Darkthrone Albums (16)
'Dark Thrones & Black Flags'
Release Date 10/28/2008
Tracks 10
Label Peaceville
See Album Tracklist and Review
'The Cult Is Alive'
Release Date 3/14/2006
Tracks 10
Label Peaceville
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
At a time when most of the first wave of Norwegian black metal bands are long gone, Darkthrone has become the senior figures of this particular subgenre almost by default; they're like the Rolling Stones of death metal. And much like the Rolling Stones around the time of Some Girls and Emotional Rescue, Darkthrone now seems to be caught between staying true to their original sound and adapting to the commercial marketplace. The album's first single, "Too Old, Too Cold" is easily the most immediately accessible song the band has ever done, sounding more like American hardcore punks the Misfits than anyone else, and elsewhere "Graveyard Slut" and "Whiskey Funeral" add to the album's punky feel. Longtime fans might grouse about the somewhat diluted sound of the album, but the shift in emphasis is both subtle and effective. Rather than simply going through the black metal motions, The Cult Is Alive is one of Darkthrone's most satisfying recent albums. ~ Stewart Mason, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
If Darkthrone's modus operandi has always been one of appreciating the simple things about black metal -- growling voices, big riffs and a perfectly impenetrable logo unless you squint -- there's something to be said about their dedication over the years, which eventually enabled them to aim for a recording quality rather better than on their earliest releases. By the time of Ravishing Grimness, the paper-thin shrieks and feedback of the days of Transilvanian Hunger had long been beefed out some, so hearing the near-lushness (to a degree) of opening track "Lifeless," especially the majestic mid-song break, was more a continuation than a shocking change. Still, the drums are clearly secondary in the mix, but such is life -- and the massive bell sounds on the title track do help make up for it. Brief at just over half-an-hour for six songs, Ravishing Grimness might not rank with the best in the genre -- or even among Darkthrone's own catalog -- but it's a good blast of sound nonetheless. "The Claws of Time" is the standout, its central riffs alternating between pure brawling power on the verses and the kind of sudden stirring uplift via the chorus that is mistakenly thought only to belong to bands that think the Flaming Lips invented all rock & roll. Hearing the almost Motörhead-style raunch of "The Beast" is a touch surprising -- it's not boogie rock per se but it's not all that far removed. ~ Ned Raggett^", All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Dark metal group Darkthrone leaves no stone unturned when it comes to literally and figuratively attempting to scare the listener. From the seminal and bloodcurdling atmosphere saturating "Order of the Ominous," guitarist Nocturno Culto and drummer Fenriz take the album down a long, dark demonic alley. From there they bash you over the head with a hellish metal assault on "Information Wants to Be Syndicated," only slowing down for the brief guitar solo prior to the minute mark. Imagine Metallica or Slipknot on high-speed dubbing and you might come close to envisioning what Darkthrone is capable of. The primal growls accompanying the lyrics makes it appealing to metal fans, but the beefy guitar riffs are classic head-banging, devil-horned salute to metal à la Black Sabbath. They rev their metal engine more on the quasi-rockabilly-meets-Motörhead "Sjakk Matt Jesu Krist," a simple and minimal track that is a highlight. The momentum continues on the crunchy "Straightening Sharks in Heaven" as the band shift into a mid-tempo gear led by Culto's buzzsaw guitars. At the heart of this record are meaty riffs and less sinister or satanic hues. This is exemplified on "Alle Gegen Alle" that winds around a Judas Priest-meets-shoegazer brand of rock before fleshing out with a no-holds-barred rave-up. Another stellar moment is the Iron Maiden-ish "Man Tenker Sitt" which builds on top of each verse to create a memorable track. Punishing without being overpowering, Darkthrone excels from start to finish, particularly on the rapid "Hate Is the Law" that goes into a fine Angus Young-like rock riff before veering headlong into hardcore dark metal. ~ Jason MacNeil, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
The "hope I die before I get old" philosophy is one which plagues every rock band lucky enough to have a lengthy career; so obviously, coming to grips with this dilemma becomes tougher the more extreme a band's sound. Therefore, in the black metal field -- commonly agreed to be the most extreme style of music on the planet -- the realization that it's often not better to burn out after all, but rather fade away a little further on down the line, can be an especially traumatic experience for both musicians and fans. Norway's Darkthrone clearly finds itself waist-deep in this quandary on its tenth album, 2003's Hate Them. Now far removed from the gang of impressionable teenagers who became as well-known for their questionable affiliation to Norway's notorious black metal "Inner Circle" (and the criminal element therein) as for their astoundingly primitive but equally influential early efforts, Darkthrone's remaining founding duo of Nocturno Culto and Fenriz have come face to face with their inescapable musical and emotional adulthood. Sure, with its staunchly analog-worshipping recording techniques, Hate Them is hardly a "Mutt" Lange production, but the fact that it was supposedly recorded in a mere 26 hours serves as one of the last tenuous links to the group's primeval work. In keeping with Darkthrone's career-spanning credo, formidable black metal rampages like "Rust," "In Honour of Thy Name," and the painfully direct "Fucked Up and Ready to Die" avoid the oppressive orchestration and dizzying speeds preferred by peers like Emperor and Mayhem to remain rooted in the simpler, straightforward arrangements of yore. Further standout moments like "Ytterst I Livet" and "Striving for a Piece of Lucifer" are even more accessible, tempering their menacing titles and demonic subject matter with a series of pounding hard rock riffs which will prove irresistible for any self-respecting headbanger. In other words, what Hate Them lacks in complex substance is handily compensated for by Darkthrone's sheer attitude and blunt force -- something that no amount of technical showboating can possibly defeat. Just how the band will cope with their ongoing march towards reluctant maturity remains to be seen. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Plaguewielder is the first Darkthrone album in years not to tout itself as "True Norwegian Black Metal." This is a notable point considering that, nine albums into their prolific career (that is, if one's idea of "prolific" is a huge back catalog of nigh-unlistenable garage-quality wedges seemingly recorded on the cheapest Radio Shack boom box possible), Darkthrone has finally started to transcend such self-appointed limitations. Continuing where predecessor Ravishing Grimness left off, Plaguewielder embraces a more coherent direction, incorporating a more straightforward heavy metal influence into their lo-fi "necro" aesthetic, the result being a healthy bounty of relatively simple, memorable riffs (think Bathory) and cogent tempo changes. Which isn't to say that Darkthrone has gone soft; "Weakling Avenger," "Command," and "I, Voidhanger" still offer the discordant, noisy black metal one comes to expect, but now drummer Fenriz's blastbeats are used effectively and not exclusively, and Nocturno Culto's brutal vocal rasp successfully exhibits the lyrics' bitter existentialist themes. Bottom line, Darkthrone is becoming increasingly mindful of its craft -- instead of setting the blender on "blaspheme" and creating an instrumental puree of barely comprehensible noise, the group has put together a deliberate record that convincingly portrays horror without being horrible (in every sense of the word) itself. Even the most die-hard of "True Norwegian Black Metal" fans should welcome Plaguewielder, the album straddling the line between the rotten, blood-spattered underground (no Dimmu Borgir-style flights of fancy here, rest assured) and -- gasp! -- solid songwriting and production values. ~ John Serba, All Music Guide
'Soulside Journey'
Release Date 6/26/2001
Tracks 11
Label Peaceville/Snapper
See Album Tracklist and Review
'A Blaze in the Northern Sky'
Release Date 4/24/2001
Tracks 6
Label Peaceville/Snapper
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Heavy metal has always championed the darker things in life, but whatever they might say in their interviews, most bands are really just mugging for the press, fronting a fantasy image for the benefit of their impressionable young fans. But all bets are off when it comes to the infamous Norwegian black metal scene, where in the early '90s popular bands like Mayhem, Emperor, and Burzum saw key members charged with real-life acts of crime ranging from church burnings to outright murder. Standing just outside this macabre "inner circle," as it was called, was the Oslo-based Darkthrone, whose mentorship under scene leader (and later, most notorious victim) Euronymous began to bear fruit with their third album, A Blaze in the Northern Sky. Unlike many of their peers -- whose hellish symphonies were often overblown, ultra-complex affairs influenced by classical and Scandinavian folk music -- Darkthrone's was a more straightforward approach. Their bloated lengths aside (see the ten-minute "Kathaarian Life Code"), the songs of A Blaze in the Northern Sky remain relatively uncluttered, and the album's lo-fi production values only serve to highlight their raw, visceral power. The excellent "Paragon Belial" is especially memorable, and with their ghostly pancake makeup only adding to the kids' delight (hey it worked for Kiss, right?), what else could one ask for in the way of dreary, oppressive black metal? ~ Eduardo Rivadavia, All Music Guide
