Being a studio band has its perks. For one, you don’t have to worry about the endless touring most bands partake in to push their music in the first place. Then, there’s the media circus aspect of it. Sure, Fenriz and Nocturno Culto of Darkthrone infamy give the occasional chat here and there, but you don’t see their name pop up nearly as frequently as say Corey Taylor or the guy from Disturbed with the silly chin piercings. Why? Because unlike those bozos, Darkthrone are a band who lets the music do the talking and has been doing so for over 35 years.
By now, you’re well aware of Darkthrone’s place in metal history as arguably the second most important Norwegian black metal band behind only Mayhem. You’re also aware that they’ve largely kissed that sound goodbye years ago, opting instead for a blackened speed/crust approach in the ’00s and early ’10s, and subsequently morphing into a blackened doom monolith come the latter half of the ’10s. Their last two efforts in this vein, Eternal Hails…… (2021) and Astral Fortress (2022), were creative triumphs, fusing the band’s love of early Celtic Frost and ’70s Black Sabbath into immensely unholy and heavy hymns.
On their latest album, It Beckons Us All……., Darkthrone have stripped away the Sabbath and Pentagram traditional doom leanings of their last few albums in exchange for a bizarrely welcoming fusion of Morbid Tales era Celtic Frost-esque black metal and epic doom akin to Cirith Ungol. The end result are 7 songs that can only be described as dense, unpredictable, and downright crushing. The album’s first half can largely be characterized as pure first wave black metal worship, or before the likes of Darkthrone changed the genre sonically forever. “Howling Primitive Colonies” and “Eon 3” captivate with their mesmerizing blackened psychedelia, warping the listener’s very soul with uneasy guitar riffs and wild twists. The Mercyful Fate-esque traditionalism of “Black Dawn Affiliation” further emphasizes this band’s love of all things old school and true.
After a cryptic instrumental break in “And in That Moment I Knew the Answer”, It Beckons shifts gears towards doomier, bleaker pastures. The terrifying “The Bird People of Nordland” sound closest to what many would label as “classic Darkthrone”, with its pacing, riffing, and delivery sounding not far removed from say A Blaze in the Northern Sky (1992): One part doom, one part black, and all parts evil. The aptly titled “The Heavy Hand” continues the destruction, coming off as a distant Norwegian cousin of Celtic Frost’s “Procreation (of the Wicked)”. Rounding it all out is the epic “The Lone Pines of the Lost Planet”. Bravely blurring the lines between black metal, doom metal, psychedelia, and prog, it definitely boasts that arcane spirit reminscent of Cirith Ungol I mentioned earlier.
Despite being well into their veteran stage, Darkthrone continue to make metal with the same unbridled fervor as they did in their youth. I can only chalk this up to their genuine love for this music, its history, its culture, and its fanbase. This ain’t just another band of old timers cranking out an album for an easy paycheck and cheap glory. No, Darkthrone are as moved today by the undeniable power of a Tom G. Warrior guitar riff as they were 40 years ago. If you truly love and live for this music, you know the exact same feeling. And it’s this feeling that will sweep over you upon dropping the needle on It Beckons Us All…….
9 out of 10
Label: Peaceville Records
Genre: Black/Doom Metal
For fans of: Celtic Frost, Hellhammer, Cirith Ungol