Its hard to make a decision because Black Metal itself has become very fragmented. While a couple of Black Metal bands from the late 80s/early 90s (most notably Burzum and Ulver) have moved their sounds to more ambient, almost psychedelic realms, you still have Black Metal bands that kept the original sound: fast, dark, heavy, high-pitched wailing, and unintelligible lyrics. Bands like 1349, Gorgoroth, Darkthrone and Mayhem that stuck to the guns. Then you have the theatric/Gothic Black Metal bands like Cradle of Filth and Dimmu Borgir. And then there are the newer Black Metal bands (what I like to call Caveman Black Metal) like Agalloch and Wolves in the Throne Room, who seem to have abandoned the old high-pitched wailing for a more Death Metal low growl approach to vocals.
But honestly, when I think of Black Metal, I think Satan. I think burning churches. I think corpse paint and black clothes. I feel more inclined to go with the bands that stuck to the original Black Metal sound, including the original Black Metal band, Mayhem (unless you want to count Venom and Bathory as the firsts).
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