Jump to content

Top 5 Second Wave Black Metal Albums


RelentlessOblivion

Recommended Posts

Much like the similar thread regarding first wave Black Metal I'm hoping for a discussion around people's favourite second wave BM albums. I'm not, however, going to impose the same stipulations as were placed on a similar thread from my other forum and demand only early second wave albums from Norwegian bands.

 

My five would be:

 

Mayhem - De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas

Darkthrone - A Blaze In The Northern Sky

Ulver - Bergtatt

Necromantia - Scarlet Evil Witching Black

Immortal - At The Heart Of Winter

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Much like the similar thread regarding first wave Black Metal I'm hoping for a discussion around people's favourite second wave BM albums. I'm not, however, going to impose the same stipulations as were placed on a similar thread from my other forum and demand only early second wave albums from Norwegian bands.

 

My five would be:

 

Mayhem - De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas

Darkthrone - A Blaze In The Northern Sky

Ulver - Bergtatt

Necromantia - Scarlet Evil Witching Black

Immortal - At The Heart Of Winter

Says the guy with 4 out his 5 choices as Norwegian bands, haha. Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 year later...

Great topic. Can't understand why there aren't a million replies to this. Here are mine in no particular order: 

 

1. Satyricon - The Shadowthrone

2. Mayhem - De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas

3. Emperor - In the Nightside Eclipse

4. Burzum - Filosofem

5. Dissection - Storm of the Light's Bane

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 hours ago, RelentlessOblivion said:

Nice list. I can't get into Burzum though. There's just something about their sound I can't get into.

Also I'd actually drop At The Heart Of Winter for Storm Of The Light's Bane

Good move. 'Storm of the Light's Bane' is transcendent. So is 'At the Heart of Winter' really, but not quite to the same level. 

Burzum is incredible. A really special set of releases. Great art too, with those old Theodore Kittelsen masterpieces. Very transformative music. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've tried repeatedly to get into them and it just hasn't clicked. A little like Emperor actually there's some good stuff happening but on the whole it simply doesn't resonate with me. Hmm I could also drop A Blaze In The Northern Sky for Sacramentum's Far Away From The Sun.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wow, this is insanely hard. Here goes nothing: 

1. Satyricon- "Dark Medieval Times"

2. Mayhem- "Live in Leipzig"

3. Immortal- "Diabolical Fullmoon Mysticism"

4. Rotting Christ- "Triarchy of the Lost Lovers"

5. Taake- "Nattestid..."

Honorable mention (I know you asked for 5, but I feel very strongly about this one): Enslaved- "Frost"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, salmonellapancake said:

Wow, this is insanely hard. Here goes nothing: 

1. Satyricon- "Dark Medieval Times"

2. Mayhem- "Live in Leipzig"

3. Immortal- "Diabolical Fullmoon Mysticism"

4. Rotting Christ- "Triarchy of the Lost Lovers"

5. Taake- "Nattestid..."

Honorable mention (I know you asked for 5, but I feel very strongly about this one): Enslaved- "Frost"

Classics all.

In a perfect world I would have included 'Leipzig' but I stuck with studio albums. I see you have a real thing for debut albums here! You could take any of the first three albums from these bands and I'd still be nodding my head in approval. Great list. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, Requiem said:

Classics all.

In a perfect world I would have included 'Leipzig' but I stuck with studio albums. I see you have a real thing for debut albums here! You could take any of the first three albums from these bands and I'd still be nodding my head in approval. Great list. 

Yeah, I definitely have a strong inclination towards debut albums. There's a certain rawness and purity to the creative visions of the given artist or band. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

23 hours ago, Mbapho4 said:

Beherit and Archgoat alone trumps most of the so called "creators" of black metal from Norway. Although, there's no denying Mayhem played their part, the rest that followed were just a tad over rated.

I absolutely love Beherit and Archgoat, but I, personally, believe that had these bands from the Norway scene not existed, bands like Beherit and Archgoat would not be who they are. Sure, they have a lot of other influences, but Norway was a big part of what influenced Finnish Black Metal.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 31/12/2016 at 7:06 AM, Mbapho4 said:

Beherit and Archgoat alone trumps most of the so called "creators" of black metal from Norway. Although, there's no denying Mayhem played their part, the rest that followed were just a tad over rated.

Beherit are an amazing band, but I would say that the first lot of Norwegian bands is rated just right. 

I think most of the 1990-1995 releases from Darkthrone, Burzum, Mayhem, Satyricon and Emperor are better than Beherit. Just more cohesive and focused somehow.

There's one major exception: as much as I love Immortal I don't think they really hit their stride until 1997. I enjoy their first few albums but they lack the X factor of the others I've listed, especially their first four albums.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 7 months later...
On 8/12/2017 at 11:32 AM, BlutAusNerd said:

Mayhem - De Mysteriis Son Sathanas

Blut Aus Nord - Memoria Vetusta I: Fathers of the Icy Age

Necromantia - Scarlet Evil Witching Black

Master's Hammer - Ritual

Sigh - Hail Horror Hail

That's an interesting list. I like the first four but I'm not familiar with all of Sigh's catalogue and I don't think I've heard that Sigh album. How does it compare to their other stuff? I've only got the first two, and Hangman's Hymn. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 8/19/2017 at 10:07 PM, Vampyrique said:

That's an interesting list. I like the first four but I'm not familiar with all of Sigh's catalogue and I don't think I've heard that Sigh album. How does it compare to their other stuff? I've only got the first two, and Hangman's Hymn. 

Hail Horror Hail is where they started to get experimental, but they were still very much black metal at that point. It's the perfect balance of introducing their later weirdness while still possessing those nasty sounding riffs from their early material.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...
53 minutes ago, Balor said:

I'm surprised that more people did not include Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk by Emperor in their list.  I think that that album should definitely be one of the top five.  Filosofem by Burzum should definitely be there too.

'Anthems' is definitely a miracle album, and it was huge at the time of release. I remember at the end of 1999 Terrorizer magazine ran a list of greatest albums of the 90s and Emperor's 'Nightside' came in at number 1 and 'Anthems' at number 3, so you can't really overestimate Emperor's impact during the late 90s. For some reason 'Anthems' doesn't get a lot of coverage these days, but it's truly an inspired work.

Coming out in 1997, in many ways it signals the end of the great Norwegian black metal movement. It's still couched in black metal spirit but it has just that touch of innovation that you know if feels different and that the black metal template was changing. It's like the glint of a new sun rising over the forest and life would never be the same again. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Very tough choice, as most people, second wave was my first exposure to black metal, so i gotta lot of love for it. (these aren't in any particular order either)

Darkthrone - Under A Funeral Moon

Gorgoroth - Pentagram 

Mayhem - Deathcrush

Burzum -Self Titled

Emperor - Wrath Of The Tyrant

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, C0rpse said:

Very tough choice, as most people, second wave was my first exposure to black metal, so i gotta lot of love for it. (these aren't in any particular order either)

Darkthrone - Under A Funeral Moon

Gorgoroth - Pentagram 

Mayhem - Deathcrush

Burzum -Self Titled

Emperor - Wrath Of The Tyrant

 

"Burzum" over "Filosofem" or "Hvis Lysett Tar Oss?"

Interesting choice with "Wrath of the Tyrant."  I think it gets passed over a lot by people who mostly focus on "Anthems" or "In the Nightside Eclipse."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

"Burzum" over "Filosofem" or "Hvis Lysett Tar Oss?"
Interesting choice with "Wrath of the Tyrant."  I think it gets passed over a lot by people who mostly focus on "Anthems" or "In the Nightside Eclipse."
Definitely 'burzum' over Hvis or Filosofem. While no doubt both are brilliant albums, I enjoy a lot more songs off the self titled. I also think it was peak vocal performance for varg. They send chills down my spine.

Wrath of the Tyrant was one of the first emperor releases I got into, so I had to give it credit. Without it, I probably wouldn't be into black metal as much as I am now

Sent from my A1601 using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Join Metal Forum

    joinus-home.jpg

  • Our picks

    • Whichever tier of thrash metal you consigned Sacred Reich back in the 80's/90's they still had their moments.  "Ignorance" & "Surf Nicaragura" did a great job of establishing the band, whereas "The American Way" just got a little to comfortable and accessible (the title track grates nowadays) for my ears.  A couple more records better left forgotten about and then nothing for twenty three years.  2019 alone has now seen three releases from Phil Rind and co.  A live EP, a split EP with Iron Reagan and now a full length.

      Notable addition to the ranks for the current throng of releases is former Machine Head sticksman, Dave McClean.  Love or hate Machine Head, McClean is a more than capable drummer and his presence here is felt from the off with the opening and title track kicking things off with some real gusto.  'Divide & Conquer' and 'Salvation' muddle along nicely, never quite reaching any quality that would make my balls tingle but comfortable enough.  The looming build to 'Manifest Reality' delivers a real punch when the song starts proper.  Frenzied riffs and drums with shots of lead work to hold the interest.


      There's a problem already though (I know, I am such a fucking mood hoover).  I don't like Phil's vocals.  I never had if I am being honest.  The aggression to them seems a little forced even when they are at their best on tracks like 'Manifest Reality'.  When he tries to sing it just feels weak though ('Salvation') and tracks lose real punch.  Give him a riffy number such as 'Killing Machine' and he is fine with the Reich engine (probably a poor choice of phrase) up in sixth gear.  For every thrashy riff there's a fair share of rock edged, local bar act rhythm aplenty too.

      Let's not poo-poo proceedings though, because overall I actually enjoy "Awakening".  It is stacked full of catchy riffs that are sticky on the old ears.  Whilst not as raw as perhaps the - brilliant - artwork suggests with its black and white, tattoo flash sheet style design it is enjoyable enough.  Yes, 'Death Valley' & 'Something to Believe' have no place here, saved only by Arnett and Radziwill's lead work but 'Revolution' is a fucking 80's thrash heyday throwback to the extent that if you turn the TV on during it you might catch a new episode of Cheers!

      3/5
      • Reputation Points

      • 10 replies
    • I
      • Reputation Points

      • 2 replies
    • https://www.metalforum.com/blogs/entry/52-vltimas-something-wicked-marches-in/
      • Reputation Points

      • 3 replies

    • https://www.metalforum.com/blogs/entry/48-candlemass-the-door-to-doom/
      • Reputation Points

      • 2 replies
    • Full length number 19 from overkill certainly makes a splash in the energy stakes, I mean there's some modern thrash bands that are a good two decades younger than Overkill who can only hope to achieve the levels of spunk that New Jersey's finest produce here.  That in itself is an achievement, for a band of Overkill's stature and reputation to be able to still sound relevant four decades into their career is no mean feat.  Even in the albums weaker moments it never gets redundant and the energy levels remain high.  There's a real sense of a band in a state of some renewed vigour, helped in no small part by the addition of Jason Bittner on drums.  The former Flotsam & Jetsam skinsman is nothing short of superb throughout "The Wings of War" and seems to have squeezed a little extra out of the rest of his peers.

      The album kicks of with a great build to opening track "Last Man Standing" and for the first 4 tracks of the album the Overkill crew stomp, bash and groove their way to a solid level of consistency.  The lead work is of particular note and Blitz sounds as sneery and scathing as ever.  The album is well produced and mixed too with all parts of the thrash machine audible as the five piece hammer away at your skull with the usual blend of chugging riffs and infectious anthems.  


      There are weak moments as mentioned but they are more a victim of how good the strong tracks are.  In it's own right "Distortion" is a solid enough - if not slightly varied a journey from the last offering - but it just doesn't stand up well against a "Bat Shit Crazy" or a "Head of a Pin".  As the album draws to a close you get the increasing impression that the last few tracks are rescued really by some great solos and stomping skin work which is a shame because trimming of a couple of tracks may have made this less obvious. 

      4/5
      • Reputation Points

      • 4 replies
×
×
  • Create New...