Katatonia - Brave Murder Day (1996)

While I admit that I prefer Katatonia's later albums, Brave Murder Day is certainly nothing to balk at, and can indeed be rightfully called a classic in the death/doom genre. Mikael Akerfeldt's vocals are positively vicious and fit incredibly well with the depressive musical atmosphere. The album has a raw, unpolished quality much akin to Darkthrone's early material which makes the music all the more visceral (as opposed to the sometimes overpolished production of modern day metal.) Katatonia have had much more success with records such as Viva Emptiness and Night is the New Day, and it's understandable why that is. However, this album and Dance of December Souls shouldn't be ignored by any means even if they are much less accessible and bleaker than the band's subsequent material.
9/10