Musicians playlists

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Published on Sunday, 14 August 2016 19:54

Written by Tomaz

Fredrik Norrman
Musician at: October Tide, Thenighttimeproject, Trees Of Eternity, ex-Katatonia,...

1. Rome - Coriolan
2. Evi Vine - ... And So The Morning Comes
3. Tid - Giv akt
4. Katatonia - The Fall Of Hearts
5. Abba - Super Trouper

"So this is my current top five list. As always I'm listening to lots of different stuff.  I can go from old Carcass to Abba without a problem..."

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Nick Schultz
Musician at: The Faces Of Sarah

1. Roger Waters - The Pros & Cons Of Hitch Hiking
"Always been a huge Pink Floyd fan, but over the years I've grown to love Waters solo material more and more. Simply sublime album."
2. Black Sabbath - Heaven & Hell
"Ronnie James Dio was an incredible singer and had a huge influence on me musically and vocally. This is an incredible album from start to finish."
3.  Queen - Live At Wembley 1986
"Loved Queen since I was a kid and Freddie was untouchable as a singer/frontman. Not a great fan of live albums but this one captured a truly amazing moment in time."
4. Marillion - Clutching At Straws
"Lyrically and musically stunning."
5. The Raveonettes - Observator
"Minimalistic, dark, bleak but somehow still catchy. Really clever stuff. Love this band so much and this album is simply superb."

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Matt Ford
Musician at: Matt Ford, Serotonal, Torture Garden, ex-Black Magician

1. Dead Can Dance - Spleen And Ideal
2. Joy Division - Closer
3. My Dying Bride - Turn Loose The Swans
4. The Cure - Pornography
5. Chelsea Wolfe - Apokalypsis

"These are five albums that come to mind as of this moment... I think they represent quite an accurate reflection of my current influences. Of course, I could pick five totally different albums next week..."

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Totleben
Musician at: Totengeflüster

1. Cradle Of Filth - Damnation And A Day
2. Dissection - Storm Of The Light’s Bane
3. Dimmu Borgir - Stormblast
4. Darkthrone - Panzerfaust
5. Enthroned - Xes Haereticum

"When I was asked to name my top five albums I already stormed through my head and thought: “How is it even possible to reduce my choices to five albums.” Well I really need to say that this is not easy at all and a lot of compromises need to be done. Another important, non-Metal thing is the fact that actually a lot of my inspiration and “top” music is actually cinematic or orchestral music."

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Carfax Haddo
Musician at: Last Dusk, ex-La Marioneta, ex-Draconian Incubus, ex-Maniki, ex-Sex And Blood, ex-Endemia

1. Madrugada - Industrial Silence
2. Nosferatu - Legend
3. Fields Of The Nephilim - Elizium
4. Enrique Bunbury - Las Consecuencias
5. Christian Death - Ashes

"A current list is it, I keep on moving from artist to artist very often, anyway here are some of those I can't quit."

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Torsten Bäumer
Musician at: Mystigma

1. Paradise Lost - One Second / Draconian Times
2. Tiamat - Wildhoney
3. Moonspell - Sin/Pecado
4. Rammstein - Mutter / Reise Reise
5. Type O Negative - Bloody Kisses

"So here are my alltimefaves. Albums which were always by my side, in good also in bad times. Every one of these albums is a classic for itself and influenced my vocals and lyrics."

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Sean Pollacco
Musician at: Weeping Silence

1. Elend - The Umbersun
2. My Dying Bride - Turn Loose The Swans
3. Arcturus - La Masquerade Infernale
4. Ghost - Meliora
5. Katatonia - Dead End Kings

"This list is in no particular order and tends to change, like everything in life. But, these albums remain top-notch releases that I go back to again and again."

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Wulf
Musician at: Neurotech

1. Nima Fakhrara - The Signal OST
"Love the atmosphere."
2. Conjure One – Holoscenic
"Great sounding new age."
3. The Doors - Strange Days
"Nostalgia,... my childhood's music."
4. Jon Hopkins – Immunity
"Still on a weekly playlist since 2013."
5. Nine Inch Nails - The Downward Spiral
"I've never been a big NiN fan, but this album kinda grew on me."

"Summer has always been one of mine most fruitful periods for writing music, therefore I listen to mainly my own demos for constant analysis. Music by other artists is mainly for background purposes which results in my all-time familiar albums that I like and lots of ambient and soundtrack based music which I listen at home, and in my car is mainly electro, techno and trance to decompress."

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Tony Mayo
Musician at: Naked Lunch

1. Velvet Underground & Nico - s/t
2. Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures
3. Various Artists - Some Bizzare Album
4. Nirvana - Nevermind
5. Prodigy - The Fat Of The Land

"Being asked for 5 albums out of so many that I love and could choose from was very hard, so I went for some albums that I feel had influence on modern music. Yes I know there are lots more but I only had room for 5..."

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Ben Marmier
Musician at: Mils, Mist Of Dead End, Chokhmah

1. Killing Joke - Pandemonium
2. Nine Inch Nails - Pretty Hate Machine
3. Paradise Lost - One Second
4. Depeche Mode - Violator
5. Moonspell - Wolfheart

"I thought it was more interesting to select 5 albums that I used to worship in my teens. Those records had a big influence on me, and somehow it has an impact on the way I listen to music now. It's kind of my dark music DNA."

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Simon Heath
Musician at: Atrium Carceri, Sabled Sun, Cryo Chamber (label owner)

1. Vangelis - Bladerunner OST
"This album, as it turns out, is an inspiration for a lot of Dark Ambient artists, myself included. Maybe because it just reminds us of the movie, maybe because the fusion of styles ignites a sense of experimentation."
2. Tipper - Surrounded
"This album got me really deep into the technical side of music production, the album was recorded in 5.1 surround but even listening to it in stereo it's nothing short of amazing. Crystal clear production and reverbs despite using too many layers to count."
3. Bohren & Der Club Of Gore - Black Earth
"Dark jazz, who doesn't love Bohren?"
4. Damon Albarn & Michael Nyman - Ravenous OST
"This soundtrack is incredibly unique, the brooding undertones of instruments out of tune combines an amazing atmosphere. Also the weirdest stuff Albarn has ever composed."
5. Thomas Dvorak - Machinarium OST
"This album is a technical feat in how it blends the digital, the analogue and the acoustic. It keeps coming back into rotation every few months here in the studio."

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Gaets
Musician at: The Insight

1. Nine Inch Nails - With Teeth
2. Editors - In This Light And On This Evening
3. Pj Harvey - Let England Shake
4. Interpol - El Pintor
5. Kauf - As Much Again

"It'so hard to choose only five top album, so here are my current top 5 album. These are the most played at this moment between two recording sessions."

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Tentakel Parkinson
Musician at: Todtgelichter

Eternal playlist:
1. Genesis - Genesis
2. Dead Can Dance - Anastasis
3. Enslaved - Isa
4. Björk - Björk
5. Abigor - Fractal Possession

"An eternal playlist – well, I only tend to think in complete discographies so narrowing this down is bordering on torture for me. So read those as “everything from band XY” but the albums written above might be the ones I would pick if held at gunpoint by each band/artist."

Current Playlist:
1. Aosoth - IV- An Arrow In Heart
2. Cult Of Fire - मृत्यु का तापसी अनुध्यान
3. Schammasch - Triangle
4. Fallujah - Dreamless
5. Khonsu - Traveller EP

"Seems I'm stuck in a “fuck everything, hail Satan” phase right now. Which can change tomorrow into stuff like Animals As Leaders or Periphery. Or anything else, metal or non-metal. Apart from that, I'm a huge fanboy of Fallujah and Khonsu who will release an album again this year, stoked for it!"

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Rotten
Musician at: Reactive Black

1. Amorphis - Tales From The Thousand Lakes
2. Danzig - 6:66 Satan´s Child
3. Hypocrisy - Abducted
4. Ramones - Rocket To Russia
5. Iron Maiden - Piece Of Mind

"It´s hard to name just 5 top albums, my personal list would be endless. So, my choice wasn´t easy. All in all I like it slow, deep, hard, atmospheric and straightforward, played by charismatic people. Charisma, by the way, is something I miss most at todays musicians... political INcorrectness as well!"

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Mychael Ghost
Musician at: Astari Nite

1. The Cure - Disintegration
2. New Order - Substance
3. Depeche Mode - Violator
4. Placebo - Without You I’m Nothing
5. Interpol - Turn On The Bright Lights

"I find these albums to have been the most influential to me. A soundtrack that will resonate in my mind for the years to come if you will. These songs bring me to every season that the world has to offer."

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Yorgos Panteleon
Musician at: Remain In Light

1. The Chameleons - Script Of The Bridge
2. Pink Floyd - The  Wall
3. Fields Of The Nephilim - The Nephilim
4. The Sisters Of Mercy - First And Last And Always
5. Siouxsie And The Banshees - Tinderbox

"Great albums that shaped many bands sound since their release, including Remain In Light's."

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Daniel Dante
Musician at: Lithos Sarcophagos, Madness Of The Night

1. Candlemass - Epicus Doomicus Metallicus
2. Celtic Frost - Into The Pandemonium
3. The Mission - Carved In Sand
4. Devil Doll - Dies Irae
5. Morte Macabre - Symphonic Holocaust

"This is a list of five important albums that have made a great impact on me and influence on my creativity within music. They are in order like a timeline as I found them and all of them really open up something inside of me, a new dimension of inspiration."

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Victor Fradera
Musician at: Dawn Of Oblivion, ex-Tenebre, ex-After Midnight

1. Dimmu Borgir - Enthrone Darkness Triumphant
"Perfection in so many ways. On this album I feel superior harmony in soundscapes of cold, bitter frost and dark, enchanting mysticism."
2. The Sisters Of Mercy - First And Last And Always
"A true classic with a primitive sound. Each song is a masterpiece on its own and this is the only vinyl I managed to destroy because it was played too often."
3. Placebo - Meds
"Angst, sorrow, melancholy mixed with anger and frustration. Brian Molkos nasal voice is so fragile and harmonize so well with the music. I just love this album."
4. New Model Army - No Rest For The Wicked
"New Model Army always deliver high quality, but this album is a little darker than the other ones and purely affected by the war in the Falklands at the time."
5. Tiamat - A Deeper Kind Of Slumber
"I love to dream away to far away places when I listen to this album. Tiamat convinced me how to include keyboards in metal to create hypnotizing melodies."

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Ricardo Dias
Musician at: Heavenwood

1. David Bowie - (All albums)
2. The Cult - Electric
3. The Sisters Of Mercy - Vision Thing
4. Death - Human
5. Metallica - And Justice For All

"Those are my main artists, musical structures and influences. Even nowadays they still sound as if I was listening to them for the very first time. My musical love at first sight."

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Tomas Almgren
Musician at: Hearts Of Black Science

1. The Soft Moon - Deeper
"Depressing and haunting minus the faux angst that ails a lot of the bands in this genre."
2. Carpenter Brut - Trilogy
"Super retro and super new and super compressed. Love it!"
3. Kite - VI
"Label mates Kite are just going from strength to strength. Just solid songwriting."
4. Belong - Common Era
"An "old" album now but a recent discovery for me. I wonder how much time they spend making the production sound like it had no production? Really like the washed out sound combined with great melodies."
5. Lorn - Vessel
"More haunting stuff. I'm a sucker for Lorn's sort of "broken" electronic music. Crunchy and side-chained to shit but still beautiful."

"When making the list I realized that most of the stuff I listen to now came out in 2014. That was an amazing year for music! But here are a few more recent ones that I'm really into now."

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Babeth Letter
Musician at: Trouble Fait'

1. David Bowie - Scary Monsters
"I've always been fascinated by this multifaceted artist who has been able to re-invent himself again and again. Scary Monsters is the album I listened to the most and it includes great tracks maybe with a more commercial approach and therefore more accessible; I particularly love these synthetic string sounds."
2. Bauhaus - Mask
"My all time favourite band... Definitely!! These 4 guys are simply amazing, Pete Murphy ahead with his beautiful voice and his unique way of using it. Atmospheric guitars, sophistication, darkness and gloom... there's so much creativity in all the songs."
3. Dead Can Dance - Dead Can Dance
"It's hard to choose only one album because all of them include so many great tracks! Lisa's voice is so pure, "Ocean" song touches me to the depth of my soul. This 1st album is already a perfect blend of dark new wave, goth and world music and Brendan and Lisa match so perfectly."
4. The Cure - Pornography
"Without the slightest hesitation it's their most brilliant and creative album, the darker too with its wailing guitar and its heady bass. Robert Smith's depression is palpable from the beginning to the end of the album."
5. Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures
"The whole album is passion, energy, emotion and especially despair. Their music is timeless. Ian has often been imitated but never equalled."

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Ashley Dayour
Musician at: Whispers In The Shadow, The Devil & The Universe, Near Earth Orbit

1. Anna von Hausswolff - Ceremony
2. Esben And The Witch - Violet Cries
3. Eraas - Eraas
4. Dead Can Dance - Anastasis
5. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Push The Sky Away

"To keep things more interesting I decided to choose my favorite albums from the last 10 years instead of my all-time favorites, which are actually well documented and are mostly 80s records. They would have been the obvious candidates anyway, stuff like The Cure, The Sisters Of Mercy, Bowie, you name it, you know them. Instead I asked myself what are the albums from the last 10 years that really got me, the ones I will still hold in high regard in another 10 years’ time. I discovered the first 3 bands from my list within a year or so. The time period from 2012-14 was a good one, lots of new and exciting bands, at least in my book. Very inspiring as well. It’s not by coincidence we started with The Devil & The Universe at that time. Especially Esben And The Witch’s debut album is an absolute masterpiece in my ears, same goes for Eraas, such fantastic rhythm work on this one. But Hausswolff seems to be the only one who is able to keep my expectations high today. The last Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds album was such a surprise, I’m not the only who thinks it’s actually his best and most coherent work to date. Same goes for the Dead Can Dance comeback album, which was everything I hoped for and came at a time when I was rediscovering the band big time. Perfect timing." (*Photo by Manuela Melichar)

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Ivan Rogar
Musician at: Kult Of Red Pyramid, Shinrei Complex, Void.Inject

1. Paradise Lost - Draconian Times
2. Pantera - Vulgar Display Of Power
3. Alice In Chains - Dirt
4. Danzig - Danzig
5. Katatonia - Last Fair Deal Gone Down

"This was extremely hard to pick out because it would require a top 20 or at least top 10, but here it is. These 5 releases represent a strong influence through longer periods of my life and are still valid today."

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Frank Weyzig
Musician at: Born For Bliss, Vaselyne, ex-Clan Of Xymox

1. David Bowie - The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars
"When I was a kid I wasn’t really thinking of becoming a musician until I heard David Bowie on the radio for the first time. It was as if a door to a new universe opened up to me. Songs from the ‘Ziggy Stardust’ album like "Starman" and "Moonage Daydream" literarily changed my life. Not only David Bowie became my number one hero but also Mick Ronson became my hero guitar player. I no longer wanted to be a kid. I wanted to grow up to be just like them..."
2. Joy Division - Closer
"One of the most important post-punk records ever made. No need to say more."
3. The Sound - The Sound From The Lions Mouth
"I remember seeing Adrian Borland and The Sound for the first time when they performed at the No Nukes festival in The Netherlands, Utrecht 1982. I was immediately blown away by Borland’s drive and energy on stage. The next day I went to the record store and I bought Jeopardy and The Sound From The Lions Mouth. The following months both records became a permanent fixture on my turntable. During that same period I tried to convince my fellow band members that I used to play with at that time, to get rid of our set list and start writing songs like Borland did."
4. The Cure - Disintegration
"My favorite Cure album. Dark, gloomy and hallucinogenic. The album is full of slow droning guitar progressions, layered synths, hypnotizing basslines and Robert Smith’s introspective vocals. Just fantastic..."
5. Swans - White Light From The Mouth Of Infinity
"Simply a masterpiece. But definitely not for the faint of heart. During some of my darkest moments, Michael Gira’s mournful voice and scattered guitar chords in "Failure" at least made me aware of the fact that there was someone out there who could feel himself even more miserable then myself."

"I could think of at least a hundred different albums that changed my life and that have for sure influenced me as a musician. It’s kind of difficult to reduce it to five. So I’m including albums mostly from the early period, 70s to early 90s which influenced me the most."

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Miljenko Rajaković
Musician at: TeHÔM, Principia Audiomatica, ex-Implant Code

1. SPK - Zamia Lehmanni: Songs Of Byzantine Flowers
2. Lustmord - Paradise Disowned
3. Test Dept. - Beating The Retreat
4. Clock DVA - Buried Dreams 
5. Skinny Puppy - Bites

"It's really hard to mention 5 albums of all time for me, but these are five albums that come to my mind each time when somebody is asking me, so probably that's it. They represent reflection of my influences and definitely my top artists from different genres. I must also point out that all these albums have excellent production for that time, the mid '80s, but also for the present and still at a very high level."

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Andrzej Gladuszewski
Musician at: Monocube

1. Asmorod - A Faint Light Below
2. Bohren & Der Club Of Gore - Black Earth
3. Death - Human
4. Diamanda Galas - Plague Mass
5. Troum & Yen Pox - Mnemonic Induction

"Top 5 albums that have formed me and are the best for my soul, for different states of mind. Always welcome, anytime, any place. Like a soundtrack for my life. It is the music with vibes you feel imminently, you merge inexorable. True music for people who can listen."

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Žarko Atanasov
Musician at: My Darkest Time

1. Veni Domine - Spiritual Wasteland
"I'm fan of all their albums but this one is from special period when I was listening to them for the first time, and that rich and creative guitars and the weirdest drum rhythms always impress me."
2. Saviour Machine - Legend II
"This is the soundtrack for the end of the world. Top class of music and vocals."
3. Kohllapse - Distant Mind Alternative
"It's just cool album when I'm down."
4. Helloween - Keeper Of The Seven Keys Part I
"Best heavy power voice for me and a very light album."
5. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - No More Shall We Part
"For calm mood, without drama and emotions."

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Nino Sable
Musician at: Aeon Sable

1. The Sisters Of Mercy - First And Last And Always
2. Gojira - The Way Of All Flesh
3. Angels Of Liberty - Pinnacle Of The Draco
4. The Covenant - Nexus Polaris
5. Iggy Pop - Post Pop Depression

"Only five albums - how could I reduce my musical inspiration to only five albums?"

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Robert "Mr. Grey" Steen-Antonsen
Musician at: Liquid Grey

1. Black Sabbath - 13
"Classic Sabbath, downtuned and moody."
2. Behemoth - The Satanist
"This band takes heavy to a whole new level. Excellent album."
3. Triptykon - Melana Chasmata
"Beautiful album even if you are not a Celtic Frost fan, this album takes you on a trip."
4. Rotting Christ - Rituals
"One of the best bands on the planet creating soundscapes that are beyond conventional metal. Powerful album."
5. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Skeleton Tree
"Nick Cave & Co deliver the goods every single time, Cave is one of the few artists that can be so heavy even at whispering volumes. Haunting album."

"I got a lot of favourite albums but here are some of my favourite albums for the last 2-3 years or so."

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Joseph Mlodik
Musician at: Noctilucant

1. Atrium Carceri - Seishinbyouin
"I heard this album shortly after its release in 2004 and the effect was immense. Prior to this album I had mostly stuck to listening to just the deep droney dark suffocating ambient artists like Lustmord, Kammarheit and Svartsinn. This album showed me (and many others) that dark ambient could be so much more. The highly atmospheric cinematic touches, the twisted bizarre sounds, the industrial vibes, samples, sparse percussion, piano, beats and guitar, and the occasional underlining melodic characteristics and even epic touches made this an absolutely breathtaking original album that I'll infinitely hold in the highest regard."
2. Northaunt - The Ominous Silence
"Northaunt's 2001 debut was my personal soundtrack of despair between the years of 2001-2004 and the amount of times I've listened to this album is immeasurable. Northaunt was another project that displayed a sound far from the norm within the dark ambient scene with its incredible nature based atmospheric vibes paired with dark mesmerizing drones and occasional melodic touches via piano and guitar.  The album emits an absolutely unique melancholy sentiment, which was both mournful but also comforting to my fragile state of being at the time."  
3. In Slaughter Natives - Enter Now The World
"For me this is one of the most monumental releases in the entire history of post industrial and dark ambient music. Sounding like the soundtrack to a post apocalyptic nuclear war of devastating stature, In Slaughter Natives's music intermingle's between dark ambient, industrial, martial, neoclassical and warped soundtrack music. It was also wrote and recorded in 1991, which to me doesn't even seem possible, because there just simply wasn't anything else out there like this at the time."
4. Inanna - Day Ov Torment
"When I was able and ready to create dark ambient music, this one got pulled off my CD shelf and stuck with me for quite a while. I had already heard the album about eight years earlier, and during all these years I'd always considered it one the more haunting dark ambient/industrial releases out there. Although close in sound to In Slaughter Natives, this album has an unmistakably darker and malevolent character to it, which is hard to resist." 
5. Sabled Sun - 2146
"Although only released a few years ago, 2146 by Sabled Sun was absolutely the album that finally convinced me to create dark ambient music. Rich with field recordings and an even more cinematic sound than his Atrium Carceri project, Simon Heath's Sabled Sun is AC and then some. The story follows a single protagonist, awakened from cryogenic sleep, as he wanders through a desolate post apocalyptic world and throughout album he makes various discoveries while trying to piece together just what exactly happened to humanity. This is probably one of the most highly atmospheric recordings ever released in the dark ambient genre, and for me its surely one of my biggest influences."

"Although tempting to list a multi genre best of, I decided to approach this top 5 list from the perspective of inspiration it served unto me as a dark ambient artist."

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Erebos Dark
Musician at: DeepDark

1. Iron Maiden - Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son
2. Death - Spiritual Healing
3. In The Woods... - Heart Of The Ages
4. Manowar - Kings Of Metal
5. Lustmord - Heresy

"When I was 12 years old, I first heard Iron Maiden, Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son. This album had a great influence on me and was the reason I started listening to heavy metal music."

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Bruce Moallem
Musician at: God Body Disconnect

1. Heat - OST
"The final scene of Pacino holding a dying De Niro is etched into my mind forever. It was a shock to find out Moby wrote the music behind it, but I want "God moving over the face of the waters" played at my funeral. Yeah, it’s that good."
2. Allan Holdsworth - Hard Hat Area
"I usually save this one for real late nights and prefer to listen to it outside. The production is super intimate and dreamlike. The air between the notes carries me like a midnight breeze into the darkness of night."
3. Candiria - Beyond Reasonable Doubt
"If there is an artist out there that can play almost every genre of music I listen to, Candiria is the most capable. Plus Ken Schalk is an absolute monster on drums. He raised the bar so high here and that really pushed me to strive beyond what I thought my limits were."
4. Have A Nice Life - Deathconsciousness
"This is one of the most emotional heart tugging albums I've ever heard. It is a testament to what home recorded artists can accomplish on their own. The inspiration runs deep here."
5. Group Home - Livin' Proof
"Anything DJ Premier touches is gold, and Livin’ Proof is 24k. This album is highly underrated and as a kid I felt proud to be the only one in my circle to own it. Lil’ Dap and Melachi helped me through a lot of tough times, and their words stick with me till this day."

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Alejandro Lotero
Musician at: Exgenesis, ex-Lost In Darkness, ex-Antithesis

1. Katatonia - The Great Cold Distance
2. King Diamond - Abigail
3. Slumber - Fallout
4. Rapture - Futile
5. Death - Human

“I am a forest, and a night of dark trees: but he who is not afraid of my darkness, will find banks full of roses under my cypresses.”
- Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra

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Teeno Vesper
Musician at: Der Himmel über Berlin

1. Iron Maiden - Killers
"I was a child, in my little room. My friend’s older brother introduce me to this world... and the world changed."
2. Dead Can Dance - Within The Realm Of A Dying Sun
"When goth culture meets classic and ancient melodies. A masterpiece!"
3. Ministry - Psalm 69
"Rage. Fury. Speed. No mercy. With this album Al Jourgensen became the Godfather of modern industrial metal."
4. Goldfrapp - Felt Mountain
"Painful and relaxing at the same time. A rare mixture."
5. The Cult - Love
"A must-have gem, a perfect crossover between gothic and hard rock, that strongly influenced me."

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Daniel Änghede
Musician at: Crippled Black Phoenix, Hearts Of Black Science, ISON

1. Type O Negative - October Rust
"One of my all-time favorite albums. I still find small sonic details every time I listen to it. The production is fantastic and the songs are timeless. Such a huge inspiration to everything I do when it comes to music."
2. The Smashing Pumpkins - Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness
"This beast of a double album sounds as magical today as it did back then. Not many records released today can top this, also when it comes to the production. This is the perfect soundtrack for the night."
3. Fields Of The Nephilim - Elizium
"My band mate Tomas introduced me to this album long before we started a band together, it was sometime around 1995 and I remember I fell in love with how good the dreamy guitars sounded, it has been an album that has shaped so much of how I play guitar. One of the most important albums for me personally and a reference for us when we started writing for Hearts Of Black Science several years later."
4. Kyuss - And The Circus Leaves Town
"This album literally changed my life. I had never heard anything like it before, nor after. It has an amazing production and it still feels as fresh today as it did back in the mid 90s! Probably one of the heaviest albums ever recorded. I was very sad to see them break up but once I heard the first Queens Of The Stone Age album I knew that there was still hope. That's another band that has meant a lot to me on a musical level, especially when it comes to vocals."
5. Neurosis - Times Of Grace
"My favorite album of theirs, one of the best albums ever recorded. Everything is perfect here, from the amazing production to the haunting songs. I don't understand why so many bands these days choose a lifeless, computer made drum sound when you can have drums that sounds like this!"

"Those are five albums in no particular order from the 90s that never left my turntable and that I still worship to this day."

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Dronny Darko
Musician at: Dronny Darko

1. Drumcorps - Falling Forward
"Huge fan of this guy for years already. Perfect blend of glitch electronics and grind core violence."
2. Sleeping On Lotus Ashes - Crushed Identity
"Alongside with his drone ambient Red Fog project, Sebastian became a huge inspiration since I first discovered this talented man. Experimental sound laboratory amalgamating various types of resynthesis manipulations, sound morphing, etc."
3. Limewax - (anything)
"Can’t stop listening to this groovy d&b master of the dark. Seems that he’s on a level nobody else is."
4. Lusine Icl - Iron City
"Came back to this guy from a while of not listening but this album is so magnetic to me. Very elegant chill electronics. Perfect evening music."
5. Mr. Oizo - The Church
"A healthy snack of humorous beats is what I think everyone needs. A gifted french musician as well as media producer who makes movies funny as hell. Check him out by watching Wrong Cops first. You’ll never regret it."

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Mark Kelson
Musician at: The Eternal

1. Anekdoten - Until All The Ghosts Are Gone
2. Steven Wilson - The Raven That Refused To Sing (And Other Stories)
3. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Skeleton Tree
4. Brendan Perry - Ark
5. My Brother The Wind - Twilight In The Crystal Cabinet

"This is my current top 5 (in no particular order), as my top 5 ever would just be impossible!"

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Lars Kappeler
Musician at: Sweet Ermengarde

1. New Model Army - Winter
2. And Also The Trees - Born Into The Waves
3. Killing Joke - Pylon
4. Echo And The Bunnymen - Heaven Up Here
5. The Moody Blues - Days Of Future Passed

"I decided to make a current top 5 list because I'm listening to a lot of music so it would be nearly impossible to decide which album is in and which album is out of an all-time list. In this case I would need something like a top 50."

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Anders Jacobsson
Musician at: Draconian

1. The Mission - The First Chapter
2. Depeche Mode - Music For The Masses
3. Fields Of The Nephilim - The Nephilim
4. Elend - Les Ténèbres Du Dehors
5. Bathory - Under The Sign Of The Black Mark

"No particular order. Darker music has always been speaking to me with the loudest of voices, regardless of genre. All I'm after in an artist or a band is the soul. Whether it's about the dark night of the soul, love and contemplation or simply the sadness of being stuck in this material world. These are a few of albums that meant the world to me growing up in the 80s and 90s."

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Colonel Para Bellum
Musician at: Blackdeath, Nuclear Cthulhu

1. Living Death - Protected From Reality
2. Mayhem - De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas
3. Laibach - Macbeth
4. Current 93 - HoneySuckle Æons
5. Megadeth - Peace Sells... But Who's Buying?

"Of course I have more favourite albums, but to these ones I'm ready to listen every day"

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Harley Mace
Musician at: Shadow Image

1. Tristania - Beyond The Veil
"The opening track was the first piece of “extreme” music I had ever heard back at the turn of the century. Needless to say, it changed my life. This along with Widow’s Weeds are the highest example of dark symphonic metal."
2. Katatonia - Brave Murder Day
"Minimalist drumming, droning doom riffs, along with Michael’s otherworldly growling made for a unique form of metal."   
3. Fields Of The Nephilim - The Nephilim
"Their other albums are all amazing as well but this stands as the greatest from these dust covered phantoms of the wasteland."
4. Avrigus - The Secret Kingdom
"This band’s only full length album is an amazing mix of folk, piano and symphonic metal."
5. Trans Siberian Orchestra - Beethoven’s Last Night
"It’s Beethoven’s music performed by an orchestra and progressive rock band set to a Faustian theatrical story. It’s amazing."

"Choosing only five albums is difficult but these are some that have stood with me for years and remain the most influential in my life."

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Dehn Sora
Musician at: Treha Sektori, Throane, Ovtrenoir, Sembler Deah

1. Muscle and Marrow - Love
"Because her voice is throat grabbing then bring vertigo."
2. Mgla - Exercices In Futility
"As if everything was to be made right one day. Dreams don't come true for people like us. As if the gods were bored with peace in our hearts... said a lot."
3. Oathbreaker - Rheia
"Because they wanted to reach something higher in being surprising."
4. Oranssi Pazuzu - Värähtelijä
"Because they found a riff in "Saturaatio" that combines tons of emotions in a line."
5. Magma - Slagh Tanz
"Because when you think about a sound, they have done it already, 40 years ago, in better, and they’re still doing it."

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Igor Nardin
Musician at: Noctiferia

1. Dead Can Dance - Within The Realm Of A Dying Sun
2. Emperor - In The Nightside Eclipse
3. White Zombie - Astrocreep 2000
4. Juno Reactor - Labyrinth
5. Agnes Obel - Aventine

"What can I say, weird pack of albums, few of many that influenced me, left a mark on me through the years. Atmosphere is the most important to me."

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Franck SBR
Musician at: Saigon Blue Rain

1. Johnny Marr - The Messenger
"The best guitar-driven album that has been made ever. Johnny is surely on top of his creativity these days. It outperforms every Morrisey's recordings and in my opinion every Smiths albums."
2. Baroness - Yellow And Green
"One of these few albums I like to drown into. It catches you and won't release you until the last note."
3. From Monument To Masses - The Impossible Leap In One Hundred Simple Steps
"10 years ago I discovered this album and it was on repeat on my player. I rediscovered it few weeks ago and it's still one of the best pot-rock/math-rock albums ever made. Such a shame they broke up. What I also like about them is the way they managed to introduce political commitment in their music."
4. London Grammar - If You Wait
"The most beautiful voice I heard for a long time. I love the pizzicato guitar work. They manage to create such a unique and personal universe. I'm really looking forward for their next release. "
5. Crime & The City Solution - Rooms Of Light
"One of my biggest influence. Without this album, there wouldn't be Saigon Blue Rain."

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Christian Fink
Musician at: Nachtsucher

1. Muse - Black Holes And Revelations
"Muse is my favourite band! When I hear it or visite one of their great shows, I feel the whole power of music in perfection!"
2. Waltari - Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Die! Die! Die! (Death Metal Symphony in Deep C)
"I was impressed and will love it to the end! Everybody should hear it once in a lifetime!"
3. System Of A Down - Chop Suey
"The amazing changes from power and speed to fantastic melodies of tenderness - great!"
4. U2 - Rattle And Hum
"I love the voice of Bono!"
5. Udo Jürgens - Best of
"Udo was and will always be my reason for being a singer and performer! He was outstanding! R.i.P.!"

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Stein Akslen
Musician at: Minneriket, Blodsgard, VOid&Khaos

1. Trelldom - Til et annet...
2. Dimmu Borgir - Stormblåst
3. The Offspring - Ignition
4. Vond - Selvmord
5. Mayhem - De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas

"Picking just five albums is an impossible task, but I tried to narrow it down to albums who have meant a lot to me through many years. I could have diversified it a lot more, but these have been the staples in the soundtrack of my life."

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Nick Marinos
Musician at: God In A Cone, Madleaf, Slitherum

1. Scary Mother - Tai Laeo
"Amazing progressive grunge album."
2. Clay People - Firetribe
"Amazing elements of industrial and grunge music with gothic touches."
3. Godflesh - Pure
"Dark and heavy stuff at its finest."
4. Bathory - Under The Sing Of The Black Mark
"The father of the black metal movement."
5. Maya - Slow Escape
"This is an amazing progressive extreme trippy-metal music with tribal elements."

"Music is endless, my list might be an infinite loop, but I selected some innovative gems and so feel free to enjoy my Top 5!"

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Chris Fu-Manchu Islec
Musician at: The Stompcrash

1. The Beatles - Abbey Road
2. The Doors - Strange Days
3. David Bowie - Station To Station
4. The Cure - Disintegration
5. The Damned - Phantasmagoria

"It was quite hard to select these albums and I'm still not sure of my choices because I had to leave off many artists I love and which surely influenced me a lot. Probably if you ask me this question ten times I'll give you ten different lists."

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George Downloved
Musician at : SadDoLLs

1. HIM - Razorblade Romance
2. Poisonblack - Escapextacy
3. To/Die/For - All Eternity
4. Deathstars - Termination Bliss
5. The Crow - The Movie Soundtrack

"This is my current playilist, but it seems to change
depending on what new stuff I find out there, so it
is likely to be different by next year or sooner."

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Michel Rowland
Musician at: Disjecta Membra, Dreams Are Like Water

1. David Bowie - Blackstar
"I’ve read dozens of eulogies to Bowie since he died and only one of them particularly resonated with me, which was written by Josh Strawn from Azar Swan. As much as I feel like so much more could have and should have been said about David Bowie’s legacy and impact, and specifically this album, I don’t feel like I’ve got it in me to do the subject any justice at all."
2. Girls Pissing On Girls Pissing / Log Horn Breed (Split LP)
"Two of my favourite current New Zealand bands on one album; kinda hard to go wrong there. They’re a very good pairing too; like a lot of my favourite Antipodean music, both bands have a decidedly ‘swampy’ sort of feel to them, somewhere between serrated post-punk, staggering, punchdrunk no-wave and bludgeoning noise-industrial. Where they differ is that GPOGP often feel like a harrowingly bad mushroom trip, shrouded in esoteric mysticism and a raw and visceral sort of revelatory esctaticism, while Log Horn Breed is more the kind of sound you can imagine kicking its way out from under the ruins of a collapsed Christchurch." 
3. Masses - Moloch
"For the last few years there have been a lot of very good albums from the younger generation of post-punk, dark punk, deathrock (etc) revivalist bands, but this was my favourite of 2016. I loved Masses’ first handful of recordings (a demo, an EP, some split releases and compilation tracks), which were sort of jagged, spiky, barking and howling goth punk, with all of the requisite obnoxious, snotty bombast and swagger to carry it over.  That’s still a very strong element of their sound on Moloch too, but I especially like the progression on this album into more melodic, atmospheric territory, which I think has a lot to do with the addition of Nellie Pearson on keys and vox. The song "Sirens" is my favourite; I saw a live version on YouTube that was just stunning."
4. The Mission - Another Fall From Grace
"This album fulfilled all of my old school #tradgoth rock requirements for 2016. If you took the ‘Wake’ line-up of The Sisters, and tried to imagine them completing a second album together, and then married that to the best elements of The Mission from ’86-’90, then this album is what you’d get. Only it’s better produced, and unlike any other album that might be described in those terms, this one wasn’t made by third-rate clones and imposters. They were fucking magic live, too - pissed all over The Sisters’ last show here. This album and the tour feels like a real triumph for the band; both a return to form as well as a gathering of momentum for the future."
5. Mick Harvey - Delirium Tremens   
"This is the third in a series of four Mick Harvey albums that reinterpret the songs of Serge Gainsbourg; the previous two were favourites of mine in the mid-late nineties, so parts III and IV have been a long time coming. My favourite Mick Harvey solo album is probably Sketches From The Book Of The Dead, but Delirium Tremens is the one album I think I’ve listened to the more than any other release this year. Mick’s voice feels most at home in lounge-bar crooner mode, and his arrangements always sound rich, lush and immersive, even when stripped down to the comparatively intimate 4-piece band setting with The Intoxicated Men. Regular sideman/collaborator J.P. Shilo brings a hell of a lot to the equation these days as well, in amongst a swathe of talent from backing vocalists and sultry duets, string players, pianists, percussionists and revolving rhythm sections."

"I can’t list five favourite albums of all time, because there will always be another fifty albums or so that I feel really ought to have made it into the top five. But as it’s that time of year, here are five albums that I’ve enjoyed the most during 2016 (in no particular order)."

Grégoire Fray
Musician at: Thot, The Hills Mover

1. Kate Tempest - Let Them Eat Chaos
2. Oathbreaker - Rheia
3. GogoPenguin - Man Made Object
4. Norma Jean - Polar Similar
5. Damso - Batterie Faible

"Each year I build a Spotify playlist with every album I do like. I don't know why but this year, this list is not as full as the other years. Was I too lazy to discover new stuff, or did I stick to much to oldest music that I love for years? Also, I've been spending quite a lot of time writing Thot next album, and we'll enter the studio mid January, with Magnus Lindberg (Cult Of Luna) behind the desk, so I'm quite excited! Anyway, I just realised that I've been listening a lot of hiphop/rap music this year, but also a lot of traditionnal folkore music, as I sing in a polyphonic choir. That's why I would like to conclude this list with this beautiful georgian song that learnt 2 weeks ago. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCYdLQM54jM Happy Xmas holidays to everyone!"

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Maethelyiah
Musician at: The Danse Society

1. Pink Floyd - Dark Side Of The Moon
2. Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures
3. Peter Gabriel - Birdy
5. Nine inch Nails - The Fragile
6. Adam & The Ants - Kings Of The Wild Frontier

"It's very hard to choose 5 top albums because my list could go forever. These albums still give me shivers after hundreds of listens. The power is immense. All in all, water flows under the bridges, the planets spin, humans waste time in conflicts but music is eternal."

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Daniel Schweigler
Musician at: Sweet Ermengarde

1. Coil - The Ape Of Naples
"This is a list of my current top 5 and a lie, though. For weeks now I don't listen to anything else but Coil. Magical and very inspiring."
2. Bohren & Der Club Of Gore - Black Earth
"Nighttime music at its best."
3. Virus - Memento Collider
"Virus and Ved Buens Ende play really strange and unique music indeed. This album feels like a lunatic rock band jamming the soundtrack to my oddest and most enigmatic dreams. Awesome!"
4. The Doors - Strange Days
"It is summer right now and what could be better than listening to some Doors records in those days?"
5. Beastmilk - Use Your Deluge
"This one and White Stains On Black Wax are eternal all-time favourites. Without a doubt Goatspeed is one of my favourite musicians and songwriters. I am a guilty fanboy. Need a bassist?"

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Andy Clarke
Musician at: The Crawling

1. My Dying Bride - Turn Loose The Swans
2. Katatonia - Viva Emptiness
3. Motley Crüe - Dr Feelgood
4. Social Distortion - White Light, White Heat, White Trash
5. Slayer - Reign In Blood

"Such a difficult task! My top 5 is a combination of a an all time absolute favourite record, one that became my biggest influence as a musician, a great album that has fantastic memories attached, an emotional journey of an album, and a total metal classic that is the essence of heavy metal for me. I'm sure you can work out which is which."

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Sébastien Pierre
Musician at: Enshine, Fractal Gates, Cold Insight, ex-Inborn Suffering, ex-Lethian Dreams

1. Rapture - Futile
2. Ablaze In Hatred - The Quietude Plains
3. Michael McCann - Deus Ex: Mankind Divided OST
4. Thy Serpent - Death
5. Harakiri For The Sky - III: Trauma

"I try to keep the list metal here obviously, but I'm listening to a lot of sci-fi soundtracks lately, trance, AOR and retrowave."

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Cornelius Waldner
Musician at: Sagittarius

1. Necromantia - Crossing The Fiery Path
2. Emperor - In The Nightside Eclipse
3. Blood Axis - The Gospel Of Inhumanity
4. Current 93 - Sleep Has His House
5. The Velvet Underground & Nico - s/t

"Without any doubt I stumbled across many music releases that impressed me, but if I had to pick five albums that shaped me in a revelationary way and inspired me to develop as an artist, it would be these."

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Silvio Oreste
Musician at: Estetica Noir

1. The Cure - Concert : The Cure Live
2. Guns N' Roses - Appetite For Destruction
3. Nine Inch Nails - The Fragile
4. Dead Can Dance - Within The Realm Of A Dying Sun
5. The 3rd And The Mortal - Painting On Glass

"Obviously, to choose only 5 albums is very difficult... but especially in my teen age, these albums gave me special emotions."

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Erik Molnar
Musician at: Hyperion, Mist Of Misery

1. Bal-Sagoth - Battle Magic
"Bal-Sagoth is a superb band that I have been listening to almost every day for over half a year now. Simply stunning compositions and epic melodies. This album features their best work in my opinion."
2. Blind Guardian - Somewhere Far Beyond
"Blind Guardian have always been one of my favourite bands and are by far my favourite power metal band. Some of the songs on this album are simply magical."
3. Nordman - Nordman
"A highly acclaimed Swedish act that I have been kind of listening to on and off for many years. This album is a perfect example of how GOOD pop should be: Melodic, a touch of melancholy and catchy in a non-cheesy way."
4. Bal-Sagoth - The Power Cosmic
"I decided to put this band on the list twice, because I simply cannot get tired of listening to these guys. This album is nothing short of pure magic."
5. Vangelis - 1492 (Conquest Of Paradise)
"This unforgettable soundtrack gets better every time I listen to it, even though I have been into Vangelis's music for years. Truly, no one can create moving soundtracks that are so filled with emotion the way Vangelis does."

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Jenny Kirby
Musician at: Borg Queen

1. Hans Zimmer/Elton John - The Lion King OST
2. Green Day - Insomniac
3. Social Distortion - White Light, White Heat, White Trash
4. Nine Inch Nails - The Fragile
5. The Killers - Day & Age

"These are the albums that come to mind as having the most profound impact on me over the course of my life and they're the ones that I listened to on repeat for hours at a time. The list is in chronological order."

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Sam Astaroth
Musician at: Astaroth Incarnate

1. King Diamond - Abigail
2. Mayhem - De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas
3. Cradle Of Filth - Midian
4. Belphegor - Blood Magick Necromance
5. Dying Fetus - Reign Supreme

"I listen to various different genres of music. Anything and everything that catches my attention, I will give it a spin. However, as an extreme metal lyricist and vocalist, I am obligated to list the 5 artists and my favorite albums by them as my top influences in creating my own music."

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Paulo J. Mendes
Musician at: Caedeous

1. Cradle Of Filth - Dusk And Her Embrace
2. Dimmu Borgir - Enthrone Darkness Triumphant
3. Tvangeste - Damnation Of Regiomontum
4. Moonspell - Wolfheart
5. Fleshgod Apocalypse - King

"Hard task to narrow down tons of albums that I love so much into a list of TOP 5, I mean how it is possible with so many good artists and bands that have influenced me so much... quickly shuffling into my head I managed to get this five albums which absolulety are a must have on my playlists which are still fresh since I first listened to them."

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Fabio Arcangeli
Musician at: Deadly Carnage, Omega

1. Drudkh - Blood In Our Wells
2. Alcest - Les Voyages de l’Ame
3. Wolves In The Throne Room – Celestial Lineage
4. If These Trees Could Talk - Above The Earth Below The Sky
5. Spite Extreme Wing - Vltra

"It's really hard to choose only five albums from my large collection, but I have always loved atmospheric music that transports me to another dimension and these albums are perfect for this purpose and I could never do without them."

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Emilio Crespo
Musician at: Sojourner

1. Draconian - Arcane Rain Fell
"This album is the epitome of doom in my eyes. It is perfect in every aspect. Entrancing, heavy, melancholic, aggressive and beautiful. This is without a doubt my favourite band of all time and the best album to ever grace music."
2. Caladan Brood - Echoes Of Battle
"As a huge Summoning fan I have to say that Caladan Brood bested the fathers of the genre. This album is simply sublime. The best album not made by Summoning."
3. Doom:VS - Dead Words Speak
"Another doomy trip through despair and anguish created by the mastermind behind Draconian, Johan Ericson. This album will have you longing for a light at the end of the tunnel, yet there none is to be found."
4. Epica - Design Your Universe
"The best symphonic metal album ever. What separates Epica from all the generic symphonic "female" bands out there is their identity. They actually have one. They are an actual symphonic metal band.
5. Wolves In The Throne Room - Two Hunters
"Cascadian, atmospheric (hipster) or whatever else you want to call it, this album encompasses all that I look for in my black metal. It fucking kills."

"This list was definitely not an easy task. Whenever you are asked to do these you feel as if you are not valuing all the other hundreds of albums you love. For the sake of keeping it in metal I have only listed albums of the genre. I want also thank Terra Relicta for having me on this article. For those who may be interested, check out Sojourner. We just released our second album, The Shadowed Road, via Avantgarde Music. There is also a cassette release available through Folkvangr Records."

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Mortiis
Musician at: Mortiis, ex-Emperor, ex-Vond, ex-Fata Morgana, ex-Cintecele Diavolui

1. Nine Inch Nails - The Downward Spiral
2. Ministry - The Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Taste
3. W.A.S.P. - W.A.S.P.
4. Venom - Welcome To Hell
5. David Bowie - Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars

"This are the albums that somehow meant the most to me during various stages of my life. Well, Nine Inch Nails and Ministry were hugely important to me in the second half on the 90s and early 2000s when I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my music, and it was inspiring to see that other people were ventilating their anger and frustration over life, the world, etc into their music.
W.A.S.P. was the biggest thing for me as a kid, after KISS, especially as I was growing up, and looking for something that was perhaps a bit less "cartoonish" than KISS, but still larger than life stylistically/visually, and W.A.S.P. just filled that niche perfectly for me.
Venom were obviously extremely important for the eary Norwegian black metal evolution, and I was a fan of them back in the 80s too, way before that stuff ever happened. Their first album, Welcome To Hell, has this fantastic combination of sounding like a sloppy Motorhead and pure evil, which is never wrong.
The David Bowie album always blew me away simply on account of the great songs and melodies. I played it non stop towards the end of my time in Sweden, around 1998 and 1999. That record, and Iggy And The Stooges - Raw Power were on the turntable pretty much non-stop during my many after parties in those days."

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Tom Simonsen
Musician at: Omit, Havnatt, Dævvskævv, Skumring, Vagrant God, It’s The End

1. Behold... The Arctopus - Skullgrid
2. Frank Zappa - Studio Tan
3. Mr. Bungle - Disco Volante
4. Magma - Slag Tanz
5. Igor Stravinsky - The Rite Of Spring

"It’s an almost impossible task to put together a list of just five albums or works that I love. There are so many to choose from. I ended up with these five - not listed in any particular order - because hearing this music moved, changed, or influenced me - each piece of music in its own ways, at different points in my life. Well written, well arranged, truly beautiful and great creative inspirations."

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S. Sairanen
Musician at: Kuilu, Fallen Icons

1. Rome - Flowers From Exile
"There's a certain sense of warm romanticism and noble grace but still with a down-to-earth style presentation. Not every song is hit-material but the whole is great. One of the best memories from our tour with Asphodelus in Eastern Europe was drinking whiskey in a warm bath and listening to this album."
2. Genocide Organ - Leichenlinie
"Violent, ugly, addictive and intoxicating industrial noise. Often rhytmic in an oppressive and hostile way. I love this album."
3. Oksennus - Kolme Toista
"Weird, original death metal. Each of the three songs is 13 minutes long but the oppressive and intriguing swarming of the instruments and great vocals never gets dull."
4. Revenge - Behold.Total.Rejection
"Insane.Relentless.Masterpiece Ourgh.Ourgh.Ourgh"
5. Deep Purple - InFinite
"Not a perfect album or 5/5 star material, but damn good still. To me, Deep Purple is very important, and now they're playing their farewell gigs in Finland, so I've been listening to this all the time. Deep Purple is a relevant and great band from start to finish."

"This list is in no particular order. This list is composed of recent favorites, not all time favorites."

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Jan Johansson
Musician at: Vanha, Frostvang, JJ Musicworks

1. Sentenced - The Cold White Light
2. Dissection - Reinkaos
3. Vivaldi - The Four Seasons (Fabio Biondi, Europa Galante)
4. Amorphis - Eclipse
5. Katatonia - The Great Cold Distance

"If I ever need a surefire card for great music, this is it."

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Ruby Bouzioti
Musician at: Ruby Bouzioti (solo artist)

1. Draconian - Arcane Rain Fell
"I stumbled upon this masterpiece a lot of years back and I find it unique in every way until today."
2. SepticFlesh - The Great Mass
"I don't know if there are any words that could ever describe this album. It became one of my favorites from the very first moment I listened to it. The music of it is just brilliant."
3. Black Sun Aeon - Darkness Walks Beside Me
"I am a fan of Tuomas Saukkonen since Before The Dawn. The "Song For My Funeral" is in my Top 3 favourite songs ever!"
4. Nightwish - Century Child
"I absolutely love Nightwish from Angels Fall First to Once. I just had to pick one for this Top 5!"
5. SepticFlesh - Communion
"Oh, did I mention that I love SepticFlesh? Haha!"

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Andrey Tollock
Musician at: Sunset Forsaken, Haissem

1. Rotting Christ - Triarchy Of The Lost Lovers
"First of all, this album hooked me with its stunning, memorable melodies combined with a competent compositions. In my opinion, this is the best work of this band. The talent of Sakis Tolis was revealed here at 100% and the other participants also did a great job and their contribution to the creation of this masterpiece is out of the questions! But, most of all, I was attracted to the guitar work as a guitarist. This is the pearl of this LP."
2. Old Man's Child - Ill–Natured Spiritual Invasion
"Personally, I like all the works of these Blacksters. But this album, I think, is special for two reasons: a) its especially  outstanding for its atmospheric, genuine anger; b) drummer Gene Hoglan, whose drumming made this opus truly incredible. Everything is fine here – compositions, arrangements, production. Galder is a great musician and he definitely knows how to hook the fans. This album is forever in my top-list!"
3. Death - Symbolic
"There's no secret that Chuck Schuldiner is a cult figure in the world of metal music and his contribution to its development is difficult to overestimate. In my humble opinion, the album Symbolic is the crown of creation of the Great Chuck and company. This album is fascinating; it doesn't let you go for a second during the whole listen. It really breaks the patterns and destroys the stereotypes. Melody, aggression, pressure, skill, guitar work and rhythm section (the same Gene Hoglan paired with Kelly Conlon) – in one bottle called Symbolic! For me, it's the best death metal album of all time!"
4. Katatonia - Dance Of December Souls
"An odious debut of young Swedes, who were at the time of recording about 18 years old, which made a lasting impression on me from the first second and made a real blast in the whole metal world! Again, as a guitarist, I was literally "bought" by the guitar melodies created by Anders Nistrom that build the entire album. This nuclear kettle of unique melodies, piercing screams of the vocalist, skillful keyboard inserts and high-quality production had turned my mind upside down. One of the best - undeniably and definitely!"
5. Dream Theater - Metropolis II: Scenes From A Memory
"I am not a big fan of progressive style, but this album brought me to a state of a light stupor combined with wild delight after listening. Superhuman virtuosity, favorable melodism that I like very much, composer's resourcefulness, non – standard approach to the song structuring. These are the successful components of this magnificent conceptual creation. A unique fusion of musical ingenuity and freedom, creativity, incredible solutions and energy."
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Angelo Russo
Musician at: Grimmates, Ssick
Manager/owner at Stridente Records

1. The Prodigy - The Fat Of The Land
2. Moby - Play
3. Nine Inch Nails - The Downward Spiral
4. Linkin Park - Hybrid Theory
5. Massive Attack - Mezzanine

"This are five records in no particular order. As a producer and fan I am intrigued by the mix of electronic and acoustic/electric music hence I have mentioned records by producers that push the boundaries of genres."
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