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Darkthrone

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Darkthrone
Darkthrone in 2005
Darkthrone in 2005
Background information
OriginKolbotn, Norway
Genres
Years active1986–present
Labels
Members
Past members

Darkthrone is a black metal band from Kolbotn, Norway, formed in 1986 as a death metal band under the name Black Death.[3][4] In 1991, the band embraced a black metal style influenced by Bathory[5] and Celtic Frost[5] and became one of the leading bands in the Norwegian black metal scene.

Their first three black metal albums—A Blaze in the Northern Sky (1992), Under a Funeral Moon (1993) and Transilvanian Hunger (1994)—are sometimes dubbed the "Unholy Trinity".[6][7] They are considered the peak of the band's black metal career[8] and to be among the most influential albums in the genre.

Darkthrone has been a duo of Fenriz and Nocturno Culto since guitarist Zephyrous left the band in 1993. Since 2006, their work has strayed from the traditional black metal style and incorporated more elements of traditional heavy metal, punk, and speed metal, being likened to Motörhead.[9] The band have sought to remain outside the music mainstream.[9]

History

Death metal years: 1986–1991

The band that would become Darkthrone formed in late 1986 in Kolbotn, a small town south of Oslo. They were a death metal band by the name of Black Death whose members were Gylve Nagell, Ivar Enger and Anders Risberget. Their main inspirations were Autopsy, Venom, Hellhammer, Celtic Frost, Slayer and Nocturnus. In late 1987, the band changed their name to Darkthrone and were joined by Dag Nilsen. Ted Skjellum joined in spring of 1988. During 1988 and 1989, the band independently released four demo tapes: Land of Frost, A New Dimension, Thulcandra, and Cromlech.

They were subsequently signed to the independent record label Peaceville Records with a four-album contract. In 1990, they recorded their first studio album, Soulside Journey. Because of a small recording budget, the band could not afford the kind of studio they wanted but, thanks to the members of Nihilist and Entombed, they were able to record their album at Sunlight Studios. Although mainly death metal in style, there were some elements of black metal present in terms of artwork and songwriting.

Immediately following the release of this album, the band continued writing and recording new material, recording on tape until a full album was ready. These tracks were entirely instrumental but they demonstrated the band's gradual shift towards black metal. In 1996, the finished album Goatlord was released, with vocals added by Fenriz.

Black years

Early black metal years: 1991–1994

The Darkthrone logo, as it has appeared on the band's releases since its first album, Soulside Journey. It was designed by Tassilo Förg, Gylve "Fenriz" Nagell and Tomas Lindberg of Grotesque/At the Gates

During 1991, Darkthrone adopted the aesthetic style that would come to represent the black metal scene, wearing corpse paint and working under pseudonyms. Gylve Nagell became "Fenriz", Ted Skjellum became "Nocturno Culto" and Ivar Enger became "Zephyrous". In August 1991, they recorded their second album, which was released at the beginning of 1992 and titled A Blaze in the Northern Sky. The album contained Darkthrone's first black metal recordings, and Peaceville Records was originally skeptical about releasing it due to Darkthrone's extreme diversion from their original death metal style.[10] After the album was recorded, bassist Dag Nilsen left the band, as he didn't want to play black metal, and is merely credited as "session bass" with no picture on the album.

The band's third album, Under a Funeral Moon, was recorded in the summer of 1992 and released in early 1993. It marked Darkthrone's total conversion to the black metal style, and is considered a landmark for the development of the genre as a whole. This album also marked the last album on which guitarist Zephyrous would perform.

It was followed by their fourth album, Transilvanian Hunger, which was released in February 1994. This was Darkthrone's first album to have just two members, Nocturno Culto and Fenriz. Fenriz is credited with all instrumentation and songwriting, while Nocturno Culto only contributed vocals. The band would remain a duo from this point onwards. Transilvanian Hunger was characterized by a very "raw" or "low fidelity" recording style and monotone riffing with little melody. The album's release caused some controversy: half of its lyrics were written by the Norwegian black metal musician Varg Vikernes, and its booklet contained the phrase "Norsk Arisk Black Metal", which translates into English as "Norwegian Aryan Black Metal".

With Moonfog Records: 1995–2004

Darkthrone moved to another independent record label, Moonfog Productions, for subsequent releases. The label was run by Satyr of Satyricon.

Their fifth album, Panzerfaust, was released in 1995. Its production is similar to that of Transilvanian Hunger, and Fenriz is similarly credited with all instrumentation and songwriting, while Nocturno Culto only contributed vocals. Lyrics for the track "Quintessence" were written by Varg Vikernes. Their sixth album, Total Death, was released during 1996 and is notable for featuring lyrics written by four other black metal musicians, and none at all written by the group's main lyricist Fenriz.

During the years 1993–1995, drummer Fenriz was involved with numerous side projects. This included his solo dark ambient project Neptune Towers, his solo folk black metal project Isengard, recording an album with Satyr as the trio Storm, and playing bass on Dødheimsgard's debut album. Also he began playing drums for Valhall again, after having been one of the founding members in 1988 but leaving in 1990 to concentrate on Darkthrone.

In 1999, Darkthrone released the album Ravishing Grimness, and in 2001 their following album, Plaguewielder. While Transilvanian Hunger and Panzerfaust had songs written solely by Fenriz, these two albums had songs almost entirely written by Nocturno Culto and were both recorded in Ronny Le Tekrøe's studio at Toten, Norway. This explains the somewhat "clearer" sound on those records.[11]

In the last years of the 1990s, two Darkthrone tribute albums were released: Darkthrone Holy Darkthrone in 1998 and The Next Thousand Years Are Ours in 1999. The band also released Preparing for War, a compilation of songs from 1988–1994. In 2002, the intro of their song "Kathaarian Life Code" appeared in the last scene of the film Demonlover.

In 2003, the band released the album Hate Them. Although this record and their next contain electronic introductions, they remain true to Darkthrone's early black metal style. Sardonic Wrath was released in 2004. It was the band's last album with Moonfog Productions and their last to be recorded solely in the black metal style. This album was nominated for Norway's Alarm Awards; however, the album's entry was withdrawn at the band's request. Their next releases would feature strong crust punk traits.

Change in direction: 2005–present

In 2005, Darkthrone confirmed that they had returned to Peaceville Records, after leaving the record label in 1994. They had also started up their own record label, Tyrant Syndicate Productions, to release their future albums. To celebrate their return, Peaceville re-issued the Preparing for War compilation with a bonus CD of demos and a DVD of live performances. Darkthrone's first four albums were also re-released with video interviews about each of them.

Darkthrone released their eleventh album, The Cult Is Alive, during early 2006. The album represented a shift in the band's style as the music incorporated crust punk traits. While Darkthrone's black metal roots were still evident, their shift from the genre's typical sound was more noticeable. The Cult Is Alive was the first Darkthrone album to appear on the album chart in Norway, debuting at number 22.[12]

In July 2007, the band released the EP NWOBHM (an acronym for 'New wave of black heavy metal', a take-off on the original 'New wave of British heavy metal') as a preview for their next album. In September that year, Darkthrone released the album F.O.A.D. (an acronym for Fuck Off and Die). The phrase was used by many thrash metal and punk bands during the 1980s. While the music partially continued the punk-oriented style that was introduced on The Cult Is Alive, this time the band focused more on traditional heavy metal.

Also during 2007, Nocturno Culto completed and released The Misanthrope, a film about black metal and life in Norway. It includes some of his own solo recordings. In October 2008, Dark Thrones and Black Flags was released, using much the same style as the previous album. In 2010, the band released the album Circle the Wagons, which featured much less significant crust punk traits in exchange for strong speed metal and traditional heavy metal characteristics.

In late 2010, Peaceville acquired the rights to the band's Moonfog albums and re-issued Panzerfaust as a two-disc set and on vinyl. The re-issue of Total Death was set for March 14, 2011. In July 2012, Darkthrone announced a new album, titled The Underground Resistance; it was released on February 25, 2013.[13] The band released their 16th studio album, titled Arctic Thunder, on October 14, 2016.[14][15]

On October 22, 2016, the band revealed via Facebook that they would be issuing a compilation album entitled The Wind of 666 Black Hearts. The album, released November 25, 2016, is composed of rehearsals recorded in 1991 and 1992 for songs which later appeared on A Blaze in the Northern Sky and Under a Funeral Moon. [16]

In June 2018, it was announced that Darkthrone would record a new studio album in October of the same year. Darkthrone announced in March 2019 that they would be releasing their seventeenth studio album, Old Star, which was released on May 31 of the same year. It featured much stronger doom metal characteristics than previous albums, with their Candlemass influences more apparent.

Band members

Current members

  • Fenriz (Gylve Fenris Nagell) – drums, guitars, bass, keyboards, vocals, lyrics (1986–present)
  • Nocturno Culto (Ted Skjellum) – vocals, guitars, bass, producer, lyrics (1988–present)

Former members

  • Dag Nilsen – bass (1988–1991)
  • Zephyrous (Ivar Enger) – guitar (1987–1993)
  • Anders Risberget – guitar (1986–1988)

Timeline

Associations

Discography

Studio albums

Year Title Peak
positions 		Notes
1991 Soulside Journey The band's only death metal studio album.
1992 A Blaze in the Northern Sky Recorded in August 1991[23] and released in February 1992.
Final release with bassist Dag Nilsen. Quintessential Norwegian black metal.
1993 Under a Funeral Moon Recorded in June 1992 and released in March 1993.
Final release with guitarist Ivar Enger.
1994 Transilvanian Hunger Recorded in November–December 1993 with vocals added early in 1994. Released in February 1994.
Featured four songs with lyrics written by Varg Vikernes.
1995 Panzerfaust Recorded in February–April 1994 and released in June 1995.
Featured one song with lyrics written by Varg Vikernes.
1996 Goatlord Instrumental rehearsal demo; recorded in late 1990 and early 1991 and released on CD as an album by Moonfog Productions in 1996, including vocals overdubbed by Fenriz in 1994.
1996 Total Death Featured lyrics written by four guests from other black metal bands.
1999 Ravishing Grimness
2001 Plaguewielder
2003 Hate Them
2004 Sardonic Wrath
2006 The Cult Is Alive NOR #22
SWE #59		 First album in the band's change in style with traits of crust punk
2007 F.O.A.D. Incorporated traits of punk and traditional heavy metal
2008 Dark Thrones and Black Flags Incorporated traits of punk and traditional heavy metal
2010 Circle the Wagons NOR #23 Elements of speed metal and traditional heavy metal
2013 The Underground Resistance FIN #35
NOR #23
SWE #50		 Elements of speed, heavy, black and doom metal, and punk
2016 Arctic Thunder[14][15] FIN #40
GER #56		 Mixture of heavy metal riffs and mid-tempo Darkthrone riffing
2019 Old Star Elements of traditional heavy metal, doom, and black

Demos

EPs and singles

Compilations and tribute albums

References

  1. ^ Ekeroth, p. 258.
  2. ^ Marsicano, Dan. "Darkthrone - Soulside Journey Review". About.com. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  3. ^ Marc Spermeth: Besessen von der Dunkelheit und dem Bösen. In: Ablaze, no. 5, May/June 1995, p. 10.
  4. ^ Metalion: THE SAGA OF TRUE NORWEGIAN BLACK METAL. Archived November 20, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ a b Otto, Dennis (January 13, 2009). "Interview: 2009-01-13 Darkthrone". Metal Inside. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
  6. ^ Eduardo Rivadavia. "Under a Funeral Moon - Darkthrone | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2016-04-06.
  7. ^ "CoC : Darkthrone - The Cult Is Alive : Review". Chroniclesofchaos.com. Retrieved 2016-04-06.
  8. ^ "The Lodge @ Darkthrone Interview". Web.archive.org. 2010-03-13. Archived from the original on March 13, 2010. Retrieved 2016-04-06.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  9. ^ a b "Darkthrone interview (07/2007)". Metal Storm. 2007-07-12. Retrieved 2011-10-15.
  10. ^ "Peaceville Artists". Archived from the original on 2011-07-25. Retrieved 2007-08-20.
  11. ^ Smith, Brad. "Interview with Darkthrone".
  12. ^ "Darkthrone in the Charts!". Rockdetector. 2006-02-11. Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2007-08-20.
  13. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on August 16, 2015. Retrieved February 6, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  14. ^ a b "DARKTHRONE To Release 'Arctic Thunder' Album In October". Blabbermouth.net. August 9, 2016. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
  15. ^ a b "Darkthrone announce 2016 album Arctic Thunder". Peaceville Records. August 9, 2016. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
  16. ^ "Official Darkthrone Facebook".
  17. ^ https://www.metal-archives.com/artists/Fenriz/10
  18. ^ http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Fenriz'_Red_Planet/3540281298
  19. ^ https://www.metal-archives.com/artists/Fenriz/10
  20. ^ https://www.metal-archives.com/artists/Fenriz/10
  21. ^ https://www.metal-archives.com/artists/Nocturno_Culto/11
  22. ^ https://www.metal-archives.com/artists/Fenriz/10
  23. ^ "Darkthrone - A Blaze in the Northern Sky CD cover". Vinylrecords.ch. Archived from the original (JPG) on 2012-07-11. Retrieved 2016-04-06.
  24. ^ "Peaceville Presents... Darkthrone by Darkthrone on iTunes". Itunes.apple.com. 2013-05-07. Retrieved 2016-04-06.
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