Record Label: Peaceville Records
Year: 2021
This Is Black Metal Rating: 9/10
A band that requires no introduction, with its duo having become living legends within the scene, Darkthrone return yet again with their 19th full-length. In their three decades of existence, they have always been true to themselves, doing whatever pleases them musically, while having several classic masterpieces. Their work is a testament to their love of the old school and homage to their own music idols.
“Eternal Hails” moves on a Blackened Doom style with the band’s characteristic old-school rawness and savviness being present. The guitars are once again the focal point of the album, with both Black and Doom Metal riffs, while the drums are more simplistic serving their purpose excellent of keeping up the required tempo in each section. Bass lines can also be heard adding to the foundation of each track while the vocals are handled solely by Nocturno Culto, with his amazing shrieks but in a lighter way to follow in accordance with the flow of things.
Darkthrone
“His Master’s Voice” starts off the album kicking in with a Black n’ Roll main riff to ante up the pressure before collapsing down to a Black/Doom-oriented style. Moving on comes “Hate Cloak” which was released as a single from the album. It combines Black Sabbath and Celtic Frost influences with doom heavy breathtaking instrumentations. Being the slowest-paced song in the album it manages to retain its dynamic with the tempo changes, riffs variety and thick atmosphere.” Wake of the Awakened” showcases a class of the two styles used in this album, having moments where Doom dominates everything before interchanging to Black Metal driven parts.“Voyage to a North Pole Adrift” continues inhomogeneity with what we have heard prior. With an addicting hook to begin, following a linear Doom progression, before it finishes off with the same evil hook once again. Last but not least is the absolute standout “Lost Arcane City of Uppåkra”. A story about a desolate tribe having declared war against the Christians, the track comes as close as it gets to the past glory of their unholy trinity. The song is built like a pyramid around astonishing Black Metal riffs, with dissolving drum patterns connecting the dots and of course Nocturno’s vocal majesty in full display. Surprising synthesizer experimentation marks the closing of our journey.
Darkthrone offers one of their strongest works in the last years traveling us back to the 70s and 80s era once again. The album gives off the vibe that they both enjoyed the process of making it and didn’t compromise on doing whatever they wanted. One surprising factor as stated is the use of a synthesizer on a handful of occasions throughout, while besides that remaining with the recipe they always follow the building around strong guitar riffs. The production is clear enough to hear every instrument and rough around the edges to retain that feeling of the old underground.
All in all, they are a band that has nothing left to prove and will continue making music that they desire. They have conquered everything in their lengthy career from Death Metal, to Black Metal, to Crust Punk and to Black/Doom leaving no cross unturned. An album to be blasted on repeat while headbanging your heart out.
Rating: 10/10
Formed in 1986, Kolbotn, Akershus, Norway’s Darkthrone are one of the original Second-Wave Black Metal bands, although they got their start as a Death Metal band under the name Black Death. But it wouldn’t be long before they would establish themselves as one of Black Metal’s most influential outfits with the release of what is known as The Unholy Trinity in 92’s “A Blaze In the Northern Sky”, 93’s “Under a Funeral Moon” and 94’s “Transylvanian Hunger”. Since then, the duo consisting of Fenriz and Nocturno Culto have remained on the outskirts of the modern Black Metal realm as they honor the old way by staying true to BM’s first-wave speed and Doom Metal roots. Darkthrone’s latest full-length LP, “Eternal Hails……” is no exception.
Darkthrone
“Eternal Hails…..” was released on June 25, 2021 via Peaceville. The duo decided on a change of environment to hopefully inspire some new ideas, so instead of recording the album at their longtime studio Necrohell II, they whetted their fangs and proceeded into Chaka Khan studio in Oslo with engineers Ole Ovstedal and Silje Høgevold. It’s safe to say that “Eternal Hails……”, outside of its stripped-down production, is pretty far-removed from anything one would consider to be modern Norwegian Black Metal. This is a revisiting of the First Wave of Black Metal in the vein of early Venom, Celtic Frost and Bathory as elements of Classic Speed/Heavy Metal are infused with other elements of Doom. This is a record for the metal purist; the old soul who lives stubbornly in the past. You know who you are… It scorns modernity with five tracks clocking in at just over 42 minutes worth of gritty, Old-school Metal done properly by two fellows who lived it and have never lost touch with the days of old when black leather-clad miscreants reigned supreme over the scene.
You’ll find within “Eternal Hails……” big, fat Sabbath-heralding riffs, dirty Old-school Heavy Metal-driven melodies and hearty Doom-laden passages bonded by simple rhythms. As I mentioned before, album production is stripped-down; resurrecting a sound that calls from somewhere back in 1984. Fans of 1349 and modern-day Mayhem step aside. Prepare to take a trip back through the annals of Metal history to a simpler time; a time when the tremolo and the blast-beat were but a twinkle in the eyes of black metal’s second-wave progenitors.
While I appreciate the old way and respect what Darkthrone are doing here, I found this album to be somewhat boring. It’s saving graces like the riff-dominated “Wake of the Awakened” and the more progressive style of the following track “Voyage to a Northpole Adrift” that managed to pull me back into the experience before I decided to pull the plug. I guess I’m spoiled by everything that modern Black Metal has to offer, but the genre wouldn’t be what it is today without the classics. And “Eternal Hails……” certainly captures the essence of those early days, but with a touch of that aforementioned progressiveness and creativity that sets Darkthrone apart from the rest.
Rating: 7.5/10