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country: NOR
label: Peaceville
Released at: October 27, 2022
format: CD
Condition: New
CD in jewel case
Carried on the brisk wind of eager rock, with foundations in black, thrash, doom and heavy metal, Astral Fortress is the 2022 album of stellar, eclectic old metal from the legendary Darkthrone.
With a seemingly endless dungeon full of heavy metal influences channelled through Darkthrone’s dynamic riff-machine, plus increasing inspirations taken from their own back catalogue, Darkthrone has become very much its own beast within the metal world. Though sprinkled with atmospheric touches, such as synthesisers and mellotron, the Darkthrone sound remains stripped to the core, primitive and organic.
Astral Fortress was recorded at Chaka Khan Studios in Oslo, the same location used for the Eternal Hails album, with Ole Øvstedal and Silje Høgevold.
From their formation back in 1986, to becoming one of Norways’s finest musical exports (with a number of highly revered black metal masterpieces released in the early 1990s helping to solidify their legacy), Darkthrone has continued to evolve and challenge in equal measure, throughout their illustrious recording career spanning over three decades. And now, the ever-productive duo of Nocturno and Fenriz continue their own metallic saga with a new selection of fine, vintage sounding headbanging classics in the making.
Pre-album recordings from 1991 and 1992, created during Darkthrone's highly regarded transitional period as the band marched towards Black Metal infamy.
The Wind Of 666 Black Hearts contains tracks which would go on to feature on the classic A Blaze in the Northern Sky and Under a Funeral Moon albums. The A Blaze... rehearsal tracks feature the line-up of Nocturno Culto, Fenriz, Zephyrous and Dag Nilsen, while the Under a Funeral Moon rehearsal tracks saw Darkthrone narrowed to a 3-piece act, with Nocturno moving to bass and Zephyrous handling all guitars.
The recordings are taken from the band's rehearsal venue in Vinterbro.
CD edition including rare photos, lyrics, and liner notes from Fenriz.
Old Star displays a mastery of the art of the riff, with its 6 epic tracks taking in the best of the old school of Heavy and Extreme Metal combined with a large dose of Doom channelled through the grime of the underground.
With the highly revered Norwegians remaining ever-dedicated to the art of the riff after 35 years of existence, Darkthrone returns for album number nineteen and a new dose of Metallic godliness. On the back of 2019’s triumphant Old Star opus, the duo of Nocturno Culto & Fenriz present a 41 minute maelstrom of Epic Black Heavy Metal across five sprawling compositions. Organic and dynamic, the album is an exploration of the finest vintage Metal and the best of Doom, all delivered in the unmistakable Darkthrone style (whilst also incorporating instruments such as the Moog to further expand upon these soundscapes).
Eschewing the process of using their own Necrohell II studios - which has served the band so well over the last 15 years - and welcoming a change of environment and the opportunity to experiment with new ideas, Eternal Hails…… was recorded at Chaka Khan Studio in Oslo, and engineered by Ole Ovstedal and Silje Høgevold, breathing new life into the sound while retaining the essence of Darkthrone’s natural, raw feeling.
The cover artwork features the piece Pluto and Charon (1972), from renowned science fiction artist David A. Hardy; a hugely inspirational image for both Fenriz and Nocturno Culto spanning several decades, and this also stands as a symbolic link between the genre-bending styles apparent on Darkthrone’s earliest works, to those same traits evident on Eternal Hails….
With a legacy of audial treasures now spanning more than 35 years & with the fountain of creativity ever flowing, Norway’s Darkthrone return with their latest venture through classic riffs & vintage sounding metal in the shape of the epic new seven track studio opus, ‘It Beckons Us All’.
Seeing the longstanding duo of Fenriz & Nocturno Culto uniting once more, ‘It Beckons Us All’ follows on the heels of 2022’s revered ‘Astral Fortress’ album, with what could be considered an even more refined, challenging & diverse set of timeless metal anthems from the uncompromising trailblazers; from the melodic, to the sombre & atmospheric, to the blackened dirges emanating from Darkthrone’s highly distinguishable riffing, as well as a nod to influences such as Celtic Frost along the way.
Recorded once again at Chaka Khan Studios in the band’s native Norway, ‘It Beckons Us All’ was mastered by Jack Control at Enormous Door, with artwork courtesy of Polish artist Zbigniew Bielak.
With an expansive catalogue consisting of a multitude of various genre classics, Darkthrone first arrived on the global stage with their atmospheric & technically accomplished death metal debut, ‘Soulside Journey’ back in 1991, followed by the milestone in black metal that is ‘A Blaze In The Northern Sky’ released only the following year, after the intended second album ‘Goatlord’ was essentially scrapped to make way for something more primitive & paving the way for Darkthrone’s close association with the black metal genre over many years. And so, with an endlessly progressing (and even regressing) evolution which has seen the band successfully delving into many sub-genres of metal & punk, ‘It Beckons Us All’ stands as one of the band’s most complete & vast works to date.
This edition of 'It Beckons Us All' is presented on Nocturno Culto’s own limited grey marble vinyl, with printed inner sleeve containing lyrics.
With a legacy of audial treasures now spanning more than 35 years & with the fountain of creativity ever flowing, Norway’s Darkthrone return with their latest venture through classic riffs & vintage sounding metal in the shape of the epic new seven track studio opus, ‘It Beckons Us All’.
Seeing the longstanding duo of Fenriz & Nocturno Culto uniting once more, ‘It Beckons Us All’ follows on the heels of 2022’s revered ‘Astral Fortress’ album, with what could be considered an even more refined, challenging & diverse set of timeless metal anthems from the uncompromising trailblazers; from the melodic, to the sombre & atmospheric, to the blackened dirges emanating from Darkthrone’s highly distinguishable riffing, as well as a nod to influences such as Celtic Frost along the way.
Recorded once again at Chaka Khan Studios in the band’s native Norway, ‘It Beckons Us All’ was mastered by Jack Control at Enormous Door, with artwork courtesy of Polish artist Zbigniew Bielak.
With an expansive catalogue consisting of a multitude of various genre classics, Darkthrone first arrived on the global stage with their atmospheric & technically accomplished death metal debut, ‘Soulside Journey’ back in 1991, followed by the milestone in black metal that is ‘A Blaze In The Northern Sky’ released only the following year, after the intended second album ‘Goatlord’ was essentially scrapped to make way for something more primitive & paving the way for Darkthrone’s close association with the black metal genre over many years. And so, with an endlessly progressing (and even regressing) evolution which has seen the band successfully delving into many sub-genres of metal & punk, ‘It Beckons Us All’ stands as one of the band’s most complete & vast works to date.
