Darkthrone: “Dark Thrones and Black Flags”, a review
Having failed to recapture the magic of their early to mid 90’s heyday with lifeless and boring albums like “Ravishing Grimness” and “Plaguewielder”, Darkthrone realised they had to do something different in order to disguise the fact that they were an utterly spent force.
With all the thousands of bands copying their 90’s black metal style, Fenriz and Nocturno Culto decided to go back to their early youth and make novelty albums combining all their favourite 80’s metal bits into one easily digestible and forgettable meal of putrid mush.
“This’ll be really cool,” Fenriz thought. “We can have our own generic Eddie figure on the album covers, use silly song titles and have a real laugh while making money off of hipsters so as I don’t have to go and work in the post office again. Yeah, that’ll be totally boss.”
“Dark Thrones and Black Flags” (cute title by the way) continues where “F.O.A.D.” left off, in other words, by insulting the intelligence of metallers and delighting the irony-o-meters of hipsters with its self-referential, catchy punk metal that makes a lot of noise but says nothing. Each track zips by in a low production breeze of self-satisfied smugness (we could do better than this but we don’t care anymore), barely registering on the listener’s consciousness, much like pop music.
Whereas Darkthrone’s classic albums took their influences and remolded them into something new and evolving, here Fenriz and company are like babies playing with their own faeces. “Remember when this was Deathstrike?” 2 month old Fenriz says, his hands cupping some green sludge, “somehow it’s turned into poo. Oh well who cares, let’s send it to Peaceville, they can polish it up and sell it.”
Avoid this album at all costs. Having this CD on your shelf is the same as having a row of Star Wars toys in your bedroom. “Don’t you get it? It’s nostalgic and ironic.” Go die, as Fenriz would say.
Tags: black metal, dark thrones and black flags, Darkthrone, Fenriz, nocturno culto, peaceville, plaguewielder, punk, ravishing grimness, review
June 3rd, 2009 at 4:27 am
I don`t understand why does Black metal always get the attention of so called anti-humanists and nihilists. I of course mean the internet ones.
Listen to Grief- I hate the human race.
Black Metal is overrated. 99% of it is bullshit made by snot-nose kids or some losers.
Ildjarn ftw.
June 3rd, 2009 at 4:39 am
Maybe it’s because black metal is inherently nihilistic and against humanism?
I agree with the Ildjarn comment by the way.
June 4th, 2009 at 1:52 pm
Try noise. Whitehouse.
June 4th, 2009 at 2:21 pm
Sludge stuff? Loinen, Moss, Khanate.
June 12th, 2009 at 7:02 pm
Great article. I’ve been trying to find someone who gave this album the kick in the balls it deserves. When I first learned of Darkthrone going crustpunk I was horrified but everyone kept convincing me that Darkthrone was being ‘trve’ and I wasn’t a real metalhead because I didn’t understand the brilliance of it. So I sat around and listened to this and FOAD and could not bring myself to understand or like it. However, after reading Fenriz moronic comments about his older black metal works I realize the hostile disconnect. I have to side with anti-humanism on this one- black metal is not about sex and drugs and rock n roll. It certainly HAS these things, but at the core its about making good music with a passionate vision. What if Beethoven were to say fuck it, I’m going to make hip-hop albums instead? Sure, hip-hop didn’t exist back then, but imagine if it did. Yes, everyone would be excited about it at first and good old Beethoven would be getting mad pussy and rollin in cash, but when the fanfare died down we wouldn’t be listening to his rap garbage 200 years later like we do his other works. Transilvanian Hunger was one of the first black metal CDs I heard and it is still one of my favorites along with all the other ‘old’ ‘immature’ stuff for ‘kids’ like Nightside Eclipse and Hvis Lyset Tar Oss. While I appreciate Fenriz sense of humor he has to realize that gimmicks are only funny when the actual art is of some content. Like the reviewer said later, I can slap a Darkthrone logo on anything and it will sell because people will think its ‘brvtal’ and ‘kvlt’.
July 26th, 2009 at 8:00 am
This review + the statement of Fenriz wake me to the painful truth that Darkthrone have abandoned Black Metal for Mammon. I It seems to have happened so suddenly. Both Hate Them and Sardonic Wrath were worthy releases, and even showed lyrical innovation. But then what happened? The more Fenriz sings instead of Ted, the worse it gets. Where is the poetry, the Black Metal feeling?
And to think that Darkthrone have yet another album coming out this year. Repudiation is a fine thing, but I hope Fenriz isn’t denying his earlier work just so someone will buy him another drink at Elm Street.
February 14th, 2010 at 3:04 pm
Darkthrone died with Trans Hunger…long live Trans Hunger!!!!!
February 14th, 2010 at 3:09 pm
BTW-thank you to A-H-great review and thoughts on this once influential band (from a BM musician who fell in love with this crap in 85-thank you CF-played this style years before fenriz and NC picked up instruments)
Thank you for not “ball washing” their new crap like every other “scenester” blog and mag…
February 27th, 2010 at 6:39 am
I love both Transilvanian Hangover and Dark Thrones and Black Flags!