenty of other labels that have an abundance of great artists, like Profound Lore, in addition to the ones listed by Midi.

Now THAT'S a playlist.
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Some of their early albums are good, but they're pretty overrated in the thrash metal world. Chuck is a good vocalist and I like a lot of the leads and melodies, but starting with Practice What You Preach, a lot of their riffs and drumming just fall short. Their songs often leave a lot to be desired as well.
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From the show the other night and a subsequent trade with our dear friend NTNR:
Undergang - Døden Læger Alle Sår
Spectral Voice - Necrotic Doom
Mourning Beloveth - A Disease for the Ages
Nocturnus - The Key
Probably my last batch for a while.
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There, I fixed it for you. ?
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There, I fixed it for you. ?
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Alright, I think that the way that I'm going to have the most success with this is to list a broad mix of bands and see what sticks. Some of the really extreme areas are ones that I probably won't list unless you express further interest, but it will probably be spread between older black metal that is along the lines of Venom or in the first wave progression, and also bands that are a bit more mellow and/or feature cleaner, more intelligible vocals. Here goes nothing:
 
Absu - Tara:
Absu is a great US black/thrash metal band with a progressive touch and occult themed lyrics. The vocals may be a little to harsh to start with, but I'm betting that you'll dig the music. Of interesting note is that Proscriptor was in the running to replace Dave Lombardo in Slayer.
 
Arcturus - Aspera Hiems Symfornia:
Arcturus were one of the best symphonic black metal bands out there IMO, with an impressively well written keyboard presence, excellent riffs, intricate yet not overly blasting drums, and alternating harsh and clean vocals. In some places it almost feels like a waltz because of the 3/4 time signature, but can also become majestically cold and aggressive.
 
Aura Noir - Black Thrash Attack:
Aura Noir were one of Norway's first black/thrash metal bands, and this album still stands as one of my favorites in the genre. It falls a bit farther on the thrash side of the equation overall, but the vocals, melodies, and production all scream black metal, especially of the first wave variety.
 
Bathory - The Return...:
Quorthon was one of the first vocalists to utilize this mid/high range raspy style that has become synonymous with Scandinavian black metal, and I still think he's one of the best at it, rough and nasty but still understandable. This is one of the their thrashier songs, but it's first wave black metal all the way, and may remind you of the song Welcome To Hell by Venom. Bathory's first three albums are in this style, while Blood Fire Death is both more intense and more epic, a stepping stone to their expansive Viking metal sound.
 
Burzum - Filosofem:
I picked this song for a few reasons. Firstly, Burzum was one of the founders of the more hypnotic, ambient styled black metal sound we hear frequently today, so I felt that it should get some representation. Secondly, this is one of Burzum's best songs, I can't listen to this without being absolutely drawn into it's massive atmosphere. Third, his vocals are MUCH more abrasive on their earlier albums, whereas here he tempers them with a bit of distortion. While you may understand even less of what he's saying (if you speak the language, that is), I know that many take time to adjust to his earlier sound.
 
Celtic Frost - Morbid Tales (EP)
Celtic Frost are one of the most influential extreme metal bands in history, having impacted black, thrash, death, doom, gothic, avant-garde, and sludge metal, in addition to many punk genres. This is Celtic Frost at their earliest, most visceral stage, where you can begin to hear them shedding their Venom influences from their earlier band Hellhammer, and combining it with many other influences to create something unique, especially for the time. I can't say enough about them or their influence, so here's hoping that you dig them too.
 
Darkthrone - A Blaze In The Northern Sky:
This is a long one, but it's one of my favorites. I chose this song because it shows Darkthrone at their most riff oriented and savage. Darkthrone started stripping down after this album, with Transylvanian Hunger being more about atmosphere than anything, but here they are pretty much Bathory + Celtic Frost, which is how I like them best honestly. It feels like there's more soul and variation on this album and Under A Funeral Moon than Transylvanian, but you can't deny the chilling atmosphere that album presents either.
 
 
Destruction - Sentenced to Death (EP):
Some will argue with me on this, but along with the other bands of the German Big 3, Destruction started out on the border of early extreme metal and thrash, and though even early on they were closer to thrash, their influence on black metal was undeniable. Anything after this and maybe Infernal Overkill is pure thrash, but Sentence of Death is first wave black/thrash metal.
 
Dissection - Storm of the Light's Bane
Again, I'm betting the vocals may be a bit much, but Dissection are much more riff oriented and melodic than many of their Swedish peers. Let yourself get drawn in by the awesome riffs and insanely catchy leads, most of my friends that don't like black metal still like Dissection.
 
Hellhammer - Satanic Rites (demo), Demon Entrails (compilation)
This is the band from which Celtic Frost evolved. This is a much more primal, raw, and Venom influenced band than Celtic Frost, but is also an extremely influential band to extreme metal. Don't expect anything but filth and grime, but in the best way possible.

This is a thread for bands that you feel don't get a fair shake. This isn't necessarily for bands that nobody has heard of, but bands that you feel should stand with the more popular acts in the genre/regional scene or are actually better than the bands everyone talks about. I'll start with some examples from the Norwegian scene: Hades - Alone Walkyng: KLonp1RQ3bY Hades were one of the first viking black metal bands, along with Enslaved, but they NEVER get as much recognition as them, nor even as much as many newer and inferior bands playing a similar style. Their sound could almost be described as Hammerheart/Twilight of the Gods era Bathory seen through an early Immortal/Burzum Norwegian perspective, and I think it's great. Give them a listen if you're into viking metal or just plain old Norwegian black metal, they're awesome either way. Taake - Nattestid Ser Porten Vid I: pPqIRPgI9Es Taake does get a pretty good amount of recognition, and I hear almost all good things about them, but for some reason they're not usually mentioned in the same breath as Darkthrone, Gorgoroth, Immortal, Burzum, or the other "big name" Norwegian black metal bands. Nattestid Ser Porten Vid is one of my favorite black metal albums, and I think it overshadows many albums that are held to be the pillars of the scene. Their melodies are brilliant, their execution is passionate, and their songwriting is pretty much perfect. If you have ANY interest in Norwegian black metal, this album is absolutely essential. Aeternus - White Realm: ALr4b3fYqkQ This certainly has a bit of death metal influence, but I would take Aeternus' brand of contrasting punishing blasted passages with strummed melodic lines over Immortal's early approach to a similar sound any day. For some reason, Aeternus just feels a great deal more cohesive, less jarring, and more interesting and engrossing to listen to. The atmosphere of their first couple of albums just sucks me in, in a way that many of their peers just don't. Their later work is good too, but they shifted to playing death metal and just aren't as good at it as they were at black metal. Give them a listen if you haven't already. Manes - Under Ein Blodraud Maane: RdFFIqJoTHw This album is just about as good as it's closest Norwegian soundalike, Arcturus' Aspera Hiems Symfonia. While Aspera tends toward a more epic and melodic direction, this album uses it's electronic influence to accomplish something creepier, and it's quite a compelling listen. This is what symphonic black metal should sound like, I wish that there were more albums out there that were able to perfectly balance symphonic melody with cold black riffs/atmospheres. This is their only black metal album (aside from some demo comps and re-recordings), as they followed the path of Arcturus and others towards the avant-garde, though Arcturus definitely has them beat on that front.