6. Bathory - Hammerheart - (1990)
The album where Bathory finally broke from their extreme metal roots to create something far more epic and soaring. If the band hadn't started as a black metal band this would have been called epic doom: heavy as a frost giant, repetitive yet hypnotic riffs, and lyrics of times long forgotten. This is a tribute to Quorthon's Viking ancestors that treats them with respect and reverence rather than as a vehicle for power metal tales told by bands who don't want to admit it. If you haven't heard this masterpiece, then do so now. Best listened to on a longship as it crashes over the waves of a churning sea on the way to raid an English village.