Darkthrone je kapela, ktorá ma sprevádza väčšinu môjho života. Neznamená to však, že bola vždy mojou najobľúbenejšou kapelou, ani že som každý nový album prijímal nekriticky hneď po jeho vydaní. Boli obdobia silnejšie aj slabšie. Bez ohľadu na to, v akej životnej situácii som sa práve nachádzal, Fenriz a Nocturno Culto pracovali na ďalšom albume, ktorý ma skôr či neskôr vždy utvrdil v tom, že Darkthrone sú mojou krvnou skupinou už od roku 1992. Dovolil som si preto napísať pár slov o svojej ceste vlastnou zbierkou ich vinylov. Tom / EZR
PART I. (1991-1994) PART II. (1995-1996)
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Panzerfaust (1995)
Nahrané: February-April 1994 at Necrohell Studio Produkcia: Darkthrone Vydané: 6th June 1995 (Moonfog Productions FOG005) Zostava: Fenriz (all instruments), Nocturno Culto (vocals) Zoznam skladieb: A1 En vind av sorg A2 Triumphant Gleam A3 The Hordes of Nebulah B1 Hans siste vinter B2 Beholding the Throne of Might B3 Quintessence B4 Snø og granskog (Utferd) CELKOVÝ HRACÍ ČAS 39:03
"Darkthrone is certainly not a nazi-band nor a political band, those of you who still might think so, you can lick Mother Mary's asshole in eternity."
V roku 1995 som skončil tretí ročník na gympli v polomŕtvom meste na slovensko-poľskej hranici a rozhodol sa odísť do maturitného ročníka na jazykový gympel v Banskej Štiavnici - meste, kde som nikdy predtým nebol. Prijímačky boli niekedy v máji a začiatkom septembra nástup na stredoškolský intrák, kde od prvého momentu prebiehali zoznamky s dlhovlasými jedincami, ktorí ešte nevybalení pofajčievali vonku pred budovou.
Štiavnica bola malé mesto plné vybývaných a polorozpadnutých budov s perfekntou atmosférou. Naša škola bola nad Trojičným námestím neďaleko tajchu Veľká vodárenská. Napriek ošuntelosti mala Štiavnica šmrnc a bolo v nej živo vďaka niekoľkým stredným, školám a internátom, v ktorých údajne študovalo a žilo okolo desaťtisíc stredoškolákov.
Black metal na Slovensku štandardne meškal. Nikto z metalistov, ktorých som spoznal na intráku ho nepočúvali. Všade navôkol bolo veľa death metalu, grind-core a nu-metalu. Vďaka osvete, ktorú som svedomito šíril aj formou duplikovania kaziet na rodičovskom Panasonicu, ten rok v Štiavnici konvertovalo na black metal niekoľko známych. Jeden z prvých koncertov, na ktorom som bol, bola akcia death metalových Masacroot v Martine kde hrali spolu s Mentally Parasites. Masacroot sa o pár mesiacov neskôr premenovali na Mystic Death, zmenili radikálne image a začali hrať black metal.
Black metal sa v prvej polovici roku 1995 šíril zo severu ako mor. Bolo to kvôli mixu legendami opradených udalostí z rokov 1993-1994 a vďaka legendárnym albumom ku ktorým sa vďaka mediálnemu pokrytiu dostávala čoraz širšia metalová komunita. Pre mňa bol hudobný rok 1995 do istej miery sklamaním - okrem pár zásadných kapiel ako Darkthrone a Immortal, ktoré vydali nové albumy som mal pocit, že zvyšok buď príliš experimentuje alebo kopíruje. Niekedy na jeseň roku 1995 som nadobudol pocit, že všetci moji hrdinovia prvej polovice dekády sú mŕtvi alebo vo väzení a napriek tomu, že black metal pre mňa ostával hlavným hudobným žánrom, bol som viac otvorený novým podnetom.
Odpoveďou na tento stav bol VHS koncert brooklynskej štvorky Type O Negative z holandského Dynama z roku 1995, ktorý som v jedno sobotné dopoludnie videl na intráku a ktorý ma doslova prevalcoval. Pár dní na to som si od spolužiačky požičal nahratú kazetu Bloody Kisses - a to už bol začiatok iného celoživotného príbehu...
Kazetu Panzerfaust od Darkthrone, ktorá vyšla v lete roku 1995 som prijal s nadšením. Po Transilvanian Hunger, ktorý bol pre mňa hudobne ťažko stráviteľný a nezaujímavý bol Panzerfaust návrat k melodickejším a rozmanitejším skladbám pri zachovaní black metalového feelingu. Produkcia albumu ostala lo-fi - album nahral Fenriz rovnako ako Transilvanian Hunger v domácich podmienkach. Album prebieha v niekoľkých meniacich sa rýchlostných režimoch a tým pádom to nie je celé štart-cieľ 140 BPM nuda. Riffy sú chytľavé a melodické - zdá sa, že pri skladaní albumu, Fenriz a Nocturno Culto nesledovali len jediný cieľ - a to ten, aby si skladby poslucháči užili čo najmenej...
Za všetky skladby z albumu vyzdvihnem Hans siste vinter a Quintessence. K tej druhej napísal z poza mreží na dnešné pomery mierne machistický text nikto iný než "let's find out" man Varg Vikerness "Five million christians on a ride towards us / Oh, I slaughtered the bunch with one single hit (with my spear) / Five million women so alone in the night / Oh, I had them all satisfied profusely (every night by myself)". Album končí ambientnym outrom, do ktorého Fenriz "prednáša" báseň o smreku v zimnej krajine. Keďže bol prednes v nórštine a internet vtedy našťastie neexistoval, mohol som sa len domnievať o aké necro odkazy prichádzam.
"For example, in your country, Germany, nobody wants to distribute ‘Panzerfaust’ or ‘Transilvanian Hunger.’ And the same thing is happening in many other...” Fenriz (ABLAZE 1995)
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Total Death (1996)
Nahrané: August and October 1995 at Ancient Spectre Ruins (Skoklefald, Nedodden, Norway) Produkcia: Nocturno Culto Vydané: 15th January 1996 (Moonfog Productions FOG011) Zostava: Fenriz (drums, bass), Nocturno Culto (vocals, guitars, bass) Zoznam skladieb: A1 Earth's Last Picture A2 Blackwinged A3 Gather for Attack on the Pearly Gates A4 Black Victory of Death B1 Majestic Desolate Eye B2 Blasphemer B3 Ravnajuv B4 The Serpents Harvest CELKOVÝ HRACÍ ČAS 35:47
"Darkthrone plays unholy black metal exclusively. The envy of loosers we piss on."
Rok 1996 bol pre mňa dosť zásadný z pohľadu životných zmien, a keďže Darkthrone v ňom vydali dva albumy, pokúsim sa pospomínať trochu viac. V prvom polroku som pokračoval v štúdiu na strednej škole v Banskej Štiavnici. Domov som cestoval každé dva týždne a cesta niekoľkými spojmi s prestupmi v troch až štyroch mestách trvala osem hodín. Čiže ak som v piatok na obed odišiel z Banskej Štiavnice, domov som sa dostal o ôsmej večer. Naspäť do na internát som cestoval v nedeľu doobeda s príchodom o siedmej večer. Cestoval som zvyčajne sám, na ušiach stále walkman, v ruke kniha.
V Banskej Štiavnici som od prvého mesiaca začal míňať rodičovské peniaze na stravné lístky na cigarety a pivo. Moja strava pozostávala výlučne z parížskeho šalátu, tresky, bieleho pečiva a spolubývajúceho preexpirovanej Nutelly, ktorú dostával od rodičov čo mali obchod s potravinami. Dvojfarebnú Nutellu som vedel vyjesť tak odborne, že zvonku vyzerala vďaka polmilimetrovému filmu ako neporušená. O to viac bol spolubývajúci prekvapený, keď po otvorení naoko nedotknutej Nutelly načrel lyžicou do prázdna. O konzumácii pečiva v rôznych štádiach jeho starnutia a začínajúceho rozkladu by som mohol napísať diplomovku, prípadne si založiť necro food blog. Všetky voľné peniaze, ktoré som mal, boli utratené za pivo v krčme u Mateja, prípadne U Barbory.
So stúpajúcou spotrebou jedov mi na kazety ostávalo čoraz menej voľných prostriedkov. Na internáte som mal kamaráta z Humenného, ktorý počas víkendov hrával v lokálnych death-doomových Daybreak a Bizarre of Brutality. Iný kamarát z Martina, veľmi dobrý technický gitarista hral zase v Martinských deathových kapelách. Vždy keď stretnem metalistu z Martina, ukáže sa, že je skvelý gitarista - pýtam sa, ako je to možné? Okrem nich boli na intráku chalani, ktorí mali slušne zvládnutú klasickú gitaru, ale aj basgitaru - od nich som niečo odchytil a naučil na svojej otlčenej španielke, ktorej zmoknutý krk sa mi po jednom nočnom žúre v exteriéri vyhol skoro do pravého uhla. Ako to típek v oprave nástrojov dal dokopy, netuším - musel to byť priamy potomok majstra Pavla z Levoče, lebo španielku mám doma a stále hrá ako víno.
Polrok ubehol rýchlo, v máji som zmaturoval a nasledoval odchod z Banskej Štiavnice domov, oslava plnoletosti v lete a plánovaný nástup na VŠ v Bratislave v septembri - počas letných prázdnin som brigádoval a našetril peniaze, o ktorých som si myslel že vydržia aspoň pol roka - tento falošný optimimizmus mi na rozdiel od peňazí vydržal dodnes.
Kazetu Total Death som si kúpil hneď keď vyšla a pamätám si mierne sklamanie respektíve niečo ako únavu materiálu. Na jednej strane som začínal vnímať širšie spektrum hudby aj vďaka novým hudobným vplyvom od nemetalových kamarátov - už som spomínal Type O Negative, ale napríklad aj Heroes Del Silencio a iné mäkkoty. Na strane druhej, aj u Darkthrone bolo cítiť čoraz viac, že si už v rámci scény nepotrebujú dokazovať kultové a líderske statusy a môžu sa sústrediť na skladanie a vydávanie hudby, ktorá baví hlavne ich samých, bez ohľadu na to čo si o tom myslí niekto iný.
Total Death bol album založený na surových gitarových riffoch, avšak chýbala mu "hitovosť" albumov Panzerfaust alebo Under a Funeral Moon. Na rozdiel od predchádzajúcich albumov, kde dominoval Fenriz, Total Death je v réžii Nocturno Culta, ktorý napísal ďakovačku a polovicu textov na albume. Druhú polovicu otextovali Garm (Ulver), Ihsahn (Emperor), Carl-Michael Eide (Ved Buens Ende) a Satyr (Satyricon). V niektorých momentoch mi nápady dokonca pripomenuli istý typ temnej veselosti alebo až čierneho optimizmu - napríklad v skladbe Gather for Attack on the Pearly Gates. U iných ako napríklad Black Victory of Death je cítíť Bathory worship, ale aj odkazy na Mayhem prípadne na vlastnú tvorbu staršieho dáta. Kazetu som neskôr venoval k narodeninám bubeníkovi kapely, do ktorej som v roku 1998 v Bratislave nastúpil. Pamätám sa, že z nej bol nadšený tak na polovicu.
Dnes sa k Total Death vraciam rád ako k albumu, ktorý vôbec nie je podpriemerný, len trochu prvoplánovejší a vyžaduje od poslucháča väčšie sústredenie na vyextrahovanie silných pasáží. V roku 1996, keď nové smerovanie black metalu začali diktovať kapely ako Cradle of Filth alebo Dimmu Borgir, ostal Darkthrone verný svojej za studena kovanej drsnej tradícii, nepodliehal žiadnym módnym trendom ani experimentom a bolo čoraz jasnejšie, že Fenriz a Nocturno Culto majú bližšie k punkovej energii Motörhead než k 'vysokému' umeniu Emperor.
"I was in charge of album covers until TOTAL DEATH album in 1996, then I lost interest in the visual thing. Unfortunately that meant that PHOTOSHOP technique snuck into the covers of Darkthrone, and I didn’t care much until I took a bit charge of album covers again in 2007, with F.O.A.D. album...” Fenriz (NOCTURNAL CULT 2012)
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Goatlord (1996)
Nahrané: Instruments in 1990-1991 during rehearsal. Vocals in 1994. Produkcia: Darkthrone Vydané: 24th October 1996 (Moonfog Productions FOG013) Zostava: Nocturno Culto (guitars), Zephyrous (guitars), Fenriz (drums, vocals) and Dag Nilsen (bass) Zoznam skladieb: A1 Rex A2 Pure Demoniac Blessing A3 (The) Grimness of Which Shepers Mourn A4 Sadomasochistic Rites A5 As Desertshadows B1 In His Lovely Kingdom B2 Black Daimon B3 Toward(s) the Thornfields B4 (Birth of Evil) Virgin Sin B5 Green Cave Float CELKOVÝ HRACÍ ČAS 37:50
"This album was meant to be the second inline of releases."
V septembri, týždeň pred nástupom na vysokú školu som sa ubytoval na internáte v Bratislave. V meste som poznal jedine Croma, kamaráta z detsva, s ktorým som udržiaval písomný kontakt o metalovej hudbe (a knihách Stephena Kinga) po mnoho rokov. Crom ma pozval do krčmy U Matúša, kde som spoznal miestnu black metalovú sociétu.
Prvý zážitok pozostával so stretnutia s dvoma staršími chalanmi, ktorí si práve chceli založit black metalové vydavateľstvo a xeroxový zin - jeden z nich, nositeľ veľmi temného okultného mena, si dával utopenca s kofolou a neustále sa hystericky chichotal. Druhý s vlasmi po pás rozprával vysokým hlasom, bol starší od všetkých naokolo a pôsobil seriózne - budil dojem leadra. Krátko nato prišli dvaja údajne čerstvo krčmou exkomunikovaní štamgasti, ktorí sa predtým previnili proti Matúšovmu poriadku a tak dostali ban - tento sa práve pokúsili prelomiť. Obaja nastúpili v plnej black metalovej zbroji - klincové rukávy, pentagramy, kríže smerom nadol, koža a plechom obité kanady - jeden z nich v momente zapichol obrovský nôž do stola pri ktorom sme sedeli, ten druhý sa vyjadroval štýlom "čodopičikokotdopiči" v každej vete a mal za opaskom bodák z prvej svetovej vojny. Bol som nadšený - takýchto oddaných, zlovestne pôsobiacich a imidžovo dokonalých blackmetalistov som dovtedy nestretol.
Nasledovalo pár žúrov, kde padli všetky doteraz známe laťky dekadencie a tak som sa stal členom jadra skupiny ľudí, ktorá sa roky stretávala U Matúša a neskôr aj v iných bratislavských krčmách. Vďaka tomu, že som býval na intráku som viedol dvojitý party life - po príchode z Matúša som pokračoval s nemetalovými kámošmi a budoval tak svoju alko-imunitu, alebo tzv. beh na dlhé trate. Na internáte som sa spoznal s Florkom, učiteľom angličtiny z Kanady, s ktorým sme pol roka moderovali metalovú reláciu Symfonický večer v IRŠ. Utorok 23:00 vysielací čas patril nám a našim hosťom. Po pol roku nám šéf rádia vypovedal kontrakt, kvôli porušovaniu interných pravidiel netolerujúcim intoxikáciu moderátorov v priamom prenose.
U Matúša sedávalo niekoľko skupiniek metalistov a iných štamgastov, medzi ktorými dochádzalo k rôznym typom interakcii - od priateľských až po bitky - väčšinou medzi starými štamgastami a metalistami alebo medzi čašníkmi a metalistami. Boli 90s a dostať niekde pár popapuli kvôli výzoru, pohľadu alebo len tak preventívne bolo niečo s čím človek tak nejak automaticky počítal.
Mobily neboli, na rýchlych stretkách sa dohodnúť nedalo. Jedno bolo ale isté - kedykoľvek v týždni o hociktorej dennej alebo nočnej hodine som sa vybral do Matúša, bol tam niekto zo známych, s kým sa dal tráviť čas pri pive, kecať o hudbe a spriadať temné plány o založení kapely. V rámci tejto čoraz početnejšej skupiny sme chodili na chaty, žúry, akcie, ale aj koncerty po Slovensku. Vychádzalo tu niekoľko tlačených zinov, orientovaných na hudbu, ale aj na krčmovo spoločenské aktivity - nikdy predtým (ani potom) som nezažil takto zomknutú komunitu relatívne úzkoprofilovo orientovaných hudobných maniakov. Po udalostiach z Nórska pár rokov predtým sa aj v rámci našej skupiny našli priaznivci Euronyma a Grishnacka, ktorí viedli dlhé debaty o tom kto bol dobrý/zlý (a trve kvlt) človek, muzikant, textár, atď.
Napriek tomu, že mimo Slovenska to na blackovej scéne vrelo, u nás sme boli stále v plienkach a kapely tu neboli žiadne. Bez internetu sa o žiadnych domácich hudobných "kutiloch" z rôznych častí Slovenska nedalo dozvedieť a kto nechodil do Matúša alebo na spoločné akcie neexistoval. V krčme sa riešili rôzne projekty a zoskupenia - v druhom polroku 1996 však stále len v teoretickej rovine.
Jeden z prvých reálnych krokov, ktorý som týmto smerom učinil bola kúpa tmavomodrej Jackson Performer PS-4, ktorú som raz našiel v hudobnom obchode na Vysokej ulici. Bola to prvá šípka, ktorú som v živote videl na vlastné oči a jediná v tom čase, aká sa v Bratislave dala zohnať. Stála 17 000 SKK, čo bol vtedy priemerný dvojmesačný plat. Rodičov som postavil pred jednoduchú dilemu - buď sa vykašlem na vyšku a pôjdem si na gitaru zarobiť poctivo ako novopečený člen manuálne pracujúcej triedy, alebo sa dostanem k peniazom nejakou inou - nie nevyhnutne legálnou cestou. Mama po krátkom uvažovaní predala knižku z kupónovej privatizácie a dala mi peniaze na gitaru - týmto jej ešte raz dodatočne a naveky ďakujem. Gitaru som mal, bolo potrebné zohnať už len kapelu.
Goatlord bol šiesty a posledný album Darkthrone, ktorý som si kúpil na kazete. Po vágnejšom Total Death som bol zvedavý s čím Fenriz a Nocturno Culto prídu po tak krátkej pauze. Bez vedomia toho, že sa jednalo o staršiu nahrávku, som album sprvu konzumoval rozpačito. Na scéne sa čoraz častejšie objavovali rôzne experimenty - black a iní metalisti sa posúvali do avantgardných polôh - a ja neznalý veci a vyzbrojený starými dobrými predsudkami typu avantgarda = sranie a maľovanie, som mal pri Goatlorde pocit, že Darkthrone spadli práve do tejto pasce...
... a pritom pri poznaní kontextu a s vyzretejším hudobným vkusom sa tento album dá uchopiť úplne krásne. Jedná sa o skúšobňovú nahrávku, ktorá vznikla medzi Soulside Journey a A Blaze In the Norhtern Sky, ku ktorej Fenriz neskôr dohral všetky vokály - áno aj tie, ktoré pripomínajú ženský spev.
Album zachytáva obdobie žánrovej zmeny kapely. Skladby sú mixom death metalovej tvorby s prechodom na chaotickejší nekro feeling A Blaze ... Goatlord je dokonalým hybridom prvých dvoch albumov. Gitary a veľká časť riffov stále znejú ako Soulside ale bicie a spôsob hry sú už prevažne A Blaze...
Čo vyniká sú vokály - rozmanitosť, ktorú som prvý krát zaznamenal na A Blaze ... je tu obohatená o nové polohy Fenrizového spevu. Ten miestami obsahuje anathemovské lamentácie, žensky znejúce popevky, diabolské rehotanie a výkriky a klasický nahalovaný blackový škrek. Vokálnych partov je na albume skutočne veľa čo je plus - melodické spevy mi pripomínajú Fenrizove bočáky Storm a Isengard. Blackové vokály miestami tiež Deada z Live in Liepzig - konkrétne v skladbe In His Lovely Kindgom.
Zvuk je patrične lo-fi, v deathových polohách cítiť aj vplyv raných Immolation (napr. (Birth of Evil) Virgin Sin) a v blackových je to neskorší charakteristický Darkthrone. Goatlord je neobrúsený diamant a skvelý doplnok ich diskografie.
"Goatlord" was just a rehearsal tape that was conducted between late ’90 and early ’91. About the wait, I think it’s because we just didn’t make the lyrics for that. And then in ’94 we listened to that rehearsal tape and listened to it again. The music on "Goatlord" is basically better than on "Soulside Journey", so what can I say man, I did some vocals on that rehearsal tape called "Goatlord" in ’94 and then we released it in ’96. Just a few people have that rehearsal tape. We should have released it without the vocals, it would have been better, it should just be a rehearsal tape.” Fenriz (SOURCE)
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Ak chcete podporiť JDØS vyberte si niečo z DISTRA. Ak sú ceny pre vás privysoké, napíšte mi e-mail: jablkadalekoodstromu@gmail.com, určite sa dohodneme. Ak máte feedback na ktorýkoľlvek z článkov, alebo by ste chceli niečo povedať pre JDØS, napíšte mi tiež.
Vďaka za support, Tom/EZR
Venované pamiatke Andrewa Orlocka (1984-2019).
Darkthrone is a band that has accompanied me through most of my life. That doesn’t mean they were always my favourite band, nor that I accepted each new album uncritically the moment it was released. There were stronger periods and weaker ones. Regardless of where I happened to be in life, Fenriz and Nocturno Culto were always working on another album that, sooner or later, reaffirmed that Darkthrone have been my kindred spirits since 1992. That is why I decided to write a few words about my journey through my own Darkthrone vinyl collection. Tom / EZR
Panzerfaust (1995)
Recorded: February-April 1994 at Necrohell Studio Produced: Darkthrone Released: 6th June 1995 (Moonfog Productions FOG005) Lineup: Fenriz (all instruments), Nocturno Culto (vocals) Tracklist: A1 En vind av sorg A2 Triumphant Gleam A3 The Hordes of Nebulah B1 Hans siste vinter B2 Beholding the Throne of Might B3 Quintessence B4 Snø og granskog (Utferd) PLAYING TIME 39:03
In 1995 I finished my third year of high school in a half-dead town on the Slovak-Polish border and decided to transfer for my final year to a language-focused secondary school in Banská Štiavnica—a town I had never visited before. The entrance exams took place sometime in May, and at the beginning of September I moved into the student dormitory, where introductions with long-haired individuals smoking outside the building began before they had even unpacked their belongings.
Štiavnica was a small town full of worn-out and semi-derelict buildings with a perfect atmosphere. Our school stood above Trinity Square, not far from the Veľká Vodárenská reservoir. Despite its shabby appearance, the town had a certain charm and felt alive thanks to several secondary schools and dormitories, which supposedly housed around ten thousand students.
Black metal arrived in Slovakia with the usual delay. None of the metalheads I met at the dorm listened to it. Death metal, grindcore, and nu-metal were everywhere. Thanks to the missionary work I diligently carried out—often by duplicating cassettes on my parents' Panasonic deck—a number of people in Štiavnica converted to black metal that year.
One of the first concerts I attended was a show in Martin featuring the death metal band Masacroot alongside Mentally Parasites. A few months later, Masacroot changed their name to Mystic Death, radically altered their image, and started playing black metal.
Black metal spread from the north like a plague during the first half of 1995. This was partly due to the legendary events of 1993–1994 and partly thanks to a series of classic albums that, aided by increasing media coverage, were reaching a wider section of the metal community.
For me, however, 1995 was somewhat disappointing from a musical perspective. Apart from a few essential bands such as Darkthrone and Immortal releasing new albums, I felt that everyone else was either experimenting too much or merely copying others. Sometime during the autumn of 1995 I got the feeling that all of my heroes from the first half of the decade were either dead or in prison. Although black metal remained my primary musical genre, I found myself becoming more open to new influences.
The answer to that feeling came in the form of a VHS recording of a 1995 performance by the Brooklyn quartet Type O Negative at Dynamo Open Air in the Netherlands. I saw it one Saturday morning in the dormitory, and it absolutely flattened me. A few days later I borrowed a dubbed copy of Bloody Kisses from a classmate—and that was the beginning of a completely different lifelong story.
I welcomed Darkthrone's Panzerfaust cassette, released in the summer of 1995, with great enthusiasm. After Transilvanian Hunger—which I found musically difficult to digest and not particularly interesting—Panzerfaust felt like a return to more melodic and varied songwriting while retaining the black metal spirit.
The production remained lo-fi; like Transilvanian Hunger, the album was recorded by Fenriz under home-studio conditions. The songs move through several different tempos and moods, which means the album avoids becoming one long, start-to-finish exercise in 140 BPM monotony. The riffs are catchy and melodic. It seems that while writing this album, Fenriz and Nocturno Culto were not pursuing a single goal—namely making sure the listener enjoyed the music as little as possible.
Of all the songs on the album, I'd especially highlight Hans siste vinter and Quintessence. The latter features lyrics written from behind bars by none other than the original "let's find out" man himself, Varg Vikernes:
"Five million christians on a ride towards us / Oh, I slaughtered the bunch with one single hit (with my spear) / Five million women so alone in the night / Oh, I had them all satisfied profusely (every night by myself)"
The album ends with an ambient outro in which Fenriz “recites” a poem about a spruce tree in a winter landscape. Since the recitation was in Norwegian and the internet thankfully didn’t exist back then, I could only guess what kind of necro references I was missing out on.
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Total Death (1996)
Recorded: August and October 1995 at Ancient Spectre Ruins (Skoklefald, Nedodden, Norway) Produced: Nocturno Culto Released: 15th January 1996 (Moonfog Productions FOG011) Lineup: Fenriz (drums, bass), Nocturno Culto (vocals, guitars, bass) Tracklist:
A1 Earth's Last Picture A2 Blackwinged A3 Gather for Attack on the
Pearly Gates A4 Black Victory of Death B1 Majestic Desolate Eye B2
Blasphemer B3 Ravnajuv B4 The Serpents Harvest PLAYING TIME 35:47
The year 1996 was quite a major one for me in terms of life changes, and since Darkthrone released two albums that year, I’ll try to recall a bit more. In the first half of the year, I continued my studies at a secondary school in Banská Štiavnica. I traveled home every two weeks, and the journey—using several connections with transfers in three or four cities—took eight hours. So if I left Banská Štiavnica at noon on Friday, I would get home around eight in the evening. I traveled back to the dorm on Sunday morning, arriving around seven in the evening. I usually traveled alone, always with a Walkman in my ears and a book in my hand.
In Banská Štiavnica, from the very first month, I started spending my parents’ money meant for meal vouchers on cigarettes and beer. My diet mainly consisted of mayonnaise salad, cod spread, and white bread, as well as my roommate’s expired Nutella, which he received from his parents who owned a grocery store. I was able to eat the two-tone Nutella so skillfully that from the outside it still looked intact, thanks to a half-millimeter-thick film. My roommate was all the more surprised when, upon opening the seemingly untouched Nutella, he dipped his spoon into emptiness. I could probably write a thesis—or start a necro food blog—about eating pastries at various stages of aging and early decomposition. All the money I had was spent on beer at the pubs U Mateja or U Barbory.
As my consumption of poisons increased, I had less and less money left for cassettes. At the dorm I had a friend from Humenné who, on weekends, played in the local death-doom bands Daybreak and Bizarre of Brutality. Another friend from Martin, a very good technical guitarist, played in death metal bands there. Whenever I meet a metal musician from Martin, it turns out they are an excellent guitarist—I often wonder how that is possible. Besides them, there were guys at the dorm who were well-trained in classical guitar and bass as well—I picked up some things from them and learned on my battered accoustic guitar, whose soaked neck once bent almost at a right angle after a night of drinking outdoors. How the repair guy managed to fix it, I have no idea—he must have been a direct descendant of Master Paul of Levoča, because the guitar is still at home and plays beautifully.
The semester passed quickly. In May I graduated, followed by leaving Banská Štiavnica, celebrating adulthood in the summer, and a planned start at university in Bratislava in September. During the summer holidays I worked part-time and saved money I thought would last at least half a year—this false optimism, unlike the money, has lasted to this day.
I bought the Total Death cassette as soon as it came out and remember a slight disappointment, or rather a kind of fatigue. On one hand, I was starting to perceive a wider range of music thanks to new influences from non-metal friends—I already mentioned Type O Negative, but also Heroes del Silencio and other softer stuff. On the other hand, with Darkthrone it was increasingly clear that within the scene they no longer needed to prove their cult or leadership status and could focus on making music that mainly pleased themselves, regardless of what anyone else thought.
Total Death was an album based on raw guitar riffs, but it lacked the “hit quality” of albums like Panzerfaust or Under a Funeral Moon. Unlike previous albums, where Fenriz dominated, Total Death is largely under the direction of Nocturno Culto, who wrote the acknowledgements and half of the lyrics on the album. The other half were written by Garm (Ulver), Ihsahn (Emperor), Carl-Michael Eide (Ved Buens Ende), and Satyr (Satyricon). At times, the ideas even reminded me of a certain kind of dark humor or black optimism—for example in the track “Gather for Attack on the Pearly Gates.” In others, such as “Black Victory of Death,” there is clear Bathory worship, as well as references to Mayhem and Darkthrone’s earlier work. I later gave the cassette as a birthday present to the drummer of the band I joined in Bratislava in 1998. I remember he was about half as enthusiastic about it.
Today I like returning to Total Death as an album that is not at all below average, just somewhat more straightforward and requiring greater attention from the listener to extract its strongest moments. In 1996, when the new direction of black metal was being defined by bands like Cradle of Filth and Dimmu Borgir, Darkthrone remained loyal to their cold-forged, harsh tradition, not succumbing to trends or experimentation. It became increasingly clear that Fenriz and Nocturno Culto were closer to the punk energy of Motörhead than to the “high art” of Emperor.
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Goatlord (1996)
Recorded: Instruments in 1990-1991 during rehearsal. Vocals in 1994. Produced: ... Released: 24th October 1996 (Moonfog Productions FOG013) Lineup: Nocturno Culto (guitars), Zephyrous (guitars), Fenriz (drums, vocals) and Dag Nilsen (bass) Tracklist: A1 Rex A2 Pure Demoniac Blessing A3 (The) Grimness of Which Shepers Mourn A4 Sadomasochistic Rites A5 As Desertshadows B1 In His Lovely Kingdom B2 Black Daimon B3 Toward(s) the Thornfields B4 (Birth of Evil) Virgin Sin B5 Green Cave Float PLAYING TIME 37:50
In September 1996, a week before starting university, I moved into a student dorm in Bratislava. In the city, I only knew Crom, a childhood friend with whom I had maintained written contact about metal music (and Stephen King books) for many years. Crom invited me to the pub U Matúša, where I met the local black metal society.
My first experience consisted of meeting two older guys who were planning to start a black metal label and a xerox fanzine. One of them—bearing a very dark, occult-sounding name—was drinking a pickled sausage with Kofola and constantly giggling hysterically. The other, with hair down to his waist, spoke in a high-pitched voice, was older than everyone else present, and gave off a serious, leader-like impression.
Shortly after, two allegedly recently “excommunicated” regulars arrived—having previously violated Matúš’s house rules and thus been banned, they were now attempting to break back in. They both showed up in full black metal armor: sleeves with long nails, pentagrams, inverted crosses, leather, and metal-studded boots. One of them immediately stabbed a huge knife into the table we were sitting at; the other spoke in every sentence in the style of “fucking this, fucking that,” and had a bayonet from World War I tucked into his belt. I was thrilled—I'd never encountered such devoted, menacing, and visually perfect black metallers before.
This was followed by a few parties where all previously known limits of decadence were broken, and I became part of the core group of people who would meet at U Matúša for years, later also in other Bratislava pubs. Because I lived in a dorm, I led a double party life—after returning from Matúša, I would continue drinking with non-metal friends, building what I call alcohol immunity, or long-distance endurance.
U Matúša was frequented by several groups of metalheads and other regulars, among whom various interactions took place—from friendly conversations to fights, usually between old regulars and metalheads or between waiters and metalheads. It was the 90s, and getting punched for your appearance, your look, or simply “preventively” was something one more or less automatically expected.
There were no mobile phones, so arranging quick meetups wasn’t possible. One thing was certain, though: whenever I went to Matúš at any time of day or night during the week, there was always someone I knew there to drink beer with, talk about music, and hatch dark plans about starting a band.
Within this increasingly large group, we went to cottages, parties, events, and concerts across Slovakia. Several printed zines were being published, focused on music as well as pub-related social life—I have never before (or since) experienced such a tightly knit community of relatively niche musical maniacs.
After the events in Norway a few years earlier, even within our group there were supporters of Euronymous and Grishnackh, who held long debates about who was a good/bad (and true kvlt) person, musician, lyricist, etc.
Although the black metal scene was boiling elsewhere in the world, in Slovakia we were still in its infancy and there were essentially no bands. Without the internet, it was impossible to learn about any local bedroom musicians from different parts of the country, and if you didn’t go to U Matúša or shared events, you simply didn’t exist. Various projects and groups were discussed in the pub, but in the second half of 1996 only on a theoretical level.
One of the first real steps I took in this direction was buying a dark blue Jackson Performer PS-4, which I once found in a music shop on Vysoká Street. It was the first arrow shaped guitar I had ever seen in person and the only one available in Bratislava at the time. It cost 17,000 SKK, which was roughly two months’ average salary.
I gave my parents a simple choice: either I quit university and go earn an honest living as a manual worker, or I somehow get the money through other—not necessarily legal—means. After some brief consideration, my mother sold a coupon privatization bonds and gave me the money for the guitar. For that, I thank her eternally once again. I had the guitar; all that remained was to find a band.
Goatlord was the sixth and last Darkthrone cassette I bought. After the more ambiguous Total Death, I was curious what Fenriz and Nocturno Culto would come up with after such a short break. Not knowing it was an older recording, I initially experienced the album quite confusedly.
At the time, various experiments were increasingly appearing on the scene—black metal and other metal musicians were moving into more avant-garde directions—and, being ignorant and armed with my old prejudice that “avant-garde = shitting and painting pictures,” I initially felt that Darkthrone had fallen into exactly that trap.
And yet, with context and a more mature musical taste, the album can be understood beautifully. It is a rehearsal-room recording made between Soulside Journey and A Blaze in the Northern Sky, to which Fenriz later added all the vocals—including those that resemble female singing.
The album captures the band’s transitional period. The songs are a mix of death metal-era writing transitioning into the more chaotic necro feeling of A Blaze…. Goatlord is a perfect hybrid of their first two albums: the guitars and much of the riffing still sound like Soulside Journey, while the drums and playing style are already closer to A Blaze….
What really stands out are the vocals—the variety I first noticed on A Blaze… is expanded here into new forms of Fenriz’s expression. At times it includes Anathema-like lamentations, female-sounding chants, demonic laughter and screams, and classic raw black metal shrieking. There are a lot of vocal layers on the album, which is a big plus. The melodic vocal parts remind me of Fenriz’s side projects Storm and Isengard. The black metal vocals sometimes resemble Dead from Live in Leipzig, especially in the track “In His Lovely Kingdom.”
The sound is appropriately lo-fi. In the death metal passages you can also hear influences reminiscent of early Immolation (e.g. (Birth of Evil) Virgin Sin), while the black metal parts already carry the later characteristic Darkthrone identity.
Goatlord is an unpolished diamond and a great addition to their discography.
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