Tag Archives: 2008

Darkthrone – Blacksmith Of The North (Keep That Ancient Fire) (Song Review)

“Sound of iron, hard at work”

You want riffs. And they don’t get much better than the angular, thrashy guitar intro that kicks off Darkthrone’s Blacksmith Of The North (Keep That Ancient Fire). Taken from 2008’s Dark Thrones And Black Flags, it’s easily one of my Top 10 favourite riffs since the turn of the millennium and I love the frost-bitten, crusty sound and Nocturno Culto’s echoing, gravelly vocals. It’s a flaming triumph and a cool, apt title for a band that has kept the ancient fire burning, hammering out quality metal with impressive regularity to this day.

Enslaved – Vertebrae (Album Review)

Enslaved – Vertebrae [2008 – Indie Recordings]
Enslaved have a ton of impressive albums to choose from, and I own them all, but 2008’s underrated Vertebrae has always been my favourite. It’s a genuinely brilliant mix of mellow prog and black metal frost. It also doesn’t hurt that it was the first album of theirs that I heard. The Norwegian band’s discography is varied and challenging so it’s always tempting to just return to the album I’ve listened to the most and know best. It’s also the Enslaved album that I have bought the most copies of. In order of purchase I’ve picked up the fold-out digipak version, a box set with a bonus live disc and also the 2019 reissue with bonus covers of Rush and King Crimson tunes (a meh Earthshine and a pretty good Red, in case you’re wondering). If you like both of those bands and fancy adding a bit of extremity to your listening then Vertebrae is a great place to start.

The 2009 Box Set with essential patch and lanyard!
The 2019 remaster/reissue

Darkthrone – Dark Thrones And Black Flags (Album Review)

Superb artwork from Dennis Dread!

The Norwegian legends keep pumping out one amazing album after another but this 2008 release is my pick of their modern output. Black metal of the proto variety (my favourite kind): evil primitivism from the nurseries of real metal sound. Both Nocturno Culto and Fenriz are on top form throughout. Culto’s sideways, frosty riffing is at genius level on tracks like Death Of All Oaths (Oath Minus) and Fenriz blasts out crusty, howling Mercyful Fate-style traditional metal. His tracks Hanging Out In Haiger and The Winds They Called The Dungeon Shaker stand out as favourites but this whole album is top drawer fist-clenching fun with a dark intimidating atmosphere.

[Darkthrone – The Winds They Called The Dungeon Shaker]