Mütiilation - Vampires Of Black Imperial Blood (1996)

This album, together with March to the Black Holocaust, was instrumental in establishing the reputation of the Black Legions among underground black metal circles. The overall reception of the album was highly polarized with some dismissing it as "forgettable melancholic drivel". Globally, the most notable elements appear to be the "twisted", "demented but catchy riffs" and, most importantly, the "melancholic", "bleak and lugubrious", "depressive atmosphere", that differed from the established Norwegian black metal acts of that time. On the base of this album, Mütiilation is often credited for inventing the "depressive/suicidal black metal" subgenre, that would spawn acts such as Xasthur and Shining. However, unlike groups the album influenced, "Vampires..." shows a wider range of dynamics and an unmistakable style of songwriting, especially for that era of the genre.