Transilvanian Hunger
| Transilvanian Hunger | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by Darkthrone | ||||
| Released | 17 February 1994 | |||
| Recorded | November–December 1993 | |||
| Genre | Black metal | |||
| Length | 39:04 | |||
| Label | Peaceville | |||
| Producer | Darkthrone | |||
| Darkthrone chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
| Metal Reviews | Classic Status[2] |
Transilvanian Hunger is the fourth studio album by Norwegian black metal band Darkthrone, released in 1994 through Peaceville Records. It was the band's first album to be recorded with just two members, Nocturno Culto and Fenriz, following the departure of Zephyrous. The band would remain a duo from this point onwards.
The back cover of the album states that "Darkthrone is for all the evil in man". Allmusic notes that the album, "boasts plenty of notoriety in the metal underground" and that it has been a great influence on many black metal bands.[3]
Contents |
[edit] Controversy
Lyrics for four of the album's songs were written by the infamous Norwegian black metal musician Varg Vikernes. He was imprisoned in 1993 for the murder of Mayhem guitarist Øystein "Euronymous" Aarseth and for the arson of several churches. The ending of the song "As Flittermice As Satans Spys" contains a backmasked message. When the voice is played in reverse, it utters the phrase "In the name of God, let the churches burn."[4]
Originally, the back cover displayed the phrases True Norwegian Black Metal and Norsk Arisk Black Metal (Norwegian Aryan Black Metal), but due to the negative response of many distributors, the latter phrase was removed. The band also intended to include another controversial statement with the album: "We would like to state that Transilvanian Hunger stands beyond any criticism. If any man should attempt to criticize this LP, he should be thoroughly patronized for his obviously Jewish behavior."[5] In a press release, Peaceville Records issued both this statement and their own response, acknowledging that they could not censor their artists but also taking the opportunity to damn the sentiment.[5] The incident caused Darkthrone to write a formal apology released at Peaceville's behest, including statements explaining that calling something "Jewish" was part of their "slang". The band and Peaceville ended up parting ways after the album's release.[6]
As a response to this controversy, Darkthrone included the following statement on their next album, Panzerfaust, the following year: "Darkthrone is certainly not a Nazi band nor a political band, those of you who still might think so, you can lick Mother Mary's asshole in eternity."[5]
[edit] Title and artwork
Fenriz appears on the cover artwork, which bears resemblance to Mayhem's 1993 live album, Live in Leipzig. In the February edition of Terrorizer Magazine, which was an album artwork special, the cover of Transilvanian Hunger was featured amongst the greatest album covers. The magazine regarded it as representative of their "musical regression" ideologies, and as a "stark image of evil that was never quite equalled."[citation needed]
[edit] Reissue
In 2003, the album was remastered and reissued by Peaceville, as well as being repackaged in a cardboard digipak. The fourth and final chapter of a four-part video interview (spanning the first four albums) between Fenriz and Nocturno Culto was also included as bonus material.
[edit] Track listing
All lyrics written by Fenriz (songs 1–4) and Varg (songs 4–8), all music composed by Darkthrone. Title translations are unofficial.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Transilvanian Hunger" | 6:10 |
| 2. | "Over fjell og gjennom torner" (Over Fells and Through Thorns) | 2:29 |
| 3. | "Skald av Satans sol" (Skald of Satan's Sun) | 4:29 |
| 4. | "Slottet I det fjerne" (Castle in the Distance) | 4:45 |
| 5. | "Graven tåkeheimens saler" (Hallways of Tåkeheimen's Tomb) | 4:59 |
| 6. | "I en hall med flesk og mjød" (In a Hall with Meat and Mead) | 5:13 |
| 7. | "As flittermice as Satans spys" (As Flittermice as Satan's spies) | 5:56 |
| 8. | "En ås I dype skogen" (An Ás in the Deep Forest) | 5:03 |
[edit] Credits
- Fenriz – drums, rhythm guitar, bass guitar (tracks 1–4)
- Nocturno Culto – vocals, lead guitar, bass guitar (tracks 5–8)
[edit] References
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