The 13 Best Debut Albums by Progressive Black Metal Bands (Ranked)

Here are the 13 best debut albums by progressive black metal bands (ranked)!

It might seem like black metal and progressive metal go together like oil and water, but over the past 30 years, artists such as Negură Bunget, Emperor, Krallice, Peccatum, Enslaved and Borknagar have shown that the two styles can be synthesized quite well. Granted, not all of them started out “prog,” but in their own ways, they’ve solidified their places within the field by now.

Some of them even became the greatest progressive black metal bands of all time and/or created the subgenre’s greatest records. What’s more, a handful of them arrived ready to impress with fantastic first LPs that foreshadowed most — if not all — of their future excellence.

READ MORE: 11 Bands Who Started Out as Black Metal But Aren’t Anymore

Which debut albums truly stand the test of time is the real question here, though, and luckily, we think we’ve compiled an expansive and representative list of them below.

Expectedly, some of them venture into other areas — such as folk metal, avant-garde metal and symphonic metal — as they maintain the advanced arrangements of prog and the atmospheric shrillness of black metal. Regardless, it’d be foolish not to include them here.

So, get ready for some sophisticatedly somber testaments to the personal, the fantastical and the natural as we rank the 13 best debut albums by progressive black metal bands!