Darkthrone's Early Years

One of the most important black metal bands of all time, Kolbotn, Norway's DARKTHRONE didn't start out as the black metal machine we all have come to know and love.  They formed in 1986 as Black Death, and were a fairly typical-sounding black/death metal band (by 1986 standards).  They put out two demos in two years, Trash Core and Black is Beautiful, before changing their name to Darkthrone in 1987. The name was inspired by a metal zine and the Celtic Frost song "Jewel Throne".  Band members in this time period included Gylve Nagell, Ivar Enger, Ted Skjellum, Anders Risberget, and Dag Nilsen.

This is an example of Black Death's sound from the 1987 demo Black is Beautiful

In the late 1980s, Darkthrone put out a slew of demos that showcased their old-school death metal style.  Their sound was actually pretty similar to what Swedish bands like Nihilist were doing at the time.  It was through these demos that Darkthrone cemented their underground reputation and came to be considered one of Norway's extreme metal elite.  By 1990, they had put out four now-legendary demos (Land of Frost, A New Dimension, Thulcandra, and Cromlech) and caught the ears of record label Peaceville.  They then signed a four album deal with them.  The first album--recorded in late 1990--was 1991's Soulside Journey, a classic that hearkens back to the old-school death metal scene of the 1980s, but still contains the seeds of the black metal sound Darkthrone would eventually become known for.

"Eon" is from the 1989 demo Thulcandra

"Cromlech" is one of their most crucial tracks from Soulside Journey

After the release of Soulside Journey, Darkthrone began recording material for their next album.  However, partway through the recording process, the creative core of Darkthrone--Gylve Nagell, Ted Skjellum, and Ivar Enger--began to become more interested in the emerging Norwegian black metal scene.  They adopted evil pseudonyms (Fenriz, Nocturno Culto, and Zephyrous, respectively) and even took to donning corpsepaint as part of their musical conversion.  This also resulted in their scrapping of  what they had recorded of their second album so far.  They went back to the drawing board and started anew.

"Rex" is from the Goatlord recording sessions

That unreleased material was shelved for several years before being released as the 1996 album Goatlord.  But it was the direction that Darkthrone took in late 1991 that had a huge influence on black metal (especially the Norwegian scene).  Darkthrone shifted from a sound that resembled death metal masters Entombed and Nihilist, to the raw, lo-fi grimness that black metal fans the world over have come to expect from Norway.

As a result of this change in direction, bassist Dag Nilsen left the band.  He is credited as a session player only.  Peaceville Records, too, was shocked to find that the band they had signed was no longer playing the then-trendy death metal.  They initially refused to release this new album, until Darkthrone threatened to have it released through Euronymous'  Deathlike Silence Productions.  Peaceville relented and this album--entitled A Blaze in the Northern Sky--was released in 1992.

"The Pagan Winter" is from 1992's A Blaze in the Northern Sky

With this release, Darkthrone forever changed the black metal landscape.  Hordes of bands would come along and copy the template that Darkthrone laid down on this album.  But few have ever equaled the evil majesty achieved on this epic release.  Darkthrone, however, were just getting started...

Darkthrone performing an early version of "A Blaze in the Northern Sky"

live in 1991

Select Discography

as Black Death

Trash Core '87 (demo)(1987)

Black is Beautiful (demo)(1987)

as Darkthrone

Land of Frost (demo)(1988)

A New Dimension (demo)(1988)

Thulcandra (demo)(1989)

Cromlech (demo)(1989)

Soulside Journey (full-length)(1991)

A Blaze in the Northern Sky (full-length)(1992)

Goatlord (full-length) (recorded 1991, released 1996)

Next time: IMPIETY