Sadogoat

You haven't seen the lovely flip colours yet. TVR is just the embodiment of aesthetic elegance, like a Greek vase or something

Well that's true actually, he's probably the mysterious "Lord Eat-Alive" that terrified Norway, to whom nuns, pastors, and prime ministers have fallen. Not sure about England though.

Well probably he'd have ended up in jail with Varg, for various criminal activities, like arson and manslaughter. And like Varg, he might slowly fade into obscurity in prison while the world went on outside. So maybe it wouldn't be all that different. "The day Burzum killed Mayhem" is a bit ironic really, Mayhem went on but Burzum came to a dead end. Rather like "the day Burzum killed Burzum".

Well yes, agreed after more contemplation. There's much rather unimpressive Blasphemer stuff, but the reason why I said that is Wolf's Lair Abyss and Ordo Ad Chao. The former has I Am Thy Labyrinth and most notably Fall of Seraphs, which are just pure fucking armageddon. There was some pretty good progressive/experimental stuff on Grand Declaration, and then Ordo Ad Chao I consider an epic masterpiece of wicked darkness that totally overshadows Mysteriis. Then again, Blasphemer Mayhem had many years to develop. And three albums. Euronymous had one actual album, and he was dead on release. I'm really, REALLY curious how Mayhem would have been on the third or fourth album with Euronymous. Emperor says the opening to Ye Entrancemperium was a Euronymous riff, and it kills. But more interesting imo than where Mayhem would be today is: where would black metal be today if Euronymous was still alive?

Orange wouldn't be my first choice for metal really... almost anything else, but not Orange

I adore materialised sanity TVR Sagaris Morgan Aeromax

@natassja7 General rule: in case of doubt, don't assume Darkthrone is being serious

True, there are more thrash metal bands I like, but from the "big four" I like only one really.

I think the question can quickly go in the wrong direction if it's about some absolute meaning to anything. In absolute terms, by the universe or whatever, life has no meaning. The universe has no meaning, mankind has no meaning. It just is. Meaning is a subjective human term. Life can have a great meaning, but only because we give it meaning. Others can give your life a meaning, you can give others' life a meaning, and you can give your own life a meaning. Meaning always means meaning to someone, yourself or others. Not to God because he doesn't exist, and not to the universe because it doesn't give a shit.

Okay, SNM not so much, but wherever I see this being discussed, about half of people say Hell Awaits is best. Imo it's Slayer's worst before Diabolus.

I put Seasons above Show No Mercy and Hell Awaits too, but that's mostly because I think those are overrated. However, with War Ensemble Seasons has one of the all time best.

Bethlehem may be not so obvious if you don't understand their German lyrics. I mean, "soft stool in such fleshless poison" and all that other stuff, to be brutally honest, I think they're taking the piss. The totally OTT silly interviews I read just support that. Although they stated that while they're very silly, they're not as silly as those corpse/warpaint BM bands. Darkthrone? I think Transilvanian Hunger was their only serious album. From Goatlord: "And flowers remain... FLOWERS TO STEP ON!! Flowers to burn!" You can't get any more black metal than that though.

Thought so, Secret and YaitW aren't famous, but a fair amount of people seem to know them. I didn't until this year. And Damaar... well let the music speak for itself.

Probably because Bethlehem is the silliest band in all of black/dark metal. Well, second most silly after Darkthrone. If you're counting only intentionally silly bands.

To be brutally honest, yes I do

I love Bethlehem, so it would be silly to say I didn't like humour in music edit: also, Darkthrone

Don't know if it qualifies as obscure, but I'm a great fan of The Secret (Italy) after I discovered them this year. It's basically black metal meets grindcore. 8PXfSAzX09Q Also, Young and In the Way (USA), raw, in-your-face depressive BM in the Darkthrone tradition. lDMoSjHL6x8 And how could I forget Damaar from Lebanon? An all-time favourite of mine, just insane. D6qeDrBHGSo

Silencer: Death - Pierce Me Be warned though, I think it's the most fucked up shit I know.

Mayhem on their Grand Declaration tour. Didn't expect it, wasn't sure if that album translates well onto stage, but it sure is mental, and the crowd went totally insane. Among the maddest moshing I've seen.

Divine Intervention is among Slayer's best, if only the mix wasn't so bad...

Jackson DK6 Charvel So-Cal Marshall JVM205C I have more gear, but that's what I regularly use, and what is more relevant for metal.

Slayer by a mile. I'd put Testament, Exodus and Sodom ahead of the other three actually, but Slayer is best.

No. Euronymous was very influential, DMDS is great, but Mayhem became better with Blasphemer.