Eternal Hails..., the highly anticipated new Darkthrone album was released today, at long last. Almost everybody already knew what it was going to sound like since Darkthrone had already unveiled the track “Hate Cloak”, so no surprises. Darkthrone have developed their own raw sound to which they stick faithfully. Compared to the previous two albums (Arctic Thunder and Old Star) Eternal Hails.. accentuates the slow and powerful parts and can be described as epic black heavy metal. It is evident that Nocturno Culto and Fenriz want to explore vintage metal and doom and adapt them to an extreme metal context whilst also incorporating instruments such as the Moog. On the other hand, they preserve Darkthrone’s typical "sardonic" spirit. My interpretation of the texts is that of a search for truth or wisdom through an inner journey and knowledge of the arcana. However, everything is delivered in the unmistakable Darkthrone style, so if you love their sound, you will love this album; personally I don't feel excited about it and don't think I will miss listening to it either. To conclude, Eternal Hails... is a cunningly forged album, though, and a top release only for the fact that it is a Darkthrone album.
Notes:
Eternal Hails... was released on June 25, 2021 via Peaceville Records. Eternal Hails... was recorded at Chaka Khan Studio in Oslo, & engineered by Ole Ovstedal & 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 & 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....
Personnel:
Fenriz: Drums, Bass, Vocals (additional), Guitars (additional), Lyrics
Nocturno Culto: Vocals (lead), Guitars (lead), Bass
Text by Herjann
herjann@unholyblackmetal.com
Notes:
Eternal Hails... was released on June 25, 2021 via Peaceville Records. Eternal Hails... was recorded at Chaka Khan Studio in Oslo, & engineered by Ole Ovstedal & 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 & 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....
Personnel:
Fenriz: Drums, Bass, Vocals (additional), Guitars (additional), Lyrics
Nocturno Culto: Vocals (lead), Guitars (lead), Bass
Text by Herjann
herjann@unholyblackmetal.com
