I am not really sure what Darkthrone is anymore. Of course, during the Norwegian duo's long career, it has often been hard to really nail them down. This is the band's 18th album and that is incredible. At one time, they created the blueprint for every single lo-fi and bedroom black metal band with Transilvanian Hunger. But despite that, Darkthrone has never really released the same album twice in a row. At this point in their history, Darkthrone releases a new album every few years and remain champions of underground metal (the band did after all have a hand in the emergence of Ghost from obscurity).
Old Star sees Darkthrone utilize their standard format. Fenriz and Nocturno Culto each contributed three songs to the album, and it is often somewhat easy to tell which song was written by which member. Fenriz's songs generally exhibit more of an old school metal influence, while there are moments in the Nocturno Culto tracks that call back to the more black metal style of the early days of the band. There is also a lot of German thrash and Celtic Frost influence in some of the riffs.
The biggest musical shift on this release is the heavy doom metal influence. Fenriz did boast that the album had a lot of Candlemass-style riffs, and that is accurate. The songs on this release tend to be much longer and slower than on albums that have come before. There are a couple of much faster tracks, with some impressive galloping riffs, such as on "Duke of Gloat" and "The Hardship of the Scots". Of course even Candlemass had some faster songs, so this is not totally foreign to doom metal.
It is not all positive however. Some of the songs do tend to drag a little bit, and in general the Fenriz tracks are not quite as good as the ones penned by Nocturno Culto. Several songs are on the longer side, and the slower tempo make them seem even longer. Obviously a big part of this is the doom metal influence, which is a little new on a Darkthrone album.
I try to check out every new Darkthrone album, but I have missed several. That being said, I love the classic metal influences Darkthrone has been incorporating over the last several releases. This is a terrific release, though I do still prefer Circle the Wagons for latter-era Darkthrone.
Darkthrone has never ceased evolving. Beginning their existence as a death metal band in the late 1980's, the band started going in a different direction on their sophomore album. Their fourth album is an often imitated take on raw black metal. It was simple and direct with often only one heavily-repeated riff per song. Not content to lay the fundamental groundwork for which most of the oncoming black metal scene was based, Darkthrone started to look back toward their roots in punk and heavy metal. Through all this, Darkthrone has never lost their creative touch, continuing to put out good music even amongst all of the changes. Darkthrone member Fenriz currently acts as an ambassador for underground metal, yet another reason to like the band.
It's been another strong year in metal this year. We endured some tragedies, such as the deaths of Ronnie James Dio and Peter Steele, but we also had some amazing albums. Filling out a Top 10 list this year has been a little difficult, I had several albums that I wanted to include, but ultimately did not.
Unfortunately, I missed out on a lot of albums the last couple of months due to the unsettled nature of my law practice, but I will catch up eventually. Now, for the Top 10: 10. DARKTHRONE: CIRCLE THE WAGONS Darkthrone has been veering away from black metal or years. This album found the band experimenting with more traditional heavy metal and hardcore sounds. It's also Darkthrone's best album in years, sounding like a black metal band covering Motorhead.
9. ORPHANED LAND: THE NEVER-ENDING WAY OF ORWARRIOR For a long time, this was my top album of the year, an absolutely breath-takingly epic concept album. Orphaned Land combines middle Eastern melodies and instrumentation into their progressive metal. This gets the nod for the most beautiful metal album of the year.
8. ENFORCER: DIAMONDS It seems like every year a traditional metal album comes out of nowhere and blows me away. 2010's edition is this album from Enforcer, a band devoted to playing NWOBHM-style metal. Having the pop sensibility of Def Leppard certainly helped them as they put out some amazingly catchy songs on this release.
7. IMMOLATION: MAJESTY AND DECAY Immolation has continued to put out amazing release after amazing release. One of the most consistent bands in death metal, Immolation's twisted and sadistic riffs keep getting better. The best death metal album of the year.
6. MELECHESH: THE EPIGENESIS It has been a long time since the last release by Melechesh, and there was some question whether the band would be able to match their last amazing album. Well, question answered. Another classic album from these Middle Eastern blackened thrash merchants.
5. WATAIN: LAWLESS DARKNESS Watain has long been saddled with the tag "The Next Dissection", and while not earning that tag, they have put out some good albums. With this release though, Watain has really come into their own. The addition of traditional metal elements has made this a truly amazing black metal album.
4. OVERKILL: IRONBOUND Probably the comeback album of the year. Overkill has never released a bad album, but this one may possibly be one of the band's greatest albums ever. Blitz Ellsworth still has his trademark sneering vocals and the twin guitar attack is still in top form. This is incredible thrash metal. Overkill deserves a lot more accolades than they have received.
3. ROTTING CHRIST: AEALO The Greek black metal outfit once again has put out a truly exceptional album. Essentially sounding like the soundtrack to an Ancient Greek battle, Rotting Christ's album is melodic and powerful, and eerily beautiful.
2. WARBEAST: KRUSH THE ENEMY The thrash metal album of the year comes from an unusual place. Made up of members of long-gone Texas thrash metal bands Gamacide and Rigor Mortis, and released on Phil Anselmo's Housecore label, this is extremely aggressive and razor sharp, raw thrash metal. Forget all the retro bands, this is the real shit.
1. TRIPTYKON: EPARISTERA DAIMONES Amazing album, all the way around. Tom G. Warrior's new band picks up right where Celtic Frost's last album left off. It's dark and eerie, and heavy as hell. The most amazing thing about it though is that it sounds better every time I hear it.
DISAPPOINTMENTS: This does not mean I don't like the albums, but they were overhyped or overanticipated. SIGH: SCENES FROM HELL I loved Sigh's last album. It was an incredible mix of black metal, thrash metal, and symphonic bombast. Unfortunately, on this release, the symphonic elements were a little overdone. It's not a bad album, but not nearly as good as their prior album.
IRON MAIDEN: THE FINAL FRONTIER Again, not a bad album, and I do like it a little more than their last one, but it's not the return to Brave New World that it was hyped up to be. Besides, what is the deal with missing Eddie?
ARMORED SAINT: LA RAZA I was very excited when I heard Armored Saint would be releasing a new album. I always thought John Bush's voice was better suited to traditional metal than his time in Anthrax. Unfortunately, this album sounds more like Nickelback than older Armored Saint.
ELUVEITIE: EVERYTHING REMAINS AS IT NEVER WAS If I had not heard their prior album, this would have been amazing. But I have, and this is virtually the same album.
CARNIFEX: HELL CHOSE ME It's got a great cover and it had some hype that it was a cross between deathcore and melodic death metal. Unfortunately, it just was not a very good album. It's certainly brutal, but that's not the most important thing in the world.
SURPRISES: Other than Enforcer and Warbeast, there were some surprisingly good albums from unusual places. DANZIG: DETH RED SABAOTH Danzig came back and released an album on par with his first four albums. I am not sure anyone really expected that.
LAETHORA: THE LIGHT IN WHICH WE ALL BURN I did enjoy their previous album, but I was not originally all that excited to hear this one, however, this is an incredible album.
DECREPIT BIRTH: POLARITY Technical death metal is not one of my favorite genres, but this was not just any other technical death metal album. It is an epic album in the purest sense, just amazing musicianship.
GROWER: DARK FORTRESS: YLEM When I first heard this album, I was not terribly impressed by it, but as I continued to listen to it, I liked it more and more. When I recently re-evaluated my Top 10, this was #11.
ALBUMS THAT HAVE NOT HAD A CHANCE TO SINK IN: New albums that I have not heard enough yet to evaluate. LIMBONIC ART: PHANTASMAGORIA
HAIL OF BULLETS: ON DIVINE WINDS
KAMELOT: POETRY FOR THE POISONED
HELLOWEEN: 7 SINNERS
CONCERT EXPERIENCE: I saw the Killfest 2010 tour featuring Woe of Tyrants, Evile, Warbringer, God Dethroned, Vader, and Overkill. I missed the first two bands, but the other four were amazing. Overkill is a fantastic live band. I own the most recent albums by all of the bands and enjoy them all.
FAVORITE SONGS:
TRIPTYKON: "GOETIA"
WATAIN: "WATERS OF AIN"
OVERKILL: "THE GREEN AND BLACK"
ENFORCER: "RUNNING IN MENACE"
ROTTING CHRIST: "DEMONOM VROSIS"
ALBUMS I MISSED OUT ON THAT I PLAN TO CHANGE: GRAND MAGUS: HAMMER OF THE NORTH ELECTRIC WIZARD: BLACK MASSES THE CROWN: DOOMSDAY KING FORBIDDEN: OMEGA WAVE ATHEIST: JUPITER
ALBUMS I LOOK FORWARD TO IN 2011: SODOM COFFINS DIM MAK AMON SKELETONWITCH MORBID ANGEL PRIMORDIAL AUTOPSY WINTERSUN (maybe?)
Darkthrone has had an interesting career. Starting out as a death metal band, then putting out three absolutely classic black metal albums, including the genre defining Transilvanian Hunger, then slowly morphing into more of a blackened-crust band. Now the band has come out with a new sound that owes much more to traditional heavy metal. There's even clean vocals here.
This is an interesting direction for a band that has always defied expectations and done things their own way. At this point, most of the black metal elements have been removed from the band's sound, with only the vocal style remaining in that vein. The songs are a bit on the longer side for the band, but the songs feel fully developed, as if they could not be shorter. They are also some of the band's most memorable songs in years.
The music is much more than a simple riff, repeated ad nauseum on this album. The songs are carefully crafted, even featuring guitar solos and more complex riffs. The vocals from the two singers match well with the music. Everything still has a bit of a dirty, raw edge to it. There are still some punk elements to the music, but for the most part, this is an album centered around more traditional-sounding metal, without being retro.
Darkthrone have once again changed their sound, but also put out one hell of an album. I was intrigued when I heard they were going for more of a classic sound, I'm glad I picked this one up.
Okay this one is similar to the Scary Album Covers posts but a little different. This time we're talking about actual albums that are a little frightening from a musical standpoint, albums that curdle the blood and send chills up the spine, albums that are so complex that they sound as if they came from another world. Yes, there are a few, and I'm not referring to the latest from Lady Gaga.
CELTIC FROST: MONOTHEIST
Celtic Frost has always had some spinechilling songs, but on this album, they stretch things over the full course of the record. Even though the band utilizes some clean singing, the vocals are so desperate and cold, that they sound otherworldly. The riffs are typical Celtic Frost bass-heavy riffs that sound like the machinations of Lovecraftian beasts. This album is truly unnerving, taking hold of the listener for over an hour. Once it is over, it is like being able to see the sunlight after days trapped in a cave.
COFFINS: MORTUARY IN DARKNESS
The cover image is frightening enough. Coffins sounds like an even more dark and possessed version of Celtic Frost playing a style of death/doom that is so morosely slow as to actually sound as if it were produced by the zombie-like monsters that so often appear on the band's album covers. The faster tracks sound as if they could have come from Celtic Frost themselves, while the slower ones sound as if they came from the pits of Hell.
DARKTHRONE: TRANSILVANIAN HUNGER
That's the band's spelling not mine. This is a classic album from the Norwegian second wave of black metal band. It features the eponymous title track, one of the most well-known and disturbing songs about vampires in heavy metal. Everything else is minimalist, simple, one riff, classic black metal with an extremely dark atmosphere. Only the title track is in English and not knowing what is being said somehow makes the rest of the songs that much more frightening.
DEMILICH: NESPITHE
Demilich's only full length gives off the atmosphere of being trapped in a dark, dank, moist, cold cave. The music is ungodly complicated featuring numerous changes in time signature and speed as to leave the listener completely disoriented. Then there are the vocals, a sound that can best be described as the croaking of a dying bullfrog.
INCANTATION: ONWARD TO GOLGOTHA
Incantation was one of the early bands that blended death metal with doom metal and achieved a Hellish sound in the process. The band's angular riffs, throbbing bass, and pummeling drums form the backdrop behind some of the most terrifying vocals in American death metal. The atmosphere is as dark as the Satanic and Anti-Christian subject matter. Most occult death metal bands have been trying to emulate this sound for years, but this is the original.
MAYHEM: DE MYSTERIIS DOM SATHANAS
Quite possibly the quintessential black metal album. This album was recorded after the death of vocalist Dead and featuring Attila Csihar's chaotic vocal phrasing and shrieking. It was also recorded before the murder of guitarist Euronymous at the hands of bassist Varg Vikernes. The backstory alone makes it a frightening piece, then there is the cold music itself. This album, along with Darkthrone's above-mentioned album completely changed the course of black metal, changing the focus to simple riffs and dark atmosphere. I love to listen to this album with all the lights off during a thunderstorm at night.
PORTAL: OUTRE'
The music cannot even be described, it is so off the wall strange. Portal pushes the boundaries of metal, and indeed music in general as far as possible. The riffs are chaotic, the drumming seemingly out of nowhere, and the vocals are tortured screams. Portal is one of the most original metal bands to come out in years. I cannot even tell if I enjoy their album or not, it is so strange. All I know is that I feel uneasy whenever I listen to it, and that makes it a prime candidate for this list.
SATAN'S HOST: SATANIC GRIMOIRE: A GREATER BLACK MAGICK
Satan's Host is a unique band. They hail from Colorado and formed in the mid 1980's when they played power metal with occult lyrics. They didn't last long though and broke up. They reformed in the last few years playing a style of blackened thrash and upped the ante on their lyrics. The band is clearly Satanist and feature many invocations to Satan in their albums. This one is no exception. Musically, they are pretty good, though not as good as other blackened thrash groups, it's when they see fit to add in an atmospheric track that they really get strange.
