Top 5-25-Who's Counting?

As you may or probably may not know, I’m contributing to a paper that will be submitted to a conference in a week or so. It’s about metal logos and their design characteristics – but more about that later, perhaps. Right now I want to talk about this simple yet daunting special task one of my co-authors asked me to do – to add my Top 5 songs to a collaborative playlist on Spotify, shared by all the paper co-authors – all seven of us –, which will be shared at a later date on a companion website of the paper. If, or perhaps rather when, it gets published …

I am indeed quite optimistic about our chances. You would be too if you knew the people I’m working with. These guys (and one woman) are so smart and accomplished – it’s enough to make anyone feel like an alazṓn. I.e., an overconfident impostor. (I just learned that word myself, only minutes ago.)

Anyway. I somehow managed to narrow it down to 25 songs new and old, covering most of the music genres I listen to! Then came the difficult part – to narrow it down further to just five. Well, I managed to do just that, but with pain in my heart. Which is why I decided to list the other 20 here (in alphabetic order). That’s right, right here.

  1. Anaal Nathrakh, More Of Fire Than Blood
  2. Belphegor, Swarm of Rats
  3. Blood Ceremony, Daughter of the Sun
  4. Cattle Decapitation, Kingdom of Tyrants
  5. Cradle of Filth, Lustmord and Wargasm (The Lick of Carnivorous Winds)
  6. Dool, In Her Darkest Hour
  7. Edge of Sanity, Sacrificed
  8. Kavinsky, Nightcall
  9. Light Field Reverie, All Roads Lead Home
  10. Machine Head, Halo
  11. Marduk, On Darkened Wings
  12. Nicole Sabouné, Bleeding Faster
  13. Paradise Lost, Faith Divides Us - Death Unites Us
  14. Six Feet Under, Seed of Filth
  15. Skuggsjá, Kvervandi
  16. Sólstafir, Bláfjall
  17. System of a Down, Soldier’s Side
  18. Testament, Demonic Refusal
  19. Unto Others, Give Me To The Night
  20. Watain, Waters of Ain