Darkthrone

Darkthrone
Nocturno Culto and Fenriz (2005)
Background information
Origin	Kolbotn, Norway
Genres	Death metal (early), black metal (mid), crust punk (later)
Years active	1987–present
Labels	Peaceville, Moonfog
Website	darkthrone.no
Members
Nocturno Culto Fenriz
Past members
Ivar Enger Dag Nilsen Anders Risberget

Darkthrone is a Norwegian black metal band. They formed in 1987 as a death metal band, but after embracing the black metal style in 1991, they became a driving force in the Norwegian black metal scene. For most of this period Darkthrone has consisted of just two musicians, Nocturno Culto and Fenriz, who have sought to remain outside the music mainstream.^[1] Since 2006, their work has incorporated more elements of traditional heavy metal, speed metal and punk rock.

History

Death metal years

The band that would become Darkthrone formed in late 1986 in Kolbotn, a small suburb of Oslo. They were a death metal band by the name of Black Death whose members were Gylve Nagell, Ivar Enger and Anders Risberget. Main inspirations were Celtic Frost, Cryptic Slaughter and Slayer's Show No Mercy. In fall 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.

Immediately following the release of this album, the band continued writing and recording new material, recording every new song on tape until it was a full album. These demos were entirely instrumental but they demonstrated the band's gradual shift towards black metal. In 1997, they would be released on the compilation album Goatlord.

Early black metal years

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 corpsepaint 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.^[2] After the album was recorded, bassist Dag Nilsen left the band, 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. The band would remain a duo from this point onwards. Transilvanian Hunger was characterized by a very "raw" or "low fidelity" recording style and musical simplicity. The album's release caused some controversy: some of its lyrics were written by the infamous 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

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

Their fifth album, Panzerfaust, was released in 1995. The album was received well, although its production, which is similar to that of Transilvanian Hunger, encountered some criticisms. 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 ambient project Neptune Towers, recording an album with Satyr as the duo 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 mostly 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.^[3]

In the last years of the 90s, 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

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.^[4]

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 again mixed crust punk along with speed metal and traditional heavy metal.

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.

Discography

Studio albums

Year	Title	Notes
1991	Soulside Journey	The band's only death metal album (apart from demos).
1992	A Blaze in the Northern Sky	Final release with bassist Dag Nilsen.
1993	Under a Funeral Moon	Final release with guitarist Ivar Enger.
1994	Transilvanian Hunger	Some lyrics by Varg Vikernes.
1995	Panzerfaust	Some lyrics by Varg Vikernes.
1996	Total Death	Features lyrics written by four guests.
1999	Ravishing Grimness
2001	Plaguewielder
2003	Hate Them
2004	Sardonic Wrath	Final black metal album.
2006	The Cult is Alive	Marked a major change in musical style.
2007	F.O.A.D.
2008	Dark Thrones and Black Flags
2010	Circle the Wagons[5]

Compilations and tribute albums

• 1998 – Darkthrone Holy Darkthrone – tribute album featuring eight Norwegian bands.
• 1999 – The Next Thousand Years Are Ours – tribute album featuring fourteen bands and a multimedia disc.
• 2000 – Preparing For War – compilation of songs from 1988–1994, re-released with a bonus CD of demos and a DVD.
• 2008 – Frostland Tapes – compilation containing the band's early demos (Land of Frost, A New Dimension, Thulcandra, Cromlech), the original instrumental version of Goatlord, and a recording of a concert in Denmark.

EPs

• 2005 – Under beskyttelse av mørke (Under Cover of Darkness) – released exclusively in Japan, contains rehearsal songs from the Under a Funeral Moon recording sessions.
• 2006 – Too Old, Too Cold – contains outtakes from The Cult Is Alive recording sessions.
• 2007 – NWOBHM – contains outtakes from the F.O.A.D. recording sessions.

Demos

• 1988 – Land of Frost
• 1988 – A New Dimension
• 1989 – Thulcandra
• 1989 – Cromlech
• 1991 – Goatlord (first released in 1997)

Band members

Current members

• Nocturno Culto (Ted Skjellum) – lead guitar, bass guitar, vocals, lyrics (since 1988)
• Fenriz (Gylve Fenris Nagell) – drums, rhythm guitar, bass, vocals, lyrics (since 1988)

Former members

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

Related artists

• Satyricon – Nocturno Culto has recorded and performed with the band.
• Aura Noir – Fenriz has recorded vocals with the band.
• Isengard – solo project of Fenriz, 1989-1995.
• Neptune Towers – solo project of Fenriz, 1993-1995.
• Dødheimsgard – Fenriz (Bass guitar on first album), 1995.
• Storm – Fenriz, 1995.
• Valhall – Fenriz, 1987–1989, 1993-2000.

References

1. ^ "Amateur fanzine link". Metalstorm.ee. http://www.metalstorm.ee/pub/interview.php?interview_id=426. Retrieved 2011-10-15. 
2. ^ "Peaceville Records Biography". http://peaceville.com/index.php?cid=2. Retrieved 2007-08-20. 
3. ^ Smith, Brad. "Interview with Darkthrone". 
4. ^ "Darkthrone in the Charts!". Rockdetector. 2006-02-11. Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. http://web.archive.org/web/20070930193616/http://www.rockdetector.com/news/artist,2200.sm;jsessionid=E981ED8E27BB6A13885C5CC199CE6E3A?id=2300. Retrieved 2007-08-20. 
5. ^ "DARKTHRONE BIOGRAPHY AND VIDEO CLIPS van Darkthrone op Myspace". Blogs.myspace.com. 2009-11-21. http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=123087153&blogId=519327311. Retrieved 2011-10-15. 

External links

• Official website
• Darkthrone on Allmusic
• Darkthrone biography on Peaceville Records
• Interview with Fenriz and Nocturno Culto for The Lodge
• Interview with Nocturno Culto for The Lodge
• Review of The Cult is Alive in The Lodge