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Velvet Darkness They Fear Theatre of Tragedy Strangely, the number one is not from Fields of the Nephilim. This second album of Theatre of Tragedy is the best record I ever bought. The high quality is present in every single song, mastering the contrast between Raymond's deep growls and Liv's cristalline voice. The CD cover is also among my favorites. A must for anyone into gothic metal. |
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Elizium Fields of the Nephilim Ok, Fields could not be far away from the top...Their last release before the split is my number two. Stunning lyrics for very long, dark, and often quiet songs, among which Sumerland is my all time favorite. Often compared to some of Pink Floyd's work, I must admit it has some similitudes. I wonder wether the new album will sound more like this one, or like Zoon. Maybe a mix of both. I just can't wait... |
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Enter Within Temptation The first album of Within Temptation. A really good release, mixing male and female voices, a bit like Theatre of Tragedy, but much more powerful, altough some songs are a bit quieter. The best one is, imho, The Gatekeeper, but all of them are worth listening to. number three in my ranking. Don't be scared by the CD Cover and try it out, you can't be disappointed. |
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Beyond The Veil Tristania Tristania is a band you need to see live to fully appreciate it, but to 'survive' between their concerts, you only have the albums... Beyond the Veil is a brilliant piece of work, mixing choirs, violin, black metal growls, last but not least, Vibeke's truely amazing and powerful voice. If the album had been closer to the live performances, it would certainly have a better place than number four...but four is already nice, isn't ? |
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Wolfheart Moonspell Moonspell's style evolved a lot between their different releases, but Wolfheart is the one I would rank number five. It still quite heavy from a metal point of view, but with a lot of 'cleaner' parts, where you can truely enjoy the haunting sound of Fernando's deep voice, probably the best one out there (even better than Carl's, imho). |
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Vovin Therion I discovered my number six pick stuck in the traffic jams while carpooling with a Therion fan. I didn't especially like the older stuff, so I was not paying attention to that band anymore. Big mistake. Vovin is masterpiece, featuring a male and a female choir...I'd call this opera metal, but everyone will come up with a different name for Therion's unique style. |
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Inferno Lacrimosa Lacrimosa is a very special band. So is this album. You will either love it or hate it. I must admit I didn't especially like it the first time I heard it, but slowly, I started to enjoy a couple of songs, then the whole album. Since then, I bought almost every release from Lacrimosa. Elodia is really good also, I had a hard time choosing which one would rank number seven... |
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First and Last and Always Sisters of Mercy Number eight, the first real album from the Sisters, also the only one composed (mainly) by both Andrew Eldritch and Wayne Hussey. Mixing perfectly melancholic darkwave with sinister vocals, I think this is the best release by the Sisters of Mercy. Seeing what Andrew became, I doubt we'll ever see such a record again, but who knows... maybe he'll like goth again, and become Wayne's best friend, and... ok, I stop dreaming. |
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The Nephilim Fields of the Nephilim Here comes Fields again. But number nine this time with their self titled The Nephilim. This is the album I recommend to anyone who wants to discover that legendary band. Just listen to the intro of Endemoniada and you're caught by the Neph atmosphere, which won't leave you until Last Exit for the Lost (which couldn't have a better name) fades away. |
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Oceanborn Nightwish I didn't like their first album, but really loved Oceanborn. Tarja's voice is probably the most beautiful one you can find in the gothic metal scene today. The album would have had a better place than number ten if all the songs were as good as Gethsemane, but some of them use the synth a bit too heavily to really fit my musical tastes. |
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Prison of Desire After Forever At the time I'm writing these comments, this is the very last record I bought. I was totally blown away by their live performances. The album is a bit quieter, but still very good. A lot of influences from their compatriots The Gathering and Within Temptation (Sharon is guest singer on one of the tracks), with a slight flavor of black metal. Ranking eleven...for now. |
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Passage Samael Simple, heavy, powerful doom metal with a perfect guitar/synth balance. Samael's Passage is already a classic for me, and one of the best ways to wake up in the morning. Some songs, like Angel's Decay are slower, but even heavier than the rest, and that's what I like the most in this record. number twelve in the list. |
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Mandylion The Gathering That was my first contact with female voices in metal. I remembered playing this album over and over again the day I bought it. Anneke's great voice set a standard to which many other more or less similar bands are still compared today. Mandylion is imho the best album released by The Gathering, and deserves its place as number thirteen in my chart. |
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In The Flat Field Bauhaus A classic you'll never get tired of. I was four years old when that album was released. That is something I can't help thinking everytime I play this CD. I still remember the emotion of the vendor, probably an old fan, when I bought it "so young people are still listening to it ?" ...He was almost crying... Definitly one of the band that most influenced the gothic scene. It would be a crime not to own this record...even if I only ranked it number fourteen (shame on me). |
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God's Own Medicine The Mission UK First album by The Mission, not so long after the Sisters of Mercy affair. A lot of influences from First and Last and Always, but Wayne's vocals are definitly different from what the Sisters were doing, especially on songs like Wasteland, which has a strong, even confusing, Marian side. The style of the band will change later, but God's Own Medicine stays my favorite one, at number fifteen. |
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One of 18 Angels Diary of Dreams I really like some of Diary of Dreams' songs, but some of them are just too electro for me. That's probably why they only appear at number sixteen. Hey, I have plenty of other great records that didn't even make it in this chart (like Dawnrazor, Aegis, Widow's Weed, Irreligious, or Floodland...I had to make some choices...) |
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Spiritual Black Dimension Dimmu Borgir Last but not least, a black metal band, Dimmu Borgir. I'm normally not into black metal, which is too hard to listen to for me, but I really liked this album and ended up buying it. I read several not-so-good reviews about it, and I guess because it's not the kind of music true die hard black metal fans wants to hear. It's easier to listen to, with a bit of synth, and sometimes nice clean vocals. But still, I'm not a black metal fan, and rank it seventeen. |
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