DARKTHRONE – The Cult is Alive

Cult black metal act, DARKTHRONE, picked up their game after a lackluster few albums in the late ’90s/early 2000s with 2004′s Sardonic Wrath. Their latest offering, perhaps a claim to their continued significance, The Cult is Alive, is a loose but exciting album that sees the Norwegian duo kick it up a notch. Instead of the mid-paced plodding DARKTHRONE threw at us with Ravashing Grimness and Plagueweilder, Nocturno Culto and Fenriz have sharpened their fangs and wits with some bouncier necro-riffs. Additionally, The Cult is Alive exposes a newfound looseness not quite inherent in their old school black metal values. “Too Old, Too Cold” rocks out with a garage-punkish vibe that even seeps into the lyrics: “Nothing to prove/Just a hellish rock’n roll freak/You call your metal black/It’s just spastic lame and weak.” Similarly, “Graveyard Slut” is a dirty rocker that sounds fueled by booze rather than pentagram worship. But this is DRAKTHRONE. With teeth-gnashing and fists-clenched, grinding tracks like “De Underjordiske” and “Tyster Pâ Gud” fully replicate the true DARKTHRONE experience. It’s good to hear a band performing such a limited style of music on their (gasp) twelfth album are able to keep from waning. The cult is indeed alive. (Peaceville Records)

This entry was written by roycifer, posted on May 22, 2006 at 6:28 pm, filed under Reviews. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post. Post a comment or leave a trackback: Trackback URL.

Post a Comment

Connect with Facebook

Your email is never shared. Required fields are marked *

*
*