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Darkthrone > F.O.A.D. > Reviews > Dark_Mewtwo1
Darkthrone - F.O.A.D.

This isn't a black metal record kids - 91%

Dark_Mewtwo1, September 29th, 2007

It's funny. It happens to every band that does this, but you can't stop it. Once a well respected black metal band tries something new, here come all the kids saying how this is bad and they lost their way. I thought people understood, with last year's The Cult is Alive, that Darkthrone is just making music they want to make. They want to pay tribute to the bands that influenced them so deeply. Whatever. All that doesn't matter, because once you listen to this record, you'll understand that FOAD is an ode to those unheralded 80s metal bands, and a salute to the bands that took the metal flag and raised it high for everyone to enjoy.

From the opening notes of These Shores are Damned, Darkthrone deliver 8 tracks of classic heavy metal riffs and that beer-fueled, sweat-filled energy every metal fan feels when he hears that awesome riff. These guys aren't just your average 3-chord black metal guitarists, they understand how to create catchy riffs without sounding cheesy, and still make them sound like a Darkthrone riff. Combine this with Fenriz's usual top-notch drumming performance (he adapts so well to the style changes here), and Nocturno Culto's trademark vocals, those gravelly, aggressive, Lemmy-doing-black-metal things he does so well, and you got a winning formula. And the Darkthrone guys went out of their way to point out just who they want to honor here. Canadian Metal reeks of Manilla Road and Iron Maiden's passion and energy. The Banners of Old sounds like it wouldn't be too out of place on an Ozzy-Sabbath record. This all delivered with the intensity that these two men always manage to translate onto their records.

Pretty much, you should know what to expect with this. This is just a fun metal record, one without any lame pretensions or scene ideologies. Enjoy it for what it is, and salute the bands that made Darkthrone, and the countless other bands you might listen to, pick up their instruments and entertain you.