01. Enslaved (Norway) - Below the Lights
02. Leviathan (USA) - The Tenth Sub Level of Suicide
03. Darkthrone (Norway) - Hate Them
04. Mörk Gryning (Sweden) - Pieces of Primal Expressionism
05. Blut Aus Nord (France) - The Work Which Transforms God
06. Hammers of Misfortune (USA) - The August Engine
07. Septic Flesh (Greece) - Sumerian Daemons
08. The Lord Weird Slough Feg (USA) - Traveller
09. Carpathian Forest (Norway) - Defending the Throne of Evil
10. Abigail (Japan) - Forever Street Metal Bitch
11. Unmoored (Sweden) - Indefinite Soul-Extension
12. Katatonia (Sweden) - Viva Emptiness
13. Forgotten Tomb (Italy) - Springtime Depression
14. Melechesh (Israel) - Sphynx
15. Rage (Germany) - Soundchaser
16. Virus (Norway) - Carheart
17. Root (Czech) - Madness of the Graves
18. Watain (Sweden) - Casus Luciferi
19. Exhumed (USA) - Anatomy is Destiny
20. Ghoul (USA) - Maniaxe
It takes only a brief glance at the list to determine it's one of the grimmest in recollection, perhaps not in terms of quality but in the dominating sounds. Leviathan's full length debut has dropped a fraction or two in my estimation over the years, but it's still one of my favorite American black metal records ever with a nice mix of ambient aesthetics to the traditional raw evil. Below the Lights has remained remarkable, one of the best albums by one of my favorite bands on this planet. LOTS of nuanced, interesting black metal here, but it's cool to see the Californian retro heavy metal bands like Slough Feg and Hammers of Misfortune, as well as the Californian Carcass-ian grinding death/thrashers like Ghoul and Exhumed take up a few spots.
If I'm not mistaken, 2003-4 was about the time I started posting in the Penny Arcade forums, which inevitably led to the creation of this blog.
UPDATED FOR 2021
17. Root (Czech) - Madness of the Graves
18. Watain (Sweden) - Casus Luciferi
19. Exhumed (USA) - Anatomy is Destiny
20. Ghoul (USA) - Maniaxe
It takes only a brief glance at the list to determine it's one of the grimmest in recollection, perhaps not in terms of quality but in the dominating sounds. Leviathan's full length debut has dropped a fraction or two in my estimation over the years, but it's still one of my favorite American black metal records ever with a nice mix of ambient aesthetics to the traditional raw evil. Below the Lights has remained remarkable, one of the best albums by one of my favorite bands on this planet. LOTS of nuanced, interesting black metal here, but it's cool to see the Californian retro heavy metal bands like Slough Feg and Hammers of Misfortune, as well as the Californian Carcass-ian grinding death/thrashers like Ghoul and Exhumed take up a few spots.
If I'm not mistaken, 2003-4 was about the time I started posting in the Penny Arcade forums, which inevitably led to the creation of this blog.
UPDATED FOR 2021
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