BORKNAGAR Albums RANKED Best To WORST

[@MetalTrenches]

MORE Black Metal Rankings: kzbin.info/aero/PLGt4fzX5jyucm0eZGjnFuwM0NUV8Vz2Sd&si=45gE4Y2IfEbpuuHO

[@Gerd0]

I was blown away by Fall. Absolutely breathtaking stuff.

[@YONATOOTH]

As a person who have never heard about this band, I really like these kind of videoes to get an introduction to them 🤘

[@MetalTrenches]

Enjoy!

[@meiko_kaji]

Me, too.

[@RiffRiotMetalBlog]

I REALLY liked Fall. Gorgeous composition with pristine production. The balance between dark and lighter sections throughout the album is highly engaging. Talking about recent albums, to me this was like a mix of Traverse the Bealach from Sgáile and Heimdal from Enslaved. This is a must-listen for the ones who are not still into Viking Metal and want to dig in it further in an accessible way. Great video by the way.

[@bigfacetv3633]

I’m not really a black metal fan as a whole, but I love Borknagar! Borknagar and Enslaved are my favorites!

[@connieellerbe-maycock7115]

I have all their albums. Thanks for covering them.

[@Ants_of_the_sky282]

I totally agree on Fall being on Perfection. It is so beautiful. Am currently debating between Ihsahn ‘s new album and Borknagar new album for best of the month

[@VIGLounge]

I liked The Archaic Course after I heard "Universal" on a website called Black Metal Radio back in the day. I fell off until I heard Urd, and that album really brought me back. I've loved everything since, and I'm genuinely excited to hear what Fall has to offer!

[@nickcovington8005]

Shout out to Black Metal Radio. Would browse that for HOURS.

[@EmberMcLain87]

never really listened to the band much, but after hearing Nordic Anthem i was hooked, and can't wait to listen to the album.

[@joeyuzwa891]

Keep in mind I don’t think they’ve ever missed and love all their albums. Everything in C is at least an 8/10, everything in A and S are 10/10. One of my all time favorite bands S: Borknagar, Olden Domain, Archaic Course, URD A: Empiricism, Quintessence, Winter Thrice B: Origin, Epic C: True North, Universal D: F:

[@doomguyrox1156]

Wasn’t expecting you to post this so soon lol. Can’t wait to hear those S tiers. True North I’ve been recommended a ton of times, but just haven’t listened to it yet so might do that tonight or tomorrow finally.

[@br1878]

Really happy to see this video. Borknagar deserves more exposure. I think I mostly agree with your strong beginning-lull-strong 2010s comeback take.

[@alecdawg11]

I just stumbled upon Borknagar's singles from "Fall" last night, and I was blown away. I always hear them compared to Enslaved, and I've checked out Enslaved plenty of times, but something about Enslaved didn't grab me (I know, they're great and beloved - I just haven't fully delved into them yet). But Borknagar grabbed me right off the bat. I'm gonna go obsess over them now.

[@jaylee8542]

I could listen to only Borknagar, and Opeth the rest of my life and be completely satisfied.

[@MetalPhantomX]

You just got a new subscriber in me! Ty for the content

[@MetalTrenches]

Welcome

[@MetalPhantomX]

Ty mr

[@Skycladatdusk78]

I love their new album, an early highlight of 2024. Their 3 newest albums are actually my favorites, I'd put Winter Thrice, True North and Fall in perfection. Great catalogue all around just like Enslaved.

[@Gjallar]

Nice video, this is my ranking: A: The Olden Domain, The Archaic Course, True North B: Winter Thrice, Urd C: Quintessence, Empiricism D: Origin, Epic E: Universal Haven't heard Fall enough yet to know where to put it. At the moment, it's somewhere in the B/C-section. Also - this video made me a new subscriber :)

[@user-hl1zc5qk4y]

I would advise the author to revisit Universal, definitely deserves a better rating. From a musicians standpoint, I would rate their albums from oldest to newest, not often a band grows with every new album without producing a dud. I think it’s also safe to say they are no longer a traditional black metal band, they are just Borknagar. Legends!

[@jumbled42]

As a big fan of Enslaved I've always wanted to get into this band, this is it boys I'm going in.

[@steveratcliffe2181]

Me too. Enslaved has opened the door into black metal for me.

[@TheJonathanDale]

They are very similar. Enslaved is maybe a bit more heavy and experimental. Borknagar is more beautiful and perfect in its blending of black metal and progressive. Both amazing bands.

[@majtt0]

my girlfriends father is the guitarist that joined borknagar in 2019 so its fun to see you rank these albums so highly

[@NeObliv]

Fall is an instant favorite for me! 🙌

[@goatmoonwarmaster4641]

Epic for me is their best album

[@grimsdungeonofcomics]

Same, I wore it out. Just an incredible disc at the time.

[@smote_his_ruin]

Not sure why all the hate and low ranking. Burned that disc out myself, real bad. I suppose Epic was their new album after I had just gotten into them with Q and Empiricism, so it was an exciting time.

[@chaosmonger3642]

Same for me.

[@chadboutilier2649]

If it’s even close to being ‘True North’ good I can’t wait to pick this album up. For you to place it above True North in the list, that’s great to hear!

[@MetalTrenches]

🤘🏻

[@blackwaterrust476]

S: Olden Domain, True North, Urd A: Winter Thrice, Empiricism, Quintessence B: Borknagar, Archaic Course C: Origin D: Universal, Epic Can’t wait for the new one

[@tonyziporlin4240]

That's pretty much how I would have ranked them aside from The Archaic Course which is my favorite.

[@samuelblinne6040]

Love your channel

[@1972Diogenes]

This was easily one of my most anticipated albums of this year. Their two previous outings were indeed very high in quality. I was already excited to hear the first track they released . Now after an excellent review, I know I definitely got to get my hands on this one.

[@samuelblinne6040]

Keep up the good work

[@TheRealJoeNathan]

I'm not a huge Borknagar fan, but my top three albums are The Archaic Course, Winter Thrice, and True North; and my top three songs are The Black Token, Up North, and Winter Thrice, the latter feels like their signature song as it has all four vocalists from throughout their career which is pretty neat. I'll have to give Fall a listen; the rest of their discography too. I got most of their albums for dirt cheap a few years ago, but a lot of them didn't click with me, probably because I only gave some a listen or two. The only one I'm truly familiar with is True North, which I listened to a lot in my senior year. I'd probably like them a lot more now, as I've since discovered Enslaved who I really enjoy. I'm even working on my first album which also has a prog and black metal vibe (as well as death metal). I think the band is up my alley, I just haven't given them a proper listen, but now's as good a time as any to check them out.

[@Robertowarren]

So glad to see this vid,

[@Eluarelon]

to put the words "Borknagar" and "worst" in the same sentence should be legally prohibited. Apart from that, I pretty much agree with that ranking.

[@trs5127]

True North really is absolutely gorgeous art, I'd say. I love that album. Thunderous, Wild Father's Heart, Up North, The Fire that Burns, Voices, just so many wonderful tracks. I'm so gonna eat up the new album. I heard the single Moon and it blew my socks off so I waited for the whole album to come out before I listen to anything else. I've not been listening to much (basically any tbh) music lately and there's probably no better album than this one to get back into it.

[@deadliestassassin3092]

Wait a minute, Oystein G Brun was never in Gorgoroth. I think you meant Infernus and Grim. Quintessence is pure perfection. Its my favorite Borknagar album. Empiricism that low wtf? Vintersorg was great on that album. Vortex had nothing to do with that album by the way. Vintersorg joined right after he made his best solo album Cosmic Genesis.

[@OliverWalker1978]

The Archaic Course needs to move out of "great" into "fantastic". Otherwise, a neat ranking. 🔥🍀

[@LokiTricksterG]

I was really into them in during the Garm and ICS Vortex eras, but fell off after Vintersorg took over vocal duties. I should probably give them another shot.

[@samuelblinne6040]

Great list

[@demonovationable]

Grim and Infernus played drums and bass respectively on the S/T and they were in Gorgoroth not Oystein. Vortex was not on Empiricism at all. It hurts me more than you know to see Empiricism ranked so low 😢Origin is all original songs except for Oceans Rise, so not sure its fair to say the songs were "collected from their career". Sorry to be so picky on this one but Borknagar is one of my favorite bands.

[@smote_his_ruin]

Empiricism and Epic rule. He's way off on those. True North and Fall are not perfection either.

[@demonovationable]

_ruin I actually do like Fall better than True North. There's harsh vocals on 5 out of the 8 songs which I feel like is more than the last two albums. I was pleasantly surprised to hear that. Winter Thrice and True North both felt very mild compared to their older albums and Fall was more of a return to form to my ears.

[@smote_his_ruin]

Just from the first few listens it seems Fall is a bit more consistent. True North while the first 3 songs absolutely rule it kind of meanders after that. Voices and Lights are pretty good Lazare songs, but I feel like Wild Lingers and Nordic Anthem are better.

[@mindful2864]

Borknagar is a very good and underrated progressive black metal band. Enslaved are the goated band when it comes to black prog, but Borknagar deserves a lot of recognition too. Here's how I'd rank their albums and I think they're all great: S - The Olden Domain, Epic, Urd, Winter Thrice A - The Archaic Course, Quintessence, Origin, Fall B - Self-titled, Empiricism, Universal, True North

[@samuelblinne6040]

Awesome

[@ScientismHeretic]

In my opinion, the Quintessence/Empiricism/Epic era of Borknagars discography is really underatted. My favourite album of Borknagar is definitely the Olden Domain. The first two albums are kino, but the third album 'Archaic Course', while still great, is my least favourite of the early Borknagar albums. However, the band bounced back with Quintessence and Empiricism.

[@jordanstuck747]

Fun Fact: Impiricism was the first album I ever heard of theirs and I never checked out another afterwards but I'll probably remedy that now

[@ihateeveryone684]

I am honestly having a hard time getting through this new album, at this point Winter Thrice is the last "decent" album. Too much clean singing and to god damn happy sounding.

[@OmegaSwitch]

General consensus is that the debut is the album that is generally considered the classic of their discography- with The Olden Domain coming close. For evidence check the RYM charts- the two albums used to be almost evenly matched, but the debut has seemed to rise significantly over Olden in recent times. I am very biased towards the debut admittedly- I would almost put it up there with Bergtatt, for the albums that tried to capture Bergtatt's atmosphere I feel the debut is one of the strongest out there, which is not surprising given Garm's involvement.

[@MrAaronChatfield]

Ive always wanted to like Borknagar... but they always end up being a bit flat and meandering. How about doing a ranking for Old Man's Child?

[@alphared4655]

Krys Rygg era was amazing. But I am a huge Krys Rygg fan in general.

[@griefforest1870]

I also think the new one is better than true north. Actually basically agree with your ranking. The last three have been stellar. They might not have such a strong discography as Enslaved but still... both bands are unique and absolutely masterful. Enslaved is a bit of the Rush BM band in as really pushing boundaries whereas Borknagar always gave me a Camel vibe with just how harmonious they sound. Actually heard about a couple extreme metal fans who were appalled and disgusted when they heard their clean singing but I guess you can't please everyone hehe

[@MetalTrenches]

🤘🏻

[@daveleblanc3558]

Oystein never been in Gorgoroth. It's Infernus, playing bass on the 1st album, and Grim on the drums.

[@MrOmac09]

12. Origin 11. Universal 10. The Archaic Course 9. Quintessence 8. Epic 7. True North 6. Self Titled 5. Fall 4. Urd 3. Winter Thrice 2. Empiricism 1. The Olden Domain

[@HellChicken18]

Their best album since The Archaic Course

[@8523wsxc]

Interesting. I came across them the first time in their meh phase and was kinda surprised when I first heard Winter Thrice and found out they are actually a good band.

[@lorcandruid]

Really interesting analysis but for me coming later to BORKNAGAR (from Universal onwards) I would disagree in a few areas. I love Universal and for me David Kincaid's drumwork here is amazing and the best alongside Bard's drumming on Winter Thrice. Urd is more consistent and better than Universal and Winter Thrice tops that again (for me Winter Thrice is perfection). However, I found True North disappointing and rather bland. It seemed too introspective and lacked enough metal elements and didn't gel with me. The last track on the album "Voices" is one I always skip. Fall though IS amazing and will be purchased imminently :)

[@MetalPhantomX]

I am more of a progressive metal head, so tbh the early black metal is pure noise to me and a bit harsh on my ears. But this band absolutely slaps! For me, True North and Fall are my 2 favorites (in that order)

[@MetalTrenches]

Hope you’re on that Enslaved bandwagon too

[@MetalPhantomX]

@@MetalTrenches you know it!

[@MetalPhantomX]

My favorite album from them is below the lights

[@ScientismHeretic]

I can't listen to 'pure' black metal anymore. It doesn't do anything for me these days. I loved it when I was young. If I am going to listen to black metal or death metal, it has to be either symphonic, folk, progressive, or melodic for me to be interested otherwise its just becomes boring really quickly. Which is why I love Borknagar. They are aggressive, but their music is really dynamic and diverse as well.

[@samuelblinne6040]

Wow

[@smote_his_ruin]

Its hard to rank this band because they are so consistent. PERFECTION: Olden Domain, Urd, Archaic Course. FANTASTIC: Quintessense, Empiricism, Epic. GREAT: True North. GOOD: Winter Thrice. OKAY: Universal, Origins, Borknagar. Need to spend more time with Fall, but it seems like it'd be right next to True North.

[@vishalnagaraj5343]

It is good! But I feel like the production made the heavier parts less heavy. Also stars ablaze is kinda mid, everything else is great! 8/10

[@jamesriley72281]

Such an underrated band

[@grimsdungeonofcomics]

"can we really call them black metal though?" I mean, there's enough to pass, I think. The latter albums definitely transcend black metal. IIRC, it was either Mardraum or Monumension that put me to sleep. I also have to strongly disagree about the more progressive albums. Those were my first experience with the band as well as this kind of music in general (which weren't as easy to come by as they are now) and I'd never heard anything like it. I really liked Universal, same with Epic. I think I wore Epic out.

[@MetalTrenches]

They are definitely black metal. They came out of the original scene in Norway, and they still use the same foundation of elements even if they’ve added prog to the mix. Same with Enslaved.

[@grimsdungeonofcomics]

@@MetalTrenches They're almost a parallel of Enslaved tbh. They both started out making pure black metal discs and one leaned more into progressive rock, while the other leaned into folk. But both have of course had their dealings with folk and progressive rock.

[@emmanuelolivera6526]

Maybe im dumb and whatnot but i feel like Borknagar shared some scene with Enslaved and at some points had a similar sound and since Borknagar was an alternative to Enslaved and he is an Ensalved fan he is a bit way to harsh towards Borknagar records. I think they dont have a bad album which he necessarily didnt say but, once again, I think hes views are a bit negatively biased.

[@MetalTrenches]

I feel like sometimes when people disagree on something this subjective, there is this weird tendency to try to rationalize away why the other person is somehow in the wrong. Don’t do that. Enslaved fan or not, I listen to hundreds of albums a year at this point. I am allowed to say that I felt the songwriting on some of these is just weaker or not to my taste. We can disagree without it having to be a thing.

[@emmanuelolivera6526]

@@MetalTrenches man I love your work, dont think I dont. No one is trying to take away your right to express your opinion. Especially in your own space. If I look to your videos is because I like your takes or im interested in them. On this particular one, as you say, the topic is very subjective so Im not trying to rationalize why "somebody would be in the wrong"when it would be impossible to say "this is the wrong or the right opinion". Usually the comment section is for people to say "I like this take" or "I dont" or "this is what I would change" so dont take this criticism to a take as judging the validity of your right to your opinion.

[@desperanto.]

Vortex's vocals are a highlight on Empiricism? ... uhm

[@dimitrilemieux4142]

He also mentions that Brun played in Gorgoroth lol

[@samuelmagnum6047]

The only recoding that should be "ok" is Origin. Not having Winter Thrice at perfection is criminal. Epic deserves are far greater rating. Comparing Borknagar to Enslaved as a way to justify rankings is a disservice to both bands.

[@MetalTrenches]

It’s not that deep, my dude. We like what we like.

[@filthgrinder666]

Your channel, your opinions so fair, but I don't agree with a single one of your placements. Perfection - Winter Thrice. Empiricism. Urd. Fantastic - Epic. Fall. Origin. Great- Quintessence. The Archaic Course. The Olden Domain. True North. Good - Borknagar Okay - Universal

[@eventid22]

The cover of "Fall" was done by some jewisher from israel. 😂😂 That's a real fall !