CRADLE OF FILTH "Dusk and Her Embrace"

Lust and Her Disgrace? Dusk and Her Embrace! What an album! Incredible music, mind-boggling lyrics. I can't describe it, you simply have to hear the whole thing- it'll take you by storm. Dani Filth's shrieking vocals, Nicholas's powerhouse drumming, Damian's orchestral progressions, not to mention the stunning guitar riffs by Lecter and co. Absolutely fucked up. Included are the following masterpieces- "Heaven Torn Asunder", "Funeral in Carpathia", "Red Roses For the Devil's Whore", "Malice thru the Looking glass", and of course, "Dusk and Her Embrace". Embellished with great female vocals and macabre string sections, it's a helluva listening experience!

CRADLE OF FILTH
Cruelty and the Beast                            

In my opinion, this is Cradle's greatest work. One of my all-time favorites,
this album is simply the best black metal album I've ever heard (if you can describe cradle as black metal). It's got unsurpassable lyrics and the best "oral pleasures" Dani Filth has ever given our ears. The STORYLINE! holy shit! It revolves around the spine-chilling tale of Countess Elizabeth Bathory, whose cruel vanity led her to sacrifice many virgin maidens and bathe in their blood, that she may retain her youthful beauty. The way the story develops with the music is just stupendous. Some great songs (they all kick ass) would be "Cruelty Brought Thee Orchids", "13 Autumns and a Widow", "Beneath the Howling Stars", "Venus in Fear", "The Twisted Nails of Faith", and "Bathory Aria". This album will go down in history. Supreme vampiric erotica.

EMPEROR                                                               
IX Equilibrium                                         

A horrendous storm, howling through trees under a pale  moon; ripping apart anything that stands in the way of its extremely dense, iron-solid rage. This is how I humbly describe Emperor's music, the way they've always been: innovative and melodic, full of awesome guitar riffs, super fast, and DENSE. Dense as in having to close your eyes and trying to absorb the oneness, the emotion, the storm...This album is breathtaking, and in no doubt follows the excellence of its predecessors (In the Nightside Eclipse, and Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk). A particular song from IX Equilibrium that stuck in my head is "An Elegy of Icarus". It is a symphonic referral to the Greek Myth of Icarus, the young dude who flew too close to the sun so his waxy wings melted causing him to crash into the deathly ocean. Or something like that. Some other great songs on the album are "Curse You All Men", "The Source of Icon E", and "Nonus Aequilibrium". 

IN FLAMES                                                              
Lunar Strain                

Melodic death metal at its best, In Flames is also way up there on my list of favorites. Kickass guitar topography, great drumming, and INCREDIBLE death vocals. In Flames has always had a science-fiction feel in their music. There's always some intergalactic scheme to their lyrics, and the guitars have a futuristic sound (much like Dark Tranquility). They also use some very intricate Celtic fiddle intermissions, classical guitar variations, and lovely, lovely female vocals (Everlost pt2). The entire album is wonderful. I fell in love with it the first time I heard it, when the vocals kicked in: "Call me by my astral name, breeding fear through wordless tongue...Beyond all galaxies, through timeless aeons of frost." Some great songs: "Beyond Space", "Lunar Strain", "Starforsaken", "Everlost Pts 1 & 2", "Dreamspace", "Hårgalåten", and "Upon an Oaken Throne".


DARK TRANQUILITY                                                
The Gallery

The Album that got me into death metal! Fantastic everything. Damn, I'm running out of adjectives. Spectacular guitar and bass-playing and awe-inspiring vocals, wrapped in a cloud of melodic mysticism. The drumming is just perfect and extremely innovative. The vocals? full of agonizing rage- supreme. Much like In Flames, Dark Tranquility use some classical guitar intermissions and very pleasant female vocals (on "The Gallery"). Some great songs: "Punish My Heaven", "Denspring", "The Dividing Line", "The Gallery", "Midway Thru Infinity", "Lethe", and "Mine is the Grandeur". Also listen to these albums by Dark Tranquility: THE MIND'S I and PROJECTOR.