Those who know, love, and used to love this genuinely cult Norwegian band will probably know what to expect from their latest disc. Darkthrone have decided to take further musical steps away from the genre they will always be considered legends of and deliberately make all the puritan black metal fans furious.
I'm not going to say that they decided to follow their hearts or do what they please because that is what they always have done. Abandoning death metal for a more frostbitten, desolate, and minimalist black metal sound was a natural progression for them, just as the current incarnation is a result of their love of old school rock and punk.
As drummer/vocalist Fenriz, the man to go to when you want a bundle of quotes to highlight in an article said, "Only Rain man doesn't change."
Darkthrone of today, posing relaxed with washed out punk t-shirts are just being natural and have injected some much needed humor into the black metal scene, something it was in dire need of. I will however admit that I wasn't quite expecting men who claim to have worn corpse paint even at band practice to use piercing falsetto screams in one of their songs. They do this in "Canadian Metal" and that particular tune is one of the albums killer cuts. And using a song to salute classic Canadian metal is just effortlessly cool.
The songs are dirty, sloppy, and chock full of gritty atmosphere. But this isn't about black metal any more. Not in the classic sense. If you want an indication then simply take a look at the title of the EP that preceded this recording, New Wave of Black Heavy Metal. It may not be new but it is unmistakably black and heavy.
As it may be understood from a statement above, I have never been a fan of black metal in general. Certain bands are appreciated but in general I think that too many of those musicians take themselves way too seriously and that is why Darkthrone are so refreshing right now.
Metalheads should definitely give this one a listen. If you like thrash, punk, classic metal, or even classic rock then there is definitely something here to revel in. The awesome booklet also gives added value, with some great recommendations on superb metal to check out from the duo.
