Never really liked "Son of a Bitch" to be honest. As for "Heaven is Hell", I considered it but I went with "TV War" instead.

This one took me way too long.
Die Apokalyptischen Reiter are one of my first metal bands and while my initial love cooled down a bit over the years and I now take them more soberly, their first few albums still occupy a permanent place in my list of all time favorites. Situated somewhere between power metal, punk, black metal and folk this band is not the most subtle one on the planet and some will be put off by their reliance on big dumb hooks and simple melodies, but if you give them a chance they can be incredibly fun and offer much to discover.

My list includes songs from only the first four albums and the "Firestorm" demo since I don't listen to the other albums anymore - they get too upbeat and obvious for my taste. Order optimized to create dramatic flow of listening and shit (or at least that was the intention). Have fun!

Die Apokalyptischen Reiter Youtube playlist

1. Erhelle meine Seele
2. Dragonheart
3. No Questions
4. Gone
5. The Almighty
6. The March Of Revenge
7. Iron Fist
8. Die Schönheit der Sklaverei
9. Human End (Part II)
10. Fatima
11. Instinct
12. Sometimes
13. Licked by the Tongues of Pride
14. Downfall
15. Warum
16. Revelation
17. Execute
18. Der Arme Kunrad
19. Geopfert
20. Wo die Geister ganz still sterben
21. Perfect Without Mercy
22. Unter der Asche
23. Dance With Me

Savatage. I know a Savatage list has been done already but it only included songs from Hall of the Mountain King onwards. I feel like early Savatage is often ignored and I fail to understand why. Yes, there was a time when they DIDN'T use a piano in every song. Don't get me wrong, I like their post-Mountain King material (some of it at least), but early Savatage had some awesome riffing and a unique chemistry between Criss and Jon than set them apart from the masses and made them instantly recognizable. So, this is my shot at a list of Savatage's best "heavier" stuff, so don't expect "Believe" or "Summer's Rain".

1. Sirens (Sirens, 83) I've heard the main riff to this song in countless rip-offs.
2. Holocaust (Sirens, 83) That riff!
3. Rage (Sirens, 83) Thundersteel before Thundersteel.
4. The Dungeons Are Calling (The Dungeons Are Calling EP, 84) An EP worth two full-lengths in terms of quality.
5. By the Grace of the Witch (The Dungeons Are Calling EP, 84) The song that got me into Savatage.
6. Visions (The Dungeons Are Calling EP, 84) Fast and Furious.
7. Power of the Night (Power of the Night, 85) Mediocre album, great song.
8. Necrophilia (Power of the Night, 85) Focus on the riffs, not the song title.
9. Beyond the Doors of the Dark (Hall of the Mountain King, 87) How do you go from Fight for the Rock to this?
10. Legions (Hall of the Mountain King, 87) One of the less known songs from this album. Sick bridge riff.
11. Hall of the Mountain King (Hall of the Mountain King, 87) Legendary song. As grandoise as its title.
12. Devastation (Hall of the Mountain King, 87) Great way to close a hell of an album.
13. Of Rage and War (Gutter Ballet, 89) Heaviest song on the album and possibly best.
14. Damien (Edge of Thorns, 93) Proves they could still write riffs in the 90s. They just chose not to.

GRAVE DIGGER

Like on my Rage list this will include the most important and representative songs of their career, NOT personal favorites.

01. Heavy Metal Breakdown
02. The Reaper
03. Circle Of Witches
04. The Grave Dancer
05. The Dark Of The Sun
06. Rebellion (The Clans Are Marching)
07. The Curse of Jacques
08. The Battle Of Bannockburn
09. Excalibur
10. Son Of Evil
11. Valhalla
12. Maidens Of War
13. The Last Supper
14. Ballad Of A Hangman
15. Highland Farewell
16. Home at Last

I've decided to make a whole different kind of compilation. I'm from Egypt and there's so much metal in my country and across Africa which unfortunately not so many folks in Europe or North America know about. I hope these two compilations help anyone who is interested in African metal but doesn't know where to look.

BEST OF AFRICAN HEAVY METAL
1. ANARCHY - The Battle Within
2. WYVERN - Kingdom Of Gold
3. ARCANA XXII - Ramses
4. SKINFLINT - Iron Pierced King
5. VALE OF AMONITION - When Philosophy Turns Dark
6. VOICE OF DESTRUCTION - Funeral
7. METAL ORIZON - I Cry
8. SUCK - War Pigs (Black Sabbath cover)
9. MYRATH - Braving The Seas

BEST OF AFRICAN EXTREME METAL
1. BLACKCROWNED - Inhale The Night
2. CROW BLACK SKY - Stars Of God
3. AZRAIL - Stepping Through The Nether Portal
4. AGRO - The Crimson Sea
5. SCARAB - Ankh
6. ABSENCE OF LIGHT - Samadhi
7. CRACKDUST - Mortal Decay
8. MIND ASSAULT - Metal Rites
9. SINDULGENCE - Swindle
10. WILDERNESSKING - Infinity (And the Dream Continues...)

Here's a band most Holy to this site, and easily my favourite band: Death
Considering this band probably has three era's to go for, I'll go from the early years and try and emphasize the raw, heavy, sinister vibe of some of the demos and first two Lps, and then the middle era, in which they were both progressive and filthy, and then into the more pure progressive metal era, focusing on the odd-timed, progressive riffing and etheral, atmospheric passages. Basicly I went to emphasize the changes in the band's sound, from raw death/thrash, to pure death metal to prog/death and then into power/prog (I'm going to include CONTROL DENIED in here as well) as well as the more influential, out-there, aspects of the albums. Hopefully my song choice will work in effect on everyone else, with the last track of each compilation being similar to the first track of the next compilation, but completely different from the end of said next compilation.

And Mantas Screamed... Bloody Gore!
1. Infernal Death
2. Power of Darkness
3. Reign of Terror
4. Scream Bloody Gore
5. Zombie Ritual
6. Evil Dead
7. Beyond the Unholy Grave
8. Leprosy
9. Left to Die
10. Pull the Plug
11. Open Casket
12. Choke on it

Altering the Future
1. Low Life
2. Altering the Future
3. Living Monstrosity
4. Killing Spree
5. Spiritual Healing
6. Within the mind
7. Flattening of Emotions
8. Secret Face
9. See Through Dreams
10. Lack of Comprehension
11. Vacant Planets
12. Cosmic Sea

Voice of the Soul
1. Overactive Imagination
2. In Human Form
3. Trapped in a corner
4. The Philosopher
5. Symbolic
6. Sacred Serenity
7. Misanthrope
8. Without Judgment
9. Crystal Mountain
10. Spirit Crusher
11. Story to Tell
12. To Forgive is to Suffer
13. Consumed (Control Denied)
14. Expect the Unexpected (Control Denied)
15. When the Link Becomes Missing (Control Denied)
16. Voice of the Soul

Here's the link to the Playlist Best of Death playlist

I thought I should give this a try with a two-band compilation.

STEEL MEETS STEEL: MANOWAR AND VIRGIN STEELE
1. Blood Of My Enemies
2. Call To Arms
3. Battle Hymn
4. Thor (The Powerhead)
5. Hail And Kill
6. Courage
7. Go Down Fighting
8. Noble Savage
9. Fight Tooth And Nail
10. Blood Of Vengeance/Invictus
11. Return Of The King
12. Emalaith

I guess I should to a Kalmah best of!

Kalmah is still one of my all time favorite bands, and together when CoB introduced me to extreme metal. The Black Waltz. They Will Return, Swamplord, and Swampsong are golden albums, and it was pretty damn hard to choose these 12 songs. No songs from 12 Gauge I'm afraid. it's still a pretty good album, but it hasn't really stood the test of time for me.

1. Hades http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2c3E3-LD74
2. Heritance of Berija http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iz560dJlgvI
3. They Will Return http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mz2irxsZKH0
4. Swamphell http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LF8isaNere8&hd=1
5. Heroes to Us http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H47-yxIGZUM
6. Moon of My Nights http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkwbftZ9hD0
7. Time Takes Us All http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frQ1PhMy_eQ
8. One from the Stands http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FO1pFUZ4_Yc
9. Dead Man's Shadow http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CryuhBXUDQk&hd=1
10. Cloned Insanity http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kncqWSEQJ8M&hd=1
11. Withering Away http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdkyvBjtTrA
12. The Black Waltz http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmZxKquN-Mk

Good one!
"The Black Waltz" would of course be the perfect closer.

It's a fine list for the most part, but I couldn't disagree more about "12 Gauge", especially in comparison with the mediocre and in my opinion weakest Kalmah album "For The Revolution". If you'd switch "Dead Man's Shadow" for "One Of Fail", I'd probably be okay with it, but right now this is a serious flaw for me.

Meh, after about a dozen spins 12 Gauge became a very average listening experience for me. It's a good album, but most songs are to straightforward and simple in my eyes. On the other hand, Revolution was a grower for me. I didn't really care for it at first, but after (again) a dozen spins it just clicked. I would say that 12 Gauge is their weakest album. Followed by Revolution.

I also disagree with that Kalmah list, but you have two very strong choices from Swamplord ("Hades" and "Heritance...") and Swampsong ("Heroes To Us" and "Moon Of My Nights"), so that's a really good start.

You disagree about the Revolutions/12 Gauge thing or about something else? To be honest, I'm not a 100% sure about this list either. It's just so damn hard to choose the 12 best songs from your favorite band.

The thing about this lists is to help people to get into the bands. So, the lists must NOT contain only your favorite tracks because that is personal taste. They should be including the songs regarded most by fans and their most representative (good singles, concert staples,etc).

Sorry but: Fuck that.

ok

Inhumanist, look what you have done!

Seriously, that would mean we'd have to create a poll for every single band in this thread. And even then we'd only get the opinion of a select group of people. It's better to just name your personal top 12. I mean, there is such a thing as good and bad songs, but mostly it's just subjective.

I mean, of course you can do it like that if you want. Nothing wrong with it and certainly appropriate for your goal. But my taste is still the best standard I have, and I see no reason to put it aside just to make the list more representative. Because I think it should be fun to make it and not just some kind of service to others. I also think that a more personal playlist is more interesting to listen to than a generic best of, because it's personal and that means there are usually good interesting reasons behind the choices the author made.

No offense meant.

HERETICS. Do not deviate from the OP!

It was all about personal faves! Hell, my list for Type O was super-personal for me!

Read the first post of the thread. You're simply wrong. Get back on track, fellows.

Oh my bad for not specifying. I disagree with some of your choices, primarily with your They Will Return choices. That's my favorite album by them so I'm particular with those choices especially. I actually think that after The Black Waltz the band went downhill a little (12 Gauge less so than FTR).

I see. You know, it could easily switch Swamphell with another song. The list wouldn't really change in quality for me. Maybe Hollow Heart or The Blind Leader or My Nation... but then I would feel bad for not having Swamphell in my top 12. Maybe I should kick Dead Man's Shadow out.... but then I wouldn't be doing Revolution any justice! Aargh... choices.

I'd love to do one for one of my all time favorite bands, OVERKILL!
I've put together a compilation of 17 songs, my favorite songs from each album plus FUCK YOU!

OVERKILL - 17 GEMS

1. Feel The Fire.
2. Powersurge.
3. Fuck You.
4. Nothing To Die For.
5. Horrorscope.
6. Weight Of The World.
7. They Eat Their Young.
8. Burn You Down/To Ashes.
9. The Rip N' Tear.
10. Stone Cold Jesus.
11. Can't Kill A Dead Man.
12. Struck Down.
13. A Pound Of Flesh.
14. What It Takes.
15. Hello From The Gutter/Necroshine (live)
16. Ironbound.
17. All Over But The Shouting.

IMMOLATION!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8j-pKG0qzic
Into Everlasting Fire - One of the best DM album openers EVER. Faster than most Immolation, but still showing some trademark tempo changes, in addition to fantastic drumming and pleasurably hateful lyrics.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtXPhDrVl-I
Burial Ground - One of their earliest songs, definitely one of the simplest but catchiest.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9g_ztD0KzI
I Feel Nothing - "Where is the Holy Spirit? I feel nothing..." Spiteful and angry, and in full mindfuck groove mode, Immolation delivers a genuinely frightening death track.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMoNPfT0cbM
Under the Supreme - Again, one of the speedier numbers, terrifying guitar/drums attack.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_Dko5GNevE
Failures for Gods - Unfortunately the Failures album was marred by terrible sound with overthick guitars, overloud vocals and underinflated basketball bass drums. However, it contained fine songs, such as the title track displaying a trademark dark groove and a million riffs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtfgHlCZ_do
No Jesus, No Beast - "Can you hear us? Death to Jesus!" another perfect display of true anger in death metal. Squeals, double bass drumming, no bastard son, no chosen one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayMaqXxbiPk
Furthest from the Truth - An indisputable death metal masterpiece from what may be considered their best album, one of Immolation's fastest and possibly the angriest-at-god song ever (take that Deicide!) If you have to pick one, this is it...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdiYXR4Tirs
Close to a World Below - Mega epic track, arguably one of the best ever penned by them. This 8-min monster is laden with evil riffing, pounding drums, hateful vocals, and a doomy demeanor amongst the carnage.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aL2B4nuth84
Unholy Cult - It's just bliss to have my top two Immolation epics back-to-back. This song always reminds me of Jehovah's Witnesses "Don't try to think - Don't try to live your own life - We have you for keeps -Our ways are sewn deep in your hearts and minds" Switching between death/doom and mega fast death is handled perfectly in this track.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuys2CehrW4
Bring them Down - just listen to that song end (which is actually half the song), Immolation excels at this kind of slow winding down into the depths of despair...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BxKiukV1U4
Dead to me - Unfortunately one of their weaker albums, Harnessing Ruin nevertheless had some decent songs, this resentful standout among them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SeIgI0iMOcg
A Token of Malice - While it seems Immolation has taken a more straightforward approach lately, they still crush with violent riffing and drums.

Hope this helps someone out!

I love this thread. I have decided to go with a best of for Insomnium.

Finnish melodic death metal band and one of my all time favorite bands.

I'am going to go with 2 songs from each album.

1. Ill Starred Son- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTpOy6ydf_0
2. In the Halls of Awaiting- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5Zc3IczoM4
3. Daughter of the Moon- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTUvYutNkFg
4. Song of the Forlorn Son- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYMUGLdz5GY
5. At the Gates of Sleep- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r62V4zK6rJo
6. In the Groves of Death- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7u-a-WVO6FM
7. Where the Last Wave Broke- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g63jgTRyDDY
8. Lay of the Autumn-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cKYFwSEaOQ
9. Through the Shadows- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZmK2ZWBxQc
10.Unsung- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGr308gk0KA

The hardest was picking songs between "In the Halls of Awaiting" and "Since the Day it All Came Down" since those are my favorite two Insomnium albums.

That list would be the most overrated Insomnium songs list.

I won't try making a top ten, as they don't really have that many outright excellent songs that I can think of.

1. Equivalence
2. Devoid of Caring
3. Into The Woods
4. The Killjoy
5. One For Sorrow
6. Death Walked The Earth
7. Last Statement
8. Weighed Down With Sorrow

Emphasis on Into The Woods and Weighed Down With Sorrow...

Don't mind me: I'm a bit of a lurker, and have been for years, but every once in a while I see a topic like this one that's simply too awesome to pass up. I'm very strongly inclined toward early '90s black metal, especially the Norwegian stuff, so I was gonna do Darkthrone, but I see that they've already been (ably) handled, as have been Emperor. I thought of doing Mayhem, but it would be basically be Live in Leipzig with a few from DMDS and maybe 'Ghoul' thrown in, and if I were to do one on Burzum, I would have to discount everything post-prison because I'm simply not a fan, so I went with Immortal.

Immortal - Best of...

1. Pure Holocaust
2. Tyrants
3. Withstand the Fall of Time
4. The Call of the Wintermoon
5. Where Dark and Light Don't Differ
6. Battlefields
7. As the Eternity Opens
8. Mountains of Might
9. One By One
10. Unholy Forces of Evil
11. Nebular Ravens Winter
12. Cursed Realm of the Winterdemons
13. Storming through Redclouds and Holocaust Winds
14. In My Kingdom Cold
15. Battles in the North

I think that would more or less fit on one disc. I should mention, too, that I had to leave off a couple songs that I really, really love, like 'Blashyrkh (Mighty Ravendark),' 'Blizzard Beasts,' and 'Pure Holocaust' in the interest of hypothetical space. Also, I tried to avoid putting the songs in chronological order and instead placed them according to the manner in which I thought that they would best flow, or perhaps like I might like to see the band play them in a live setting. Some of you will no doubt notice that there's nothing from Damned in Black present, and that's because I don't think any one song on that album beats any of those above.

For those bands that have been listed in this thread with whose discographies I'm well-acquainted, I think it'll be fun to actually dig out the tracks included in their respective Best ofs and listen to them as all of you have compiled them, if nothing else for the benefit of having the perspective of someone else on a band that's particularly dear to me.

Alrighty, I kind of passed over this thread at first, so if Running Wild has been done already, bite me. But I'm sure you all know of their compilation album: 20 Years in History and how it takes two songs from each album up to that point (plus two unreleased songs). Well being the slobbery fanboy that I am, I'd made a playlist about a year back that I had affectionately named 30-ish Alternate Years in History, wherein I chose two different songs from each album, plus two from their newer albums that had been released since the original compilation. And so, I shall now share with you, my alternate years. Again, these are mostly personal favorites so if you disagree, please feel free to suck one, but I did exclude some songs I liked for reasons I will explain below:

DISC 1
1. Victim of States Power
2. Adrian S.O.S.
3. Fight the Opression
4. Chains and Leather
5. Beggar's Night
6. Raw Ride
7. Warchild
8. Calico Jack
9. Marooned
10. The Battle of Waterloo
11. Straight to Hell
12. White Masque
13. Jennings' Revenge
14. Lead or Gold

DISC 2
1. The Phantom of Black Hand Hill
2. Powder and Iron
3. Masquerade
4. Rebel at Heart
5. Agents of Black
6. Adventure Galley
7. Timeriders
8. The Hussar
9. Pirate Song
10. The Ghost (T.E. Lawrence)
11. Libertalia
12. Dracula
13. I Am Who I Am


Now for some quick explanations:

1) It was not a mistake to only have one track from Rogues en Vogue. That album is truly wretched and the only album where I can genuinely say there's nothing I like about it. "Libertalia" is the goddamn bonus track, but it's the only track on the entire album worth a damn. And for the longest time it was their swansong, and I was okay with that, because it's a damn good song.

2) Masquerade was a tough album to choose for, because it's easily their most underrated and just chock full of great tracks. I could have put "Metalhead", "Underworld", "Men in Black", or "Wheel of Doom" in there and it'd've been perfectly satisfactory for me. However, my real favorite song (apart from "Black Soul" and "Lions of the Sea" (which are on the real comiplation) and "Masquerade", which I knew I was going to put on here regardless) is "Soleil Royale". The reason I chose "Rebel at Heart" instead is because it's a fan favorite with a big chorus that's a lot of fun, and most of my selections are of the faster, more speed metal oriented tracks across this entire thing. That, and because I knew I'd be selecting "Agents of Black" for The Rivalry and that song is very, very similar to "Soleil Royale", so I felt that justice was still served.

3) Yes, Shadowmaker is shit but I do genuinely like the two songs I selected, and in the interest of fairness I included them to show the entire scope of their career.

4) With Victory, I knew for sure I'd be using "The Hussar", but my second choice was a dead tie between "Timeriders" and "Fall of Dorkas". I literally flipped a coin to decide that one.

5) Same goes for the Pile of Skulls tracks. I knew I'd be using "Jennings' Revenge" (WHOA OH OH OH OH!) because goddamn, but after that it was between "Fistful of Dynamite" and "Lead or Gold". This time it was either choose one of their more hard rock anthems (which I realize I underrepresented here (but really, "Uaschitschun" ain't got shit on "Warchild")) or a really catchy singalong fan favorite. It came down to which one I just personally liked more as opposed to which one would give variety, so "Lead or Gold" wound up winning that round.

6) With The Brotherhood, this is another one where I chose to exclude a song I really enjoyed, this time to break the monotony a bit. "Siberian Winter" is a really awesome track on that record, but it's a six and a half minute long instrumental, with only three real sections, and the first and last of those are the same part. Since the other track I really like on that album is "The Ghost", which is over ten minutes long, I decided to choose the shorter, catchier, and frankly fan favorite "Pirate Song" instead. It's a goofy self parody but it does pretty much perfectly capture what Running Wild stood for at that time.


And I think that's it, if I get the itch, I'll try to do a legit, one disc "best of" of just their 13-14 best tracks, which would be fucking torture for me, but I'll probably do it later anyway.

BastardHead, thank you for that great list!
Great choices and "Lead Or Gold" is an all time fave of mine from "Pile Of Skulls"!

I'll do my version of a Type O Negative Best of compilation, since they are my favorite band forever eva.

1. "Sucker" - Cause gotta have a joke first song. A must gimmick.
2. "White Slavery" - Because this song is their second best song and sums up what they do better than any band in the world: ultra dark gloomy miserable dirge. It's also one of the best openings to an album I've ever heard.
3. "Christian Woman" - While I think "White Slavery" sums up what they do best, "Christian Woman" is probably their most definitive and recognizable song (other than Black No. 1, but this song is a lot better I think).
4. "Love You to Death" - Their most stunning song on a frequent topic they sing about: love. That piano melody is one for the ages.
5. "Wolf Moon" - I chose this song to include for two reasons: the bass melody is so amazing and this song also possesses one of Peter Steele's finest moments vocally. His versatility really shows on this song.
6. "Anesthesia" - This song could make the Best Of simply for the first couple lines of lyrics. So acutely dark and depressing, yet so real. Might be my favorite Peter Steele lines ever. Of course, the surrounding instrumentation is also stunning.
7. "The Profits of Doom" - When Peter Steele screams "My soul's on fire" towards the end of this song, it gives me goosebumps. So powerful. This song really takes you on a journey from Armageddon to personal reflection.
8. "These Three Things" - Possibly their best song outside of the album World Coming Down. Peter Steele takes us on another epic journey through his personal thoughts and views on very serious topics.
9. "Everyone I Love Is Dead" - This is a top 5 Type O Negative song and no Best Of would be complete without it. The lyrics are both depressing as hell and subtly darkly humorous, something only Peter Steele seems to be able to capture.
10. "Who Will Save the Sane?" - One of the most underrated Type O Negative songs I think. The lyrics are superb and creepy, really kind of captures someone that is going crazy or is crazy. I love when Peter Steele recites pi out to 9 decimal places as a lyric line, so Peter and so classic.
11. "Everything Dies" - Powerful, if not, obvious message. Pete was just trying to remind us all of this. We like to ignore it as best we can.
12. "Creepy Green Light" - I think this is the most underrated song ever by Type O Negative. That keyboard lead toward the beginning of the song is painfully beautiful, absolutely brilliant. And the instrumental towards the middle is the best one Type O Negative ever did. It interestingly reminds me a bit of Monotheist at times.
13. "World Coming Down" - The greatest song I've ever heard. My opinion of this song (and album) has only increased since I first heard it three years ago. I listen to it more than ever. This will happen to everyone at some point. Appropriately I've saved it for last and #13 on the album.


I've linked my favorite live renditions for some of the songs. The "World Coming Down" live rendition is the best performance I've ever seen by the band. The ending is magical and reminds me a lot of another New York City band from a different genre.

My own personal Running Wild best of. Pretending that this is 1994 I might just go for a sort of "first ten years" comp here (that being 1984-1994). Rather than chronological order I might go for a flow that's more like a live show, since that's how usually a more interesting way to frame a best of. Anyway, here's Powder & Satan: Ten Black Years of Running Wild (long-winded title!).

Disc 1:

1. Riding the Storm
2. Branded & Exiled
3. Raise your Fist
4. Black Demon
5. Port Royal
6. Marooned
7. Bad to the Bone
8. Powder & Iron
9. Little Big Horn
10. Jennings' Revenge
11. Treasure Island.

Disc 2:

1. Blazon Stone
2. The Privateer
3. Victim of States Power
4. Black Hand Inn
5. Uaschitschun
6. Wild Animal
7. Bloody Red Rose
8. Mordor
9. Pile of Skulls
10. Prisoner of Our Time
11. The Battle of Waterloo

First of all, it kinda had to be a double disc, after all, with a band with so many awesome opening tracks I kinda had to make something to allow both 'Riding the Storm' and 'Blazon Stone' to be openers. Additionally, both 'Treasure Island' and 'The Battle of Waterloo' had to be closers, so a double disc it is.

I haven't put on much from Under Jolly Rodger here, simply because I only listen to 'Raise Your Fist' with any regularity. That's not I say I dislike the album (far from it!), but I just don't feel like much of it belongs on this comp. On the other hand, it was very easy to choose songs from Branded & Exiled despite it being probably the weakest album from this era. The title track and 'Mordor' are such obvious classics that it made this very easy. For certain pairings of tracks, I wanted to keep the flow of the album. For instance, 'Jennings' Revenge' and 'Treasure Island' belong together, as do 'Marooned' and 'Bad to the Bone' (I actually could've done a three-way-Death or Glory segment with 'Tortuga Bay' in there, too, but I don't want to rely on the albums too heavily). Obviously, this comp is much better than BastardHead's because I don't include any of the drum machine crap.

Additionally, my comp would come with an extensive booklet with liner notes from Rolf, Jens Becker, Majk Moti, Axel Morgan, The Preacher, Jorg Michael and maybe a few other ex-members, just to make things interesting.

While any Running Wild comp without "Under Jolly Roger" feels somewhat incomplete, I agree that they have many better songs, most of which are represented here. I maintain that "Uaschitschun" is bunk and there are better Blazon Stone tracks than "Bloody Red Rose", and every compilation of any band ever could always use more songs from Gates to Purgatory, but otherwise that's a setlist I'd definitely dig

Can we all agree that the best Running Wild compilation would just be a box of all their non-Victory, non-Rogues, and non-Shadowmaker albums?

Switch out Victory with The Rivalry and I'd agree completely.

Maybe I'm weird but I've never liked the song 'Under Jolly Roger' all that much. It's good, sure, but I could say that about nigh-on any song from their 1984 to 1984 period. 'Uaschitschun' is a nice combination of their mid-tempo stomping side and probably one of the most commercial songs they ever did... it's a unique one, I reckon and gives a good flavour of the Port Royal record. Of course, I could have put more Gates... songs on there; it's definitely one of their best records (it's in the top two, probably), but a good compilation should always give a flavour of the albums it represents without giving too much away. Of course, 'Soldiers of Hell', 'Preacher', 'Diabolic Force' and, let's face it, all the songs on Gates of Purgatory are great but you can't put too many on a "best of" lest it ruin some of the surprise of getting the album itself. Also, 'Bloody Red Rose' is a red hot RW track... blazing riffs and cool lyrics to boot!

If I were to put on some post-Black Hand Inn tracks I'd probably include these:
'Masquerade', 'Lions of the Sea', 'Men in Black', 'Rebel at Heart', 'The Rivalry', 'Kiss of Death', 'Return of the Dragon', 'The Ballad of William Kidd', 'Victory', 'The Tsar' and 'The Brotherhood'. But I just like the idea of a "first ten years" comp better, to be honest.

@emperorjvl
I'm very glad you acknowledged A Token of Malice. It's a killer song. Majesy and Decay gets a lot more shit than it deserves.

Interesting. Though your definition of high ranking isn't the same as mine. For instance, I thought Blood Vaults II was the weakest song on FSoaSE and Unlock the Shrine is just lacking in good material until the second half of the album, choosing instead to waste time with interludes. Also, I wouldn't put "I Raised This Stone..." without "Alu" at the end; without it, the song just ends abruptly and not even on a best note to end it on.

Here's how I would have done it:
1. I Raised This Stone As A Ghastly Memorial/Alu - the "Alu" piece needs to be attached immediately to the end of this song since the "I Raised This Stone..." plays right into it
2. Soliloquy Of The Stigmatised Shepherd - awesome song, it can stay
3. Summer Decapitation Ritual - best song on the debut I say
4. Blood Vaults (I: Thy Virginal Malodour) - moves a little faster than "Soil..." but still maintains that vast dark world atmosphere of the Rain Upon the Impure album overall
5. God's Ensanguined Bestiaries - a faster song on FSoaSE that's more interesting than Blood Vaults II
6. "The Mine/White Abyss" - to even out the two songs per album here, here's the closer to Unlock the Shrine. "White Abyss" is tacked onto the end for the same reason "Alu" was above.

Interesting list! I approve wholeheartedly, and just want to confirm that 'Battlefields' most certainly belongs there - that song slays so much.

I understand what you say about 'Damned in Black' but, to be honest, I would have put 'Triumph' in there somewhere just to include every album.

Hm, I always want to hear In Our Mystic Visions Blest when I think of Immortal. Also, Damned is probably my favorite Immortal album. Athow's "short angry brother" as I once read in a review.

Great list.

I've been meaning to do my own TON list, but just haven't gotten around to it. Now, I'm not sure I need to as it would be almost the same as yours (even your favorite version of "World Coming Down") I might put 'Gravity' in there somewhere, but it would be tough to leave any of those out. You're also one of the only other people that I've seen "Who will Save the Sane?" on their list, which I completely concur with.

Cheers!