The 3rd And The Mortal (female-fronted avant-garde metal)

Any fans of the Norwegian avant-garde band The 3rd And The Mortal?  I've been a fan of theirs for a long time and really appreciate how each album is quite different from the last.  Folks here might recognize the singer from [their best, IMO] two albums who did guest vocals on Antestor's album The Forsaken.  Anyways, here's a rundown of their four full-lengths:

Tears laid in earth.  This is their most doomy (and metal) album, before they got very experimental.


Painting on glass.  This is my favorite album of theirs.  They're getting pretty experimental but the album is just so cohesive and beautiful.


In this room.  This album is quite disjointed on the first half but finds its way by the end IMO.  Many fans consider this their best album and I can see why because it is very good, I just prefer Painting on glass a bit more.  It has some of their most abrasive songs, but also some of my favorites of theirs.  To give you an idea:



Memoirs.  I think this album was when the band was starting to dissolve and many of the musicians on it were guest musicians (including the female vocalist).  It's got some good tracks on it but also some of their weakest.  For more hardcore fans of the band, though it's not a bad album either per-se.

I only know the 1st and 3rd albums. I used to own In This Room, but I never loved it. I've never bothered with buying the 1st, despite being a solid doom album.

Norway has birthed some of the most interesting and exciting albums in metal.

^Right on.  I highly recommend giving their second album a chance.  I didn't mention earlier, but their collection "EP's And Rarities" is definitely worth having too; it fills in some of the gaps between albums and you can really see the evolution in sound.

I totally agree about Norway btw.