Darkthrone
5 vinyl records found
Darkthrone is a Norwegian black metal duo from Kolbotn that shifted from death metal to become a defining force in the Scandinavian black metal movement. Since 1993, Fenriz and Nocturno Culto have operated as an almost hermitic creative unit, rarely performing live and maintaining distance from industry conventions while their early work shaped the genre's trajectory.
About Darkthrone
The band started in 1986 as Black Death, a death metal outfit influenced by Autopsy, Venom, and Hellhammer. After signing to Peaceville Records, they released Soulside Journey in 1990 at Sunlight Studios with assistance from Nihilist and Entombed members. The record stood as their only full-length death metal statement, though it already carried early black metal touches in its presentation.
Darkthrone's transition crystallized with A Blaze in the Northern Sky (1992), recorded after Euronymous of Mayhem influenced the band to adopt corpse paint and stage names. The subsequent albums Under a Funeral Moon (1993) and Transilvanian Hunger (1994) joined A Blaze in the Northern Sky as the Unholy Trinity, establishing a raw, deliberate production style that became central to Norwegian black metal's aesthetic. Guitarist Zephyrous departed after Under a Funeral Moon, leaving the band as the duo it remains today. The band performed only one live show, in April 1996, and has avoided touring since.
From the mid-1990s onward, Darkthrone cycled through Moonfog Productions and later Peaceville Records again, with Fenriz juggling side projects like Isengard and Storm. Albums like Ravishing Grimness (1999) and Plaguewielder (2001) saw Nocturno Culto take on greater songwriting duties, while later releases incorporated heavy metal, punk, speed metal, and doom influences without abandoning their black metal core. The EP Too Old, Too Cold (2006) became their first charting release and included a cover of Joy Division's Love in a Void. The Groove Hunter currently tracks 5 editions of Darkthrone vinyl, including Total Death, Pre-Historic Metal, and the live recording As Wolves Among Sheep from their Oslo 1990 session.
