I think it's a great good record. I listened to it a couple of times and boy the production is just right and it balances the whole raw-ness and modern-production techniques perfectly. Musically, there are some killer riffs but like ghengis said, they seem too spaced out. I loved Fenriz's vocals and I think they're apt for the record. The whole vibe created makes for brilliant 80s heavy metal worship. I'm not calling it a "great" record because as much as I enjoy it quite a lot now, I have a gut feeling that this enthusiasm will wear out. Anyway, time will tell. But I look forward to getting the CD for this record. Highly recommended for anyone's collection.

I caved in, I'm on the second track now. Valkyrie doesn't sound too far removed from Circle the Wagons; that album definitely hinted at a more speed/heavy metal approach, at least with Fenriz's songs. And Darkthrone has always had repetitive riffs, nothing new here. The production is squeaky clean, however, and their playing sounds a lot tighter, so you don't have low-fi fuzz and sloppy playing to add colour. Despite the sterility, the 80's riffs are solid and retain Darkthrone's identity. I don't want to spoil the whole album for myself, so I may stop here.

Complete garbage from start to finish. This probably took the band maybe two days to write tops, throw a mixture of old rehashed speed metal riffs, Fenriz's awful vocals, and stamp the Darkthrone logo and people will eat this shit up. Listening to Come warfare, the entire doom and Valkyrie and its like these guys are doing their damndest to sound like some awful throwback band. But whatever, if people enjoy this derivative horseshit that's swell.

I expected as much from you. That's fine, but if I could throw together a Darkthrone album in two days, I'd be a happy man.

I suspect The Underground Resistance will be in heavy rotation once I get it. Like the latest Manilla Road, it's nothing innovative or special, but I have a hard time not listening to it.

Why bother listening to it if you already knew you'd hate it from the get go?

PS I didn't hate this album - in fact I thought it was pretty decent. I just like the other new Darkthrone albums more so far, is all.

Because Veracs likes to inform us that everything he doesn't like is pure crap, that's why.

I honestly expected at least one good song though, I mean its fucking Darkthrone you know the band that more or less invented raw black metal. I mean they've always had a punk/heavy metal sound even in their earlier material, and even some of their punk albums had a few decent songs like Norway in September etc. Songs like Dead early and the Ones you leave behind literally sound like they didn't even bother writing any of their own original material, so much as twist and contort Motorhead, Attacker, and Manilla Road riffs to sound barely passable as their own songs. I keep hearing everyone talking about "Darkthrone's identity", but this is literally just a mishmash of their own influences without any Darkthrone elements other than their logo.

Darkthrone (and pretty much every other band, as far as I'm concerned) is whatever the band members want it to be. If they want to pay tribute to the things that influenced them, then it's perfectly okay. You don't have to like what they do. Then again, I don't give a rat's ass about their black metal stuff, so I'm probably not the most appropiate person to talk about them.

Mostly what I love about FOAD and Circle the Wagons (my favorites of their new era) is the loose, jamming, guitar-is-king vibe I get from them. Like nothing else matters except winging out cool as fuck riffs. Those albums are really prime examples on how to use riffing as an intensely musical, melodic songwriting instrument and it really gives off a spirit of what rock music truly means. I'll have to do a review sometime and explain that in more detail, but yeah - that's the "identity" as far as I'm concerned.

Didn't really love it on the first listen, but it's not a cause for concern cause I don't think I've ever loved anything of theirs from the get-go, but have always gone on to like it nevertheless.

Ok so I just started it and Dead Early is rocking pretty hard. I really love how abrasive the riffs are; nice and fast and aggressive. Also, I can't remember the last time Fenriz sounded so fucking wild on the drum kit. This has my approval so far.

They're noticeably copping off a lot of old bands here, I mentioned the similarity of "Leave No Cross Unturned" to "Evil Eye/Evil Minds," but they haven't completely fallen into speed metal obscurity. Darkthrone don't hide their influences. Mostly clearly since Panzerfaust, they've relentlessly worshiped their idols riff after riff. Bathory and Celtic Frost are heavily evident in their mid releases, and where classic influences such as Manilla Road started to seep through their crust punk albums, now their love of old heavy and speed metal bands is in broad daylight. Darkthrone is an ever-changing entity, hasn't the only constant thing always been their logo?

I think Tony is overly enthusiastic with his joy, but wow, Veracs, you're always impressive in the ways you can suck. If you seriously find nothing here that makes you go "That was cool", at least initially (before they run the riff into the ground), you've got something broken.

Has the intro/insanely-ridiculously-epic opening metal riff of Valkyrie not been mentioned? Since when has Darkthrone sounded so completely massive? That immediately reminded me of Hammerheart-era Bathory. Unfortunately the vocals sound strangely drowned out in this song, but sweet jesus, that riff has to be the best moment on the album.

Its not even just that its as if they've completely fucking forgotten how to write their own riffs, even when they had their own influences they melded them well enough to at least have their signature sound. Panzerfaust and A blaze in the Northern sky are loaded with Celtic frost-isms but they managed to string songs together with an element of conviction and their own riffs, as opposed to this piece of shit where they probably just re listened to Fenriz's vinyl collection and brainstormed how best to rip off their influences without a hint of their own output. Darkthrone aren't changing they've hit rock bottom creatively, and should just hang it out to dry before dropping another uninspired turd like this.

He's hung up on their old sound, which is absolutely fine.

Didn't mention it, but I definitely thought it! It's pretty bare-bones as far as acoustic intros go, but it was reminiscent of Bathory. Also, yeah, the vocals sounded buried, but I'm hoping in earnest it's just the leaked file.

His lack of brain can't be broken! Yes, perhaps I'm too enthusiastic about it, but I really like this sound and I don't care if the influences are obvious or not, I prefer that over pseudo occult unorthodox shite avant garde black metal. Darkthrone has nothing to prove to anyone and I like that they pay homage to their heavy metal heroes.

It's not really either or, though.

OK, second listen and this is sounding way better now. I won't say the things I said in my previous post were untrue, but still, that's the magic of Darkthrone; they make enjoyable stuff despite the flaws.

Man, Dead Early is such a badass opener, the whole build up is so awesome. Also, I have to say I like Nocturno's vocals so much more than Fenriz's so it's a shame he doesn't have more of a presence. Nocturno rules on Come Warfare, the Entire Doom.

Well, I've listened once so far and I'm definitely pleased. I think it's a better album than Circle the Wagons, although at first I did prefer the "smackier" drum sound on that album. "Valkyrie" is indeed a very cool song, although Fenriz is pulling an early Ozzy with the vocals in that the singing duplicates the guitar melodies/rhythm exactly. It basically rides one melody through the duration but that thing is really majestic. My favourite song so far though is "Lesser Men". The riffs just smash, and I think the band is strongest today in these swingy, mid-paced sort of songs. "Lesser Men" is also full of captivating, soaring lead work from Nocturno the likes of which we've never really heard before in Darkthrone. The level of energy present on the record is very high and the songs seem relatively free of overt referentialism to older bands while still calling to mind many classics.

The drumming is indeed full of enthusiasm on this album. It took me a while to adjust to that snare sound but the bass drum packs a real massive kick in my speakers.

It doesn't bother me that the vocals are a little buried on "Valkyrie". I appreciate what the band was doing but almost would have preferred a gruffer approach, since those melodies are carried very well by the guitars and the vocals don't seem to have much to add.

I got a funny vibe when I instantly heard the vocals. Apart from it being drowned out, I heard a tiny tinge of early Misfits-influenced vocals. Was it just me? Anyway, I've put the album to rest and started listening to something else for fears of milking it too much, too soon

I don't get the whole "darkthrone identity" that was mentioned. The band never sought out to ever have one in my opinion. They just do whatever the fuck they please. I think it's great that Fenriz has been experimenting a lot with the sounds (over the years) and his vocal delivery.

It's not as though singing is anything new for Fenriz...hasn't anybody listened to Isegnard, Red Planet etc? Of course, he's not a superb vocalist by any means and never has been, but I'm sure he would never claim otherwise.

I've heard his Isengard material but not the rest. I was referring to his vocals with respect to the Darkthrone franchise only though.

As previously stated by Ghengis, the main problem with this album is that it needs more variety. The minimalism might be okay in black metal, but this more urgent, active style calls for equally urgent riffing. It's not extremely detrimental to the record, but at times you do think "man, I wish they inserted another riff here". Also, while I certainly enjoy Fenriz's sloppy, passionate performance, I think that Valkyrie suffers from it. It's the only song that does as far as I'm concerned, but I can't keep myself from thinking that the song's mood requires tidier, more skilled vocal acrobatics. Now that those two things are out of the way, allow me to say that the only reason this is not my favorite Darkthrone album is because Soulside Journey exists. I like previous releases like F.O.A.D. and Circle the Wagons, but this is on an entirely new level of badassery.

I liked this pretty well & am a fan of the style and direction they're taking with Darkthrone. There's something missing though, like, that they'd need in order to make a truly remarkable album. I don't know what it is. Could be the vocal department. I'd like to hear some more higher pitched screams even if it's not coming from a golden throat.

As a caveat, these are my thoughts after one listen.



Didn't notice this. That is one of my favorite things about Black Sabbath & I'll have to pay it mind when I give Underground Resistance another listen.

Just finished listening to TUR for the first time and I have to say I like it! All the songs seem to have something good in them, like that rocking section in The Ones You Left Behind, and FUCK Valkyrie is awesome! However, I think that Leave No Cross Unturned is a bit overlong, it becomes boring fast imo. Overall, seems like a pretty good album after the first listen!

Really looking forward to the new album! I am pretty new to Darkthrone though. My wife has Under a Funeral Moon, and I have Hate Them and Panzerfaust. Any recommendations on what I should get next? I like the older black metal style but am pretty interested in the newer more "punk" sound from them that I keep hearing about. Also what is the best place to pick up Darkthrone releases in the US for the best price besides the obvious (ebay, amazon)?

I'd say Ablaze in the Northern Sky should be your next target.

Oh yeah, and the new album rules, picking this up the day it drops.

This is pretty much what I think; except that I don't think the album is horrible at all (when you go for generic, tested out sound, and have decent musicians it's hard to release a complete turd; a bland record still doesn't have to be offensive to listen to), I'd rate it 5/10, maybe 6/10, the first posted track left much worse impression. This release is also one of the best examples of how much name can you give: if it wasn't for Darkthrone logo, and all the hype Fenriz is trying to create with his so forced "true metal old school too old too cold i dont care btw you should listen to brocas helm and dark quarterer" attitude, this would probably at best get posted somewhere in heavy/speed/power metal thread and get 2-3 random replies. Even if some wouldn't like it to be so.

I may end up picking this album up the pre-orders sold out on Peaceville, and it would make a swell copy of fodder to trade for something good. Obviously its incredibly popular with a lot of people and a lot of people would offer some good stuff in exchange, the vinyl is selling for decent prices on Ebay from what I see.

This is something I touched on earlier in this thread. And as much as I tended to like these albums, I'm getting a vibe that they didn't do as much of that on The Underground Resistance. Most of the crazy riff changes and spontaneous stuff doesn't rally happen till the second half of the album. Still only listened once though, and the punk albums took a long time to grow on me, so I'm going to be patient with this before I give a proper critique. I do have to agree though, the production hurts this album a lot.

@Vengefulgoat; so, what you're saying is that no one here likes this because they think it sounds good? Hell, I'm not even that much of a Darkthrone fan (I like only four releases by them so far, if you count this one). Can you honestly tell me that I like this just because of the name that's stamped on the cover? Because if you can, then holy shit you're delusional. Seriously, you shold stop acting like your opinion is law. People like this album because they enjoy the music contained within it, and no amount of absurd, biased logic will change that.

Maybe he's looking for groupies

If the Darkthrone name wasn't there it wouldn't get as much press, sure, but it'd still be a solid slab of rousing, epic heavy metal. This loses nothing in comparison to recent Manilla Road albums or even other stuff like Battleroar, etc. - though this isn't as good as the last Battleroar by half, it's still very well done overall and the songwriting/riffs are very cool.

It's growing on me a bit. I still think it'd be better with a noisy, chaotic production like some of the other recent ones, rather than the sort of Isen Torr/Manilla Road dry, ancient sound, but then, that sound is sort of what they're going for, so I can't critique it too hard except for personal preference. I can say I enjoy every song really well now, though.

I really don't get shit like this. I encounter this myself when I try to say something online somewhere. Is anytime a person expresses an opinion really just an attempt at posing or trying to impress strangers? Really? Maybe he happens to have a real personality and real opinions, unlike a lot of people that quietly follow along the one in front of them and never look up to see where they're going let alone think for themselves.

Ignoring the AIDS the last few posts have given me, I would have to say on the whole the new Darkthrone album is a load of bollocks. Easily the worst thing they have ever released.

no, that's Plaguewielder

Plaguewielder is a fine album!

meh

anyway, new one is decent but I like the previous two more