Music Radar has posted their guitarist's guide to black metal. Following is an excerpt from the rundown.

Emperor Anthems To The Welkin At Dusk (1997)

Music Radar: "By the late '90s, black metal was acquiring a surprising air of respectability, and Emperor’s sophomore release did much to legitimise the genre for an audience still focused on the scene’s unseemly origins. 

There’s a sense of real scale here, from the huge production sound and full-bodied arrangements to the hints of symphonic and progressive rock in 'Ye Entrancemperium' and 'Thus Spake The Nightspirit' which, despite the signature torrent of blast beats and dense, tremolo- picked riffs, utilise more hooks, harmonies and clean vocals than ever before. Synthesizer and strings add some gothic texture to tracks like 'Ensorcelled By Khaos' and bolster the scorching instrumental 'The Wanderer' without being overblown."

Darkthrone - A Blaze In The Northern Sky (1992)

Music Radar: "Darkthrone’s first album of the black stuff wholly embraces the minimalism of Norway’s underground scene, and while it retains elements of death metal, there’s a coarseness to the instrumentation and lo-fi production that hints at 80s crust punk and hardcore. The sludgy, drawling riffs of 'Kathaarian Life Code' and 'Paragon Belial' recall the sound of Celtic Frost, but a stylistic shift at the album’s halfway mark drops it into far darker territory, as blast beats and breakneck gallops dominate the title track and 'The Pagan Winter'."

Check out the complete list here.