Darkthrone
Ravishing Grimness
[Moonfog]


When I first heard Darkthrone were about to release a new album, my initial reaction was one of great anticipation - after all, Darkthrone were THE band that epitomized exactly what modern black metal should be, but when I heard that Fenriz had handed over the reigns (so to speak) to Nocturno Culto (sorry, that's "Nocturnal Cult" now), I got a bit worried as I had previously attributed much of the Darkthrone "sound" to Herr Nagel. So I approached this album with some reluctance, fearing the worst (especially in light of the numerous indifferent reviews I had read for "Ravishing Grimness") but hoping for the best.

Having said all that, I was mildly surprised with "Ravishing Grimness" - ok, so this isn't the same Darkthrone that released "Under a Funeral Moon", "Transilvanian Hunger", or even "Panzerfaust", but it's still a damn fine album if you can manage to separate it from those masterpieces. The biggest problem with this release is the production - it's just a bit too damn "thick" for my liking, with Darkthrone once again choosing to use a similar sound to the one they had on the "Total Death" album. By most standards, it's a great sound, full of punch and massive in scope, but I have always equated Darkthrone with the "necrohell" sound, and that's sadly nowhere to be heard. The music itself isn't too far off from the last few releases, and would have fit very nicely in between "Panzerfaust" and "Total Death", combining both the Frost/Hellhammer influences of the one with the more "evolved" style of the other. What really separates this from the bands previous work (besides the production) is the lack of discordant guitar melodies - a great deal of this has to do with the departure of Zepherous after "Panzerfaust" I suppose...it's surprising how much of a difference one member can make, especially when that person isn't really in the forefront of the bands activities, but I've now come to the conclusion that Zepherous was really the "secret ingredient" that helped separate Darkthrone from so many others - he will be missed.

At the end of the day, "Ravishing Grimness" is a great album in my opinion, and certainly better than the bands last studio outing ("Total Death"), but it can't hold the proverbial candle to past Darkthrone releases. I fear a great many Darkthrone fans may be disappointed upon first listen, but I believe if this album is approached with a "clean slate" (meaning not expecting the old Darkthrone), it might grow on you - it certainly did on me. And as a final note : the last track, "To The Death (Under The King)" is a fucking killer, even if the opening riff may reek a little too much of neo-thrash for the average listener...


© 2000 chorazaim