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DARKTHRONE ‘A Blaze In the Northern Sky’
(Peaceville Records 1991/reissue 2003)
1991 was quite an important year in the history of Black Metal music - the reason? Darkthrone decided to release their second album that year called "A Blaze in the Northern Sky". I don’t think that anyone would have been able to predict the changes that took place within the band, both musically and ideologically. Euronymous’ influence on the band was growing stronger every day.
Both parties believed that Death Metal had become very trendy, and that they needed to find a new form of expression. Mayhem, Euronymous’ band, had not yet released a full-length album ("De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas" was released after the death of Euronymous in 1994), so months after "Soulside Journey" saw to light, Darkthrone entered Creative Studios and with fresh corpse-paint on their faces, and a new pair of strings in their guitars, recorded what was to become the most important Black Metal release ever – "A Blaze in the Northern Sky".
The band’s decision to change their musical direction wasn’t well received by Dag Nilsen (bass), so the very talented musician decided to part ways with Darkthrone, after recording his parts on the album.
It is really impressive how the band managed to change their style in such a short space of time. All the technical elements presented in the band’s first album are totally missing. Darkthrone decided to use a more straightforward approach to their music, mainly because of their great admiration for Celtic Frost. The band’s sole purpose was to sound as extreme as possible, and in order to achieve that, they decided to made the sound of the guitars more "fuzzy" and their drumming more extreme.
The major change also took place in the vocal area. Fenriz sounds more like he’s screaming rather than singing, that not necessarily being a negative thing. On the contrary, that exact element combined with the atmospheric Hellhammer/Celtic Frost-influenced rhythmical parts, which are quite frequently used in this forty-two minute album, became the key elements of Darkthrone’s new musical direction and sound. The album was released late 1991 and made many people declare Darkthrone as the absolute rulers of the movement that was later called Norwegian Black Metal.
The introduction to this masterpiece comes with a ten-minute composition called "Kathaarian Life Code". A short atmospheric intro soon gives way to fast drumming and extreme guitar riffing, which could only be compared to the ones used by extreme Grind Metal bands.
Darkthrone’s purpose was not to show how fast they can play, but to create a mystical atmosphere with their songs, so it’s not long before the first Celtic Frost influences decided to appear. This, in a way, is the formula that Fenriz and Co used throughout this six-track album: The combination between hyper-speed riffing and drumming, with the addition of Celtic Frost influenced guitar riffs.
If there is one song on this album, which could be considered to be a tribute to Celtic Frost, that’s definitely "In the Shadow of the Horns". It is amazing how such a simple composition managed to become so influential for so many people. Bands were formed, and Norwegian teenagers spent fortunes on musical equipment in order to copy this song, with no success what so ever.
I don’t know if you can use the term "weird" when it comes to Darkthrone’s music, so I would say that the most complicated composition on this album is "Paragon Belial". Here we have a mid-tempo composition with a frequent change in its rhythm that will not win you over from the very beginning, but will a guarantee a long-term addiction, if given the chance.
You will get to witness Fenriz’ abilities in fast drumming straight from the beginning of "Where Cold Winds Blow". An amazing vocal performance and a nice change into a more rhythmical motive will come half way through the song, only for a wile though. Melody will be playing the supporting role in Darkthrone’s music from now on, so it’s not long before fast drums and screaming guitars will take the lead once more.
It is no secret that this young generation of Norwegians were totally against Christianity and it’s beliefs. Influenced by the traditions of their country, and full of anti-Christian feelings the band composed "A Blaze in the Northern Sky" . This is the only time that you will get to listen to some melodic guitar parts, especially in the last part of the song, which will remind you of the band’s roots - parts that will never again re-appear, not in the band’s following couple of releases, at least.
My second favourite song of this album is "The Pagan Winter". Another excellent composition which also brings to the surface, not only the band’s Death Metal roots, but also their addiction to Celtic Frost. The song ends with an atmospheric outro similar to the one used in "Kathaarian Life Code", and this is how the second chapter in the band’s career ends.
The album’s 2003 re-issue has the second part of a very interesting interview with the members of the band that any Darkthrone fan should possess.
The world has witnessed the birth of thousands of Black Metal bands since the release of this album back in 1991. There is only a handful of them that managed to approach the greatness and the talent of this unique trio, and there are many more that will keep on trying to copy them. One thing’s for sure: Fourteen years after it’s original release, "A Blaze in the Northern Sky" still indicates the way Black Metal should be played, and, to quote the same-titled track, "The next thousand years are OURS!".
*****
Review by John Stefanis
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