Darkthrone
Transilvanian Hunger

THE REVIEW

Darkthrone - Transilvanian Hunger

Black Metal is not a genre like the others, it is truth. Everything else can be music, but Black Metal is truth.

Darkthrone, and especially this album, are a true milestone of this musical genre and extreme music of all time. Their genius lies in having created another way of making Black, a genre not birthed by Darkthrone (although it's a matter of a few years), but continued in an exemplary way, so much so that they became one of the most important, if not the most important representative of Black Metal.

Early '90s, the period when this musical genre born in the Scandinavian forests reached the peak of its importance, driven by those bands that we idolize today, and by their best products like "De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas" and "Pentagram" (just to name a few), respectively by Mayhem and Gorgoroth. And it's precisely in this period, 1993/94, that Darkthrone unveil their fourth album, which is probably their best product, "Transilvanian Hunger".

The album features eight songs. The product marks an evolution of the group towards a less anti-melodic sound than the previous, yet still extraordinary, "Under A Funeral Moon". What is noticeable, or what should be noticed, is the genius with which Darkthrone presents us with a True Black Metal characterized by the extreme monotony of the tracks, which unfortunately only a few can appreciate, and by an "excessively" raw sound. But the reality is that this band is ahead of everyone now and was ahead of everyone then. The songs offer two guitar chords repeated to the extreme, incessantly, yet never boring. The drumming from the great Fenriz is fast and pounding and is barely heard, the bass is non-existent (just look at the tablatures and you’ll realize that even a child could play it) and Nocturno Culto’s guitar is colder and more chilling than the snow that settles on the peaks of the Norwegian forest pines. A dirty and sharp cold that enters the listener's head and takes them into another dimension... there is nothing flat in this music. The voice is harrowing, it is not angry, nor depressed, it is not fast, nor slow, it is not growl, nor scream... it is irregular and at the same time perfect and precise.

Out of the songs, two are in English: the title track "Transilvanian Hunger" and "As Flittermice As Satans Spys", while the other six are in Norwegian. The themes also differ from the genre standards. The lyrics are introspective, although always linked to satanic worship, less explicit and more connected to the natural Norwegian environment, to the cold and the anger this causes. When reviewing Darkthrone, it's pointless to analyze track by track, as they are quite similar to each other and mind you, this is absolutely not a criticism. I can say that those that struck me the most are the title track "Transilvanian Hunger" and the third "Skald Av Satans Sol".

Conclusion: this is my first review, and I am really pleased to have reviewed this band that I listened to again today after a few months with the same enthusiasm and pleasure, without finding any negative elements that maybe I previously overlooked. Objectively, Darkthrone is a genius band, in my opinion the best Black Metal band ever. Out of twelve albums, our guys have never been able to produce something that betrayed expectations. Black Metal may also be music for the few, but I invite everyone to listen at least once in their life to Darkthrone and especially this album.