- Country: Norway
- Style: Black metal / Heavy metal
- Label: Peaceville Records
- Release date: 28 October 2022
Darkthrone’s new album arrived hot on the heels of 2021’s Eternal Hails……, and it might be the best thing they’ve done in this late, old-metal phase of the band. Seven songs. Slow to mid-paced almost all the way through.
It was recorded at Chaka Khan Studios in Oslo, and the sound is warm, dry and wonderfully unpolished, like a rehearsal-room tape that somehow turned out perfect. Opener “Caravan Of Broken Ghosts” takes its time, riding a doomy riff for minutes before it lurches forward into something meaner. “Impeccable Caverns Of Satan” has that crusty, half-thrash gallop Darkthrone have been chasing for years, and it nails it.
The centrepiece is “The Sea Beneath The Seas Of The Sea”, which runs past the ten-minute mark and never feels long. Synths and mellotron creep in around the edges of the record, never taking over, just adding a cold, starry haze that fits the title. Fenriz promised it would be “darker than ever”, and for once the press-release line is honest.
“Stalagmite Necklace” and “Eon 2” deserve a mention too, the latter closing things on a heavy, plodding note that just feels right. If you only know Darkthrone from the early black metal classics, this is a different animal. If you’ve followed their recent records, this is the payoff.
Best tracks:
Caravan Of Broken Ghosts
Impeccable Caverns Of Satan
The Sea Beneath The Seas Of The Sea
Eon 2
Author’s rating: 8.8/10
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