The best DARKTHRONE releases are, in my sense, "Under a funeral moon", "Transilvanian hunger" and "Panzerfaust". The band never did (and probably will never do) any better release, and nowadays these CDs are still considered as masterpieces and the Old DARKTHRONE is seen as The True DARKTHRONE (the difference with the New DARKTHRONE is a bit like in the case of MAYHEM, except here that the original members & founders are still playing in DARKTHRONE). "Transilvanian hunger" is certainly the most "ugly-sounding" CD rcorded by Fenriz, Culto & Zephyrous. The drum parts are almost drowned in the background noise and it makes it difficult to hearing them. Far from polished productions, this raw release is the testimony that black metal was not created to please kiddies, at the time Black Metal was sickness, dirt & hatred. When you put that CD in your player, no sweet introduction, the first & haunting riff of "Transilvanian hunger" catches you and takes you to your own destruction... This theme (self destruction, the idea of an irreversible end...) is recurrent on this album, many tracks sound like haunting chants from insane people about to commit suicide or to desecrate some graves in the darkest part of a cemetery... It's almost impossible to fiand any other band who could create such a feeling of discomfort... Let someone who doesn't listen to black metal at all listen to this album, and he will feel ill at ease, because DARKTHRONE's hatred was REAL at the time ! Just take a look at the cover... This is certainly the best artwork ever for a BM album, isn't it ? This CD was recorded in 1993, after Euronymous' death, and at the time DARKTHRONE wanted to express clearly its links with Varg Vikernes, as they asked him to write the lyrics of half the songs (4 lyrics were written by Varg, the other 4 ones were written by Fenriz), and this can also be felt at reading the mention "Norsk Arisk Black Metal" on the artwork of the CD... This is written under the "True Norwegian Black Metal" indication, but it doesn't have the same meaning at all... And if you read interviews of Fenriz from that period, you will see times have changed now, and the Moonfog company lost his balls... Listen to the last ten seconds of the last track, "En as i dype skogen", and you will understand everything... "The turkish march", by Dvorak... what a good idea...

There is no highlight on this CD, all tracks are pieces of hatred and belong to Black metal History, forever.

9.5/10

© 2002 lord pesten