Uninitiated

[Pro Abortion]

I am new to BM and I am trying to find my way around.  I currently own albums of early Emperor and early Immortal.  I am especially taken with "Pure Holocaust" and "Battles in the North."  Granted, there is probably no other band that sounds just like Immortal, but what are some other bands and albums that I should look into?  Again: I would love something in the vein of "Pure Holocaust."  

[chb]

B E S T   E V E R
1. Burzum - Hvis Lyset Tar Oss
2. Immortal - Pure Holocaust
3. Emperor - In the Nightside Eclipse
4. Darkthrone - Transylvanian Hunger
5. Graveland - The Celtic Winter
6. Bathory - Blood, Fire, Death
7. Ildjarn - Det Frysende Nordariket
8. Summoning - Dol Guldur
9. Gorgoroth - Antichrist
10. Beherit - Electric Doom Synthesis
11. Enslaved - Vikinglgr Veldi
12. Havohej - Dethrone the Son of God
13. Mayhem - De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas
14. Sacramentum - Far Away From the Sun
15. Mutiilation - Remains of a Dead, Ruined, Cursed Soul

This list is a good place to start.

[chrstphrbnntt]

Hvis lyset tar oss, Transilvanian Hunger, I.N.R.I., the first five Bathory albums, and the two Thorns tapes.

[Agni]

I think De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas  by Mayhem is a good one for newcomers and should be rated higher in that list.

[kontinual]

I think De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas  by Mayhem is a good one for newcomers and should be rated higher in that list.

Let's not get into a back-and-forth about where the albums lie in the list (which is relatively arbitrary anyway).  Bottom line is those are the essentials and the most sensible place to start.

To the original poster, forget looking for something "like" Pure Holocaust.  IMMORTAL clones are few and far between, but that album in particular stands alone in their discography as the most difficult to duplicate in style and impact.  Looking for works similar in form is a dead end, anyway; the above lists should suffice for most of the albums that reach the same quality of character.

[death metal black metal]

I am new to BM and I am trying to find my way around.  I currently own albums of early Emperor and early Immortal.  I am especially taken with "Pure Holocaust" and "Battles in the North."  Granted, there is probably no other band that sounds just like Immortal, but what are some other bands and albums that I should look into?  Again: I would love something in the vein of "Pure Holocaust."  

Some advice that will apply in many areas, without fail, over the years.

Every result has one cause; but every potential cause has infinite potential results. (The universe is larger than its parts, and so cannot be predicted, although any part can have its lineage traced.)

Kontinual's advice is good. All music has both content and form, and multiple forms can achieve similar expressions of content. They will not "sound like" Pure Holocaust, maybe, but they will "feel like" what it expressed.

Graveland - The Celtic Winter
Gorgoroth - Antichrist
Enslaved - Vikinglgr Veldi
Burzum - Hvis Lyset Tar Oss
Anton Bruckner - Symphony Number 4
Camille Saint-Saens - Symphony Number 3
Ludwig van Beethoven - Symphony Number 1

Keep pursuing whatever vision of clarity you found in that album, in yourself.

[Pro Abortion]

Yes, very well.  Thank you to all of you.  Sound advice and good reccomendations, I will keep this all in mind for the future.  

But let me elaborate on one thing:  it is futile to look for something else "like" 'Pure Holocaust,'  I understand that, but from what I've read it seems as though Emperor's "In the Nightside Eclipse," HAS spawned imitators.  Is this accurate or not?

Immortal, Darkthrone, and Emperor all seem to have very distinct sounds.  I like Emperor, but Darkthrone is just not my thing.  Between the three, Immortal just "does it for me" the most.  I really don't get into the whole "bleak"/"depressed" aspect of BM, I'm more in tune with the mystical/occult aspect that Immortal represents.  With that in mind, what bands should I avoid?  Perhaps that is a better question than 'what other albums are like Pure Holocaust?'  

Is it fair to say lots of subsequent bands have tried to imitate Emperor and Darkthrone, but not Immortal?  If so, why do you suppose this is?

[Dave]

Above all else, get Burzum. One of the first bands and still (in my opinion) the best. I've stopped listening to black metal almost entirely for the past year in favor of classical, but Burzum is one of the few bands I still go back to and truly enjoy. There are other great bands, but you simply need to hear Burzum. It's not like Immortal really, though. Don't let that be off-putting.

[hæthen]

If I may add Soricer des Glaces' Snowland.

[chb]

I really don't get into the whole "bleak"/"depressed" aspect of BM, I'm more in tune with the mystical/occult aspect that Immortal represents.  With that in mind, what bands should I avoid?  Perhaps that is a better question than 'what other albums are like Pure Holocaust?'

Try Averse Sefira. You might also enjoy Greek BM bands such as Varathron and Rotting Christ.

Is it fair to say lots of subsequent bands have tried to imitate Emperor and Darkthrone, but not Immortal?  If so, why do you suppose this is?

Darkthrone is simply much easier to imitate, at least on a superficial level. Of course, nobody  gets it right because there's no real feeling behind, they just try to sound like another band.

Emperor (or their use of keyboards, at least) is also ripped off quite often because people believe that adding some overbearing synths stops the listener to notice that you can't come up with coherent songs or even original riffs. Thus, abominations like Dimmu Borgir or Cradle of Filth come to life.
 

[Agni]

Let's not get into a back-and-forth about where the albums lie in the list (which is relatively arbitrary anyway).  Bottom line is those are the essentials and the most sensible place to start.

.

I should have made my point much clearer - that a newcomer may have difficulties in digesting albums like 'Det Frysende Nordariket' and 'The Celtic Winter'.  Though the aim is not to attract the trendies, there has to be some favourable element to attract a potential 'Hessian'.

[chrstphrbnntt]

I should have made my point much clearer - that a newcomer may have difficulties in digesting albums like 'Det Frysende Nordariket' and 'The Celtic Winter'.  Though the aim is not to attract the trendies, there has to be some favourable element to attract a potential 'Hessian'.

Some Ildjarn is quite catchy, actually. Songs like "Mørklagt Sti" have this sort of infectious groove, coupling with the superb vocals & highly syncopated rhythm section to form accessible, but by no means populist, black metal. Vlad Tepes' side of the March to the Black Holocaust split is another good example of 'catchy' black metal.

[ASBO]

I should have made my point much clearer - that a newcomer may have difficulties in digesting albums like 'Det Frysende Nordariket' and 'The Celtic Winter'.  Though the aim is not to attract the trendies, there has to be some favourable element to attract a potential 'Hessian'.

There's truth in this, which is why compilations make sense.

Start them out with the melodic stuff, but balance it with the brutal, so you don't convert another legion of Dissection/Watain fans who immediately become Pink Frothy AIDS wimps.

[Pro Abortion]

OK, great:  Soricer des Glaces, Averse Sefira, Rotting Christ, Varathron, Vlad Tepes.  I will look into these bands further, although knowing what I already know, they DO look like bands I would potentially enjoy.  Ildjarn?  From what I've read and the few bits I've heard they actually seem like the type of BM I'm trying to avoid -  a little too Avant Garde for me.  What about ABSU?  I've read up on them and they sound interesting, what's the official word on them?

I've actually been reading all those BM reviews on the anus site for the past month, so the top 15 "best ever" goes without saying.  I'm looking to go a little deeper and a little more obscure.  any more suggestions?

thank you all once again, this will be a good start for me.

[chb]

Absu? Good music. Very energetic.