His songs reflect lyrics of the supernatural, ritual and the occult. Their frontman, King Diamond is an eternal member of Anton LaVey’s Church of Satan. Recommended Track: “In Conspiracy with Satan” Mercyful Fate – Don’t Break The Oath (1984)ĭanish band Mercyful Fate are authentically Satanic. Bathory would later turn to cleaner sounds and write lyrics based on Viking mythology. Some of the guitar solos are off-key and warped sounding, adding to the overall evil of the album. The instrumentation crashes and rolls like a great storm. Guitar riffs were picked in a frenzied, memorable fashion. His guitars were gritty, drums sounded thunderous yet muffled at the same time.

The sound he produced was lo-fi, or what’s often called necro. Quarthon (R.I.P.) played all instruments. Quarthon’s goblin-like vocals were closely tied to the shrieks of today, possibly making him the first true black metal vocalist. Like Venom’s first two albums before them, the Swedish band’s album cover depicting Baphomet became iconic. Recommended Track – “Black Metal” Bathory – Bathory (1984)Īlthough musically Bathory’s self-titled debut still had more in common with speed metal than the black metal we know today, there were many facets of the album connected to the modern sound. Black Metal contained attitude, aggression, satanic overtones, loud volume and speed that proved instrumental in the development of thrash and black metal. Tracks such as “Countess Bathory” and “Buried Alive” are more rooted in the macabre.

“Sacrifice,” “To Hell And Back,” “Heaven’s On Fire” and the title track work with Satanic ideas. A head shot of what appears to be the devil graces the cover. Lyrically and visually, Black Metal revisited some of the infernal themes of their debut, Welcome To Hell. Led by the war cries and gargantuan bass sound of Cronos, Venom’s Satanic imagery and lyrics made them the boogeyman many parents feared. Venom combined speed, thrash and the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. trio Venom coined the term “black metal” on the song and title of their sophomore album. This list can provide a jumping off point for new listeners or a source of nostalgia for long-time fans of the sub-genre. The 20 albums listed are a small survey of nearly 40 years of black metal. The following list of essential black metal albums begins with those early incarnations and goes through the explosion of the second wave and the various styles.

Black metal began in the 1980s as a prototype of and speed and thrash metal.

Best black metal albums of all time