Aargh, the mighty Darkthrone. What can I say that hasn't been already said about them ? They have been sitting at the black metal throne since 1992 and amazingly after 14 years they are still able to create an album sounding fresh. This duo of top notch musicians have given a big "f*** you" to all the stupid underground scene , kvlt kiddies, posers and bedroom bm bands and made an album that is like a punch to the face in a cold winter night. This is party music, booze and headbang is unavoidable.

Darkthrone has perfectly mixed rock & roll and punk with their music, which has been an obvious influence for them since the beginning of their career, this time it is more obvious, to the point of blending these different music types with old school black metal. The album starts with "The Cult of Goliath" and I am nailed to my seat, only to get up and start headbanging to "Too Old, Too Cold". The lyrics tell us the stance of Darkthrone in music today "Nothing to prove, just a hellish rock and roll freak. You call your metal black ? It's just spastic, lame and weak". I'm sure this lyrics have upset some people at the black metal underground but the black metal underground owes much to Fenriz and Nocturno Culto. Everybody was curious when it was announced that Fenriz will be doing vocals for "Graveyard Slut". He is simply amazing at it, as he was in his many one-man projects. Nocturno Culto is awesome as always at the vocals, sounding extremely rasp and pissed off as usual. The rest of the album continues in this punk-rock fashion, catchy riffs of N. Culto and awesome drumwork of Fenriz gives the listener one hell of an experience. Surprisingly some songs have guitar solos, I was never a fan of solos and these don't add much to the music. The only downside of this album is it may get boring after a few listens. That's the curse of catchy music, but the first few listens are uplifting, as if you have heard your first metal album ever.


Enough with the fanboyism and hyperbole, I recommend this album to anyone who likes metal in general. If you are expecting a Transilvanian Hunger, look for the thousands of copycats , this isn't for you. Darkthrone has moved on and renewed themselves and they deserve your respect and undivided attention.

85 / 100 Dogan Guven Ozkan.

What can I say that hasn't been already said about them ?

I wish the people who voted no would give an explanation at least. I don't mind constructive criticism but it seems like I should have put an "I don't care / I'm an imbecile and can't make decisions" option. That's where some votes would go.

Is there something that I'm missing? Why do some of you put a space between a word and something like a question mark or an exclamation point? Chris does it on his reviews, Kaath just did it. I don't get it.