A new Darkthrone album is always something to be celebrated, and the band have truly amassed a remarkable catalogue that has rarely dipped below the lofty standards they established for themselves all the way back in 1986. Returning for their twentieth outing with It Beckons Us All, which follows on from 2022’s strong Astral Fortress, the duo of Fenriz and Nocturno Culto are, once again firing on all cylinders. With classic riffs in abundance, the band traipse the frost-rimed landscape over the course of seven tracks, leading, with grim inevitably, to the epic, ten-minute closer – the scene-stealing The Lone Pines Of The Lost Land. An album of epic proportions, clothed in glorious artwork, and produced with a surprising attention to detail, it stands out as another brilliant entry in the band’s largely flawless canon.
Versions
Peaceville and Darkthrone have, once again, had fun putting together a tempting array of versions for fans to dig their teeth into. At time of writing, the options include Blue marble vinyl, a multiformat boxset (featuring tape, CD, and vinyl), black vinyl, and jewel case CD. A couple of other editions have already sold out, and if you’re keen on one of the special formats, we’d advise you get in early, for they’re always worth having – not least thanks to the stunning artwork of longtime band collaborator Zbigniew Bielak.
Watch the Peaceville unboxing here:
The Album
It opens, not with the sound of a battered guitar, but with eerie synth, creeping through the cracks to let a cold win swirl around your feet. A short prelude it may be, but it sets the scene nicely for Howling Primitive Colonies, a mid-tempo piece with a blackened doom feel. It also demonstrates the band’s evolved approach to recording, with more layers apparent in the mix, and a subtly cleaner edge to the sound, which reaps its rewards as the track shifts tempos and moods across its six-minute runtime. It’s an evocative, even progressive opener for the album. It’s followed by the blackened horror of Eon 3, which slowly fades into view on the back of a galloping riff that proves surprisingly catchy, while the vocals hover in a haze of dirty tape echo, waiting for the moment to strike. Having established its presence, the track shifts neatly between the more trad metal riffs with which it opens and doomier passages, driving the piece forward to the brutally direct Black Dawn Affiliation. With its grinding riffs and gruff vocals, it’s one of the album’s heaviest moments, and even the addition of eerie layers of ambient noise cannot entirely pull the sting from the guitars. With the band throwing some clean vocals into the mix at its conclusion, it’s something of a masterclass in dark intensity. In contrast, the short And In That Moment I Knew The Answer is a captivating instrumental that harks back to the demos eerie grandeur of Snowfall.
Opening side 2, The Bird People Of Nordland emerges from screeching feedback as one of the album’s most gloriously old-school moments, although even here there are surprises – the surprisingly melodic lead that cuts through the mix at around the half way mark, for example. Once again, it leaves us in no doubt as to Darkthrone’s pioneering spirit, and when the piece devolves into a black metal melee, it’s with a suddenness calculated to cause whiplash. Aptly titled, The Heavy Hand is a thunderous, doomy trudge with a grinding riff that simply never lets up. It is, however, but a prelude to the album’s astonishing closer, The Lone Pines Of The Lost Planet. With a clean guitar intro that builds slowly to the central riff, you can hear the early Metallica influences, while the track itself nods to Celtic Frost, the heaviness of the piece defined not so much by the notes the band play as the spaces between them. As befits a piece pushing the ten-minute mark, it’s a remarkably dynamic finale, which the band deftly steer through a mix of psychedelic and progressive pastures. It’s a stunning work of art and, even after the impressive quality demonstrated elsewhere, it makes for a standout conclusion to the record.
Conclusions
Some twenty albums in, Darkthrone have achieved the difficult feat of establishing a sound that is both defiantly their own, and yet flexible enough to allow considerable variation within its parameters. Classic metal, black metal, doom, psychedelia, and progressive elements can all be found in the ebb and flow of their various albums, without diluting what might be termed the Darkthrone sound. Nevertheless, on It Beckons Us All, there is a yet-greater sense of exploration, with the sprawling finale exemplifying a more nuanced approach that works beautifully in the band’s favour. It is an album in which to lose oneself and, even by Darkthrone’s impressive standards, it is a ridiculously strong entry in their canon. Grab a physical copy while you can, drop the needle and let yourself drift across a landscape entirely of Darktrhone’s making, it is time well spent, and a journey you’ll want to take again and again. 10/10
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