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/: :\
/:: Artist :: Darkthrone ::\
:: Album :: Eternal Hails...... ::
:: Year :: 2021 ::
:: __ _ _ __ ::
-:--\\-----------------------------------------------------------------//--:-
:: \ / ::
:: . Genre :: Black Metal Source :: CDDA . ::
:: Label :: Mindscrape Music R.date :: 30.08.2021 ::
_::__ Cat.nr. :: MIND 050-CD Size :: 76,10 MB __::_
::// \\::
::/---------------------------------------------------------------------\::
:: ::
/: Encoder :: LAME 3.100 -V0 :\
..: Bitrate :: avg. 258kbps : .
. Quality :: 44,1kHz/Joint-Stereo .
. .
Website ::
__ __ _ . : _ ____ _ _ ____ _ : . _ __ __
.\\\\------- : | ---\ /---------------------\ /--- | : -------////.
+/ -\------- | | ----\ tracklist /---- | | -------/- \+
/: . : : . :\
/:: ::\
:: 01. His Master's Voice 07:18 ::
:: 02. Hate Cloak 09:17 ::
:: 03. Wake of the Awakened 08:24 ::
:: 04. Voyage to a North Pole Adrift 09:25 ::
:: 05. Lost Arcane City of Uppσkra 07:03 ::
:: ------- ::
.. >> 41:27 min ..
__ __ _ . : _ ____ _ _ ____ _ : . _ __ __
.\\\\------- : | ---\ /---------------------\ /--- | : -------////.
+/ -\------- | | ----\ release notes /---- | | -------/- \+
/: . : : . :\
/:: ::\
:: ::
:: DARKTHRONE is indisputably one of the most important bands ::
:: in the history of black metal. The trailblazing Norwegian ::
:: act was at the forefront of the second wave of black metal, ::
:: initially blowing minds with the fantastic and absolutely ::
:: seminal 1992 release "A Blaze in the Northern Sky", which ::
:: followed the unit's death metal-driven debut, "Soulside ::
:: Journey", which was released just one year prior. Though ::
:: the band will always be known for its template-setting ::
:: pure, raw black metal period, it has produced quality ::
:: material that has branched out to include different ::
:: textures and heavy music styles ranging from speed metal to ::
:: hardcore punk and crust. DARKTHRONE continues to belch deep ::
:: from its filthy, old-school Norwegian black metal lungs ::
:: whilst embracing key facets of epic heavy metal and doom ::
:: metal on its latest effort: "Eternal Hailsàà". ::
:: ::
:: This go around, the demonic, dynamic duo of Fenriz (drums, ::
:: lyrics) and Nocturno Culto (guitars, bass, vocals) has ::
:: anointed its latest batch of songs as being "epic black ::
:: heavy metal," an apropos and on-point description, to be ::
:: sure. Fenriz recently mentioned that his passion for bands ::
:: that wrote lengthier songs has existed since he was a kid, ::
:: name-dropping bands like URIAH HEEP and METALLICA. ::
:: ::
:: "His Master's Voice" opens the album with an odd, pseudo- ::
:: gothic atmosphere which makes way for some inspiring speed ::
:: metal cacophony. The guitar work is significantly more ::
:: saturated and distant sounding than on previous records ù ::
:: presumably due to the band's use of a more traditional ::
:: studio, Oslo's Chaka Khan Studio, rather than its own ::
:: primitive studios used for previous efforts. "Hate Cloak" ::
:: follows up with the clearest representation of Fenriz's ::
:: passion for epic doom metal, filtered through DARKTHRONE's ::
:: evil, grimy prism that is, of course. The repetitive riff ::
:: work is engaging, but it runs excessively deeper into the ::
:: song. ::
:: ::
:: The Norwegian black metal band that we once upon a time ::
:: assumed may never change has done exactly that as the years ::
:: have passed. Given deeper consideration, if the band was to ::
:: continue, which it has, the stylistic changeups were ::
:: inevitable. In the same way that NAPALM DEATH wouldn't have ::
:: continued upon their remarkable path had they attempted to ::
:: regurgitate "Scum" and "From Enslavement to Obliteration", ::
:: so too would DARKTHRONE have been doomed to becoming a ::
:: caricature of its former self had it unimaginatively ::
:: recycled early to mid-nineties classics like "Under a ::
:: Funeral Moon" or "Transilvanian Hunger". (Some motifs from ::
:: the new song "Wake of the Awakened" do sound reminiscent of ::
:: "Transilvanian Hunger", however.) ::
:: ::
:: But while expansive creative ambition is admirable, that ::
:: doesn't mean that faint praise is mandatory. Yes, ::
:: DARKTHRONE has proven itself a formidable force in the ::
:: realm of punk-fueled black metal, but by and large, too ::
:: much of the darkness has dissipated over time. At its peak, ::
:: in the earlier part of the nineties, DARKTHRONE wielded ::
:: repetitive, melodic riffs that verged on the point of ::
:: melancholy but eventually sunk into a cold void of pure ::
:: misanthropy that was absolutely insane. But similar to the ::
:: manner in which the (black) magic left the building for the ::
:: mighty SLAYER following its covers album "Undisputed ::
:: Attitude", the same has happened, at some point, for ::
:: DARKTHRONE. Sure, "Eternal Hailsàà" is an enjoyable dark ::
:: metal album inspired by epic doom and traditional heavy ::
:: metal, but DARKTHRONE unfortunately does not make the ::
:: mesmerizing albums of yore. ::
:: ::
:: . _ _ . ::
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