Darkthrone's Decay Continues

[Wild]

Peaceville has released a preview of Darkthrone's new album: Click to listen

Are any of the Norwegian bands still relevant?

[prozak]

The fans now (starting in 1996) can't tell the difference between great metal and mediocre metal, so they go for mediocre metal with personality. If you give years 15-25 to metal as most of these musicians did, it becomes your career. And at this point, if you make quality music, you will starve because only 10% of the audience will be able to recognize it and the rest will think it's crap. Look at what happened to BEHERIT and DEMONCY after releasing masterworks.

[aquarius]

I actually thought the new album was called Decay Continues for a moment.

 

At any rate, I don't think any of the Norwegian bands have the capacity to create great works anymore. The brain circuitry is just too far gone. Even so I think fans would instantly pay more attention if Darkthrone made Transylvanian Hunger Part II, not that it would necessarily be any good.

[aquarius]

Also, don't forget that Osmose will release a long lost Ildjarn demo this year. It may be the last piece of TRUE NORWEGIAN BLACK METAL ever released!

[Examiner]

mediocre metal with personality.

That would describe a large majority of metal and rock music. My guess is that this is a symptom of the ego becoming more important than the output.

[Wild]

If you give years 15-25 to metal as most of these musicians did, it becomes your career.

What's difficult for me to wrap my head around is that Darkthrone has always prided itself on promoting "true metal", with the blog and so on. This coupled with their past discography shows them to have a strong spirit...and yet they release such bland albums as this.

Perhaps they've given up and will simply release bad albums to metalheads with no taste forever. Use it to pay their rent as they spend their days headbanging into obscurity...

[prozak]

Good points, all.

I guess my observation is this: great albums start with a mental/emotional spark. Some vision, some concept, something toward which one is yearning.

That's the goal. When it gets supplanted by popularity/money and/or exhaustion, it's over for higher quality output.

Still, the ability sleeps within them. More talented people are hard to find.

[August]

If only Fenriz could shut up about true metal already. He depresses me to no end. 

Some decades ago Darkthrone ate 80s metal, digested it and then shat it out with a completely new shape, colour and smell. Today they just chew it and spit it out again; adding nothing of their own. Apparently they're more proud of being regurgitators than trailblazers.

[L Winter]

Wow. And these guys have been spitting out stuff like this for several years now. It's a waste, because I love their earlier albums.

[WAAAAAAGH!]

They are slipping, even for the low standards set by their throwback sound of the past few records.

[Humanicide]

They are slipping, even for the low standards set by their throwback sound of the past few records.

AIDS take me, but I thought "The Cult Is Alive" was a decent experiment - Darkthrone taking its music in a different direction as opposed to the mostly mediocre material past "Total Death". I enjoyed it a bit, but then I thought - I wonder what they'll do on their next album. I couldn't really guess they'd put out 4 more albums that sounded exactly like TCIA, except worse.

Perhaps retirement is in order.

[WAAAAAAGH!]

Truth be told in kind dug Cult is alive as well. It's been gradually a downward spiral. You are correct about it standing miles above the post total death album. I will say though that that album is a fuckin' bore.

[VicerExciser206]

I first found out about Darkthrone by watching a documentary, which is very good by the way, called Until the Light Takes us. Been a fan ever since, love its epic style.