As an idea for a new column on The Blog of Doom, I thought it would be fun to ask some metal musicians to choose their ultimate 8-10 song playlist and provide a bit of commentary on each choice. First up is Doc, the drummer for Swedish doomsters Below, who just released their debut album Across The Dark River in April. Unsurpisingly, Doc’s list is heavy on Swedish bands and Mercyful Fate, a combination from which Below clearly get their sound. He does have a couple of curveballs in there, though.
 “Abigail” – King Diamond (Abigail, 1987) “Absolutely amazing musicianship, riffs that blow you away and a haunting melody and atmosphere that make the boogeyman hide in the closet.” |  “Witches’ Dance” – Mercyful Fate (Time, 1994) “The drumming on this song is amazing! It makes the easy parts sound interesting and the hard parts sound so easy. With tha,t add some great riffs and the voice of the "King" and you get pure gold!” |
 “Samarithan” – Candlemass (Nightfall, 1987) “Perhaps one of the most melodic Doom songs of all time. Such excellent storytelling and a heaviness to it that is just extreme.” |  “The River Dragon Has Come” – Nevermore (Dead Heart in a Dead World, 2000) “How can you go wrong with Warrel Dane´s voice, along with the super heavy rhythmic riffs and the absolute pain in the melodies? Just excellent.” |
 “Blackwater Park” – Opeth (Blackwater Park, 2001) “This song has everything: really heavy riffs, dark passages, emotional dynamic parts, tricky technical parts. It´s like a rollercoaster through metal.” |  “Cold” – At The Gates (Slaughter of the Soul, 1995) “You can pick any song off of this album, but the one that gives "Cold" the vote from me is the solo…Andy, you crazy man!” |
 “Becoming” – Pantera (Far Beyond Driven, 1994) “Vincent Paul Abbott and Dimebag Darrell Abbott, enough said? The groove to this song is one of the best ever. I still get blown away every time I hear it.” |  “Revolution Calling” – Queensrÿche (Operation: Mindcrime, 1988) “This song has got some lyrical perfection. The voice of Geoff Tate suits the great riffs and melodies in a great way and, in my opinion, the extremely underrated Scott Rockenfield is excellent.” |
 “Warpath” – Hypocrisy (Virus, 2005) “Pure adrenaline! The aggression and frenzy of this song is just insane. And the scream in the beginning of the song is perfect.” |  “Orgasm Through Torture” – Cannibal Corpse (Vile, 1996) “No playlist would be complete without a song about getting your penis ripped off and dipped in acid. I still remember the look on the teacher’s face in 8th grade when I entered the classroom in a Vile t-shirt, haha.” |
 Honorable mention: “Trapped Under Ground” – Below (Across The Dark River, 2014) “It might be our own music, but I still love the feeling you get when the main riff starts after the intro!” |
Editor’s Notes: I think we can all agree that Doc knocked this idea out of the park and I hope you readers enjoyed this list as much as I did. I’m going to try to make this a regular column here on The Blog of Doom. I’m interested in reader submissions as well as those from artists. Doom on. -JO
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