Darkthrone – Astral Fortress Review

Way past the Unholy Trinity and far from the sound that made them popular, Darkthrone don’t give a fuck what others have to say about their music endeavours. They just record whatever they feel like and maybe that’s the reason why they have been relevant for over 35 years and they still are. Forever changing, you won’t find the 1000th copy-cat iteration of whatever black metal substyle is trending atm, but rather a collection of tracks which span and mix very different influences and genres, including of course doom, traditional heavy metal and black metal, including the sound from viking incursions brought by Bathory.

Generally mid-paced, feels less doom-ish and more varied than Eternal Hails…… (2021), with tempo turns such and headbanging moments. The mellotron and keyboards are also back, and the recording feels straight from the 70s: Everything sounds real played. One minor complaint: Some cracking is audible at some parts, not sure if done on purpose, but doesn’t sound out of tune given the raw production.