How do you, how can you, go about adequately celebrating the tenth anniversary of a band whose output has done more to shape a genre known for experimentation and extremity than can easily or comfortably be acknowledged? If you’re a record label you might suggest releasing a “best of” (Darkthrone, predictably, resisted such an option); if you’re the band in question you may suggest something more random (Darkthrone suggested a backpatch); and if you head somewhere in between those two, equally ludicrous, suggestions, you come up with a CD that comprises eight of the brightest (or should that be blackest?) stars in the black metal genre and let them loose on a selection of classic tracks.
Thus, in 1998, Darkthrone, Holy Darkthrone, was unleashed upon the scene. Featuring contributions from such luminaries as Thorns, Satyricon, Emperor, Gehenna and more, it is a veritable who’s who of the black metal scene and it’s hard to imagine a similar project that has been approached with such care and (on behalf of the participating bands) obvious glee. Of course, like so many of Peaceville’s early releases, the damn thing is hard to get hold of, and so, some fourteen years later, the label have reissued the album complete with an expanded booklet and the briefest of liner notes so that fans of that blackest of metal acts can once more get their hands on this slice of dark history.
Opening with Satyricon, it is ‘Kathaarian life code’ that gets a thorough working over first. At just under ten minutes it is actually shorter than its original counterpart so ferocious is Satyricon’s interpretation, but like the original it makes a fine album opener, the atmospheric effects of the none-more-creepy introduction giving way to a furious assault of tinny guitars that are none-too-far removed from the original, making this an affectionate cover rather than a radically altered interpretation. Next up are the mighty Enslaved who equally stick close to the blueprint of the original track on ‘Natassja in eternal sleep’, albeit with a stronger guitar sound. It demonstrates the level of respect with which Darkthrone are held that these two most original of bands consider they have little to add to the already almost perfect originals and thus stick close to the anarchic, strangely beautiful formulae laid down by Darkthrone on the original versions.
One band that you can guarantee will do their utmost to send things spinning off in a whole new direction are Thorns whose radical ‘Vs Emperor’ album introduced the coldest industrial elements into the mix. Thus they do here with a devastating, electronics-laden version of ‘the pagan winter’ which is as cold and inhuman as its writers intended but with an added industrial edge which strips away any vestiges of humanity that a flawed, human recording might accidentally leave in situ. Emperor themselves turn up next to offer up their version of the awesome ‘cromlech’ which sparks with the cold energy and fury that the band are renowned for and which certainly ups the ante in production stakes. The only band on the album to take on the bleak death metal of ‘Soulside Journey’, Emperor produce one of the album’s highlights with their symphonic keyboards adding an extra dimension to the track.
With everybody else turning to the first four albums for inspiration, it is typical of Dodheimsgard’s contrary nature to grab a track from the ‘goatlord’ album (a record that was recorded between 90-91 and then abandoned until ‘94 when Fenriz went back to it to record vocals), the bastard child of Darkthrone’s early discography. Like Thorns, Dodheimsgard are one of the weirdest bands linked to the black metal movement, and like Thorns they turn in a track that boasts a pained, vicious atmosphere that is all their own, mainly thanks to the multiple, awkward vocals that adorn the song, and the almost twee keyboard lines that add a ghoulish atmosphere to the music. Heading back to more traditional pastures and the ever-excellent Gehenna bravely take on the legendary ‘Transilvanian Hunger’ with gusto and although they barely change a note, it is a storming version that manages to match the elegant fire of Darkthrone’s original masterpiece. Quite astonishingly managing to sound even more proudly lo-fi than the original, Gorgoroth weigh in with ‘Slottet I Det fjerne’, a track so utterly shrouded in the fog of Gorgoroth’s own misanthropy that it proves to be the greatest success of the record so ghoulish and venomous is the delivery. The album closes on no uncertain terms with Immortal’s take on ‘to walk the infernal fields’ which, whilst a fine cover, suffers in comparison to Gorgoroth’s hellish take and you can’t help but feel for the band left to follow it.
Overall Darkthrone, Holy Darkthrone offers up a fantastic variety of amazing Norwegian bands covering one of the greatest bands of the genre with varying degrees of success. Whilst none of the covers here fail, the versions offered up by Thorns, Emperor, Dodheimsgard and Gorgoroth succeed to a greater degree because they add inspiration to reverence and develop upon the original tracks. Given that Darkthrone have evolved their sound continuously over the years, it seems that to offer up a suitably altered arrangement is entirely in keeping with the band’s own philosophies. This is a must have for fans of Darkthrone, or for the uninitiated who have yet to discover the primitive magic of true black metal, and while there is an argument that you simply can’t beat the inspired malevolence of the originals, this is a grand opportunity to hear eight of the genre’s greatest acts paying tribute to the undisputed masters. A timely reissue from a label, and a selection of acts, who have been there since the beginning. All hail Darkthrone, Holy Darkthrone.
