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Darkthrone: Sardonic wrath
25/01/12 || BamaHammer
Darkthrone’s career has always been fascinating to me. I didn’t discover them until about ten years ago, so retrospect is my only option, but Darkthrone evolved and changed their personality many times seemingly out of boredom or disgust for the current state of their current iteration’s genre as a whole. After their unholy hat trick of albums from 1992 to 1994 that helped shaped the mid-‘90s Norwegian black metal scene, the band continued to produce their trademark black metal, but their sound grew a bit more refined and became infused with a few subtle as well as not-so-subtle punk influences.
I’m pretty sure I’m in the obvious minority when I say that I enjoy the middle era Darkthrone albums more than any of the band’s other output (besides “Soulside journey”). I already confessed my enjoyment for “Hate them”, so I thought the next logical step would be to honestly express my adoration for their next one, “Sardonic wrath”.
Darkthrone sat on “Hate them” for roughly just 18 months before releasing this album in the late summer of 2004, but it could hardly be considered simply a continuation of the previous album. Whereas “Hate them” sported a dark, brooding, mysterious black metal atmosphere and a flat, raw production, “Sardonic wrath” boasts an almost sinister atmosphere filled with good old-fashioned pure hatred and sharper, slightly more refined production that only bolsters the aggressiveness of the songwriting.
If “Hate them” featured an 80/20 black metal-to-punk ratio, I would say that “Wrath” pushes the mix to 70/30, and what makes it even more interesting is you can hear the band evolve from the beginning of the album to the end. Hearing the first track (after the intro, of course), “Information wants to be syndicated,” leads you to believe that Darkthrone is back on their black metal game, but by the end of the record and “Hate is the law” (my personal favorite track from the album), it sounds like the band have gone a completely different direction with some major crusty punk influences. Whether it was intentional or not, listening to this album in order from start to finish is what a band changing sounds like, and it’s absolutely fascinating to me.
As for the actual songwriting, the band isn’t breaking any new ground or setting new standards for black metal songwriting here, obviously, but what they have done is create some excellent black metal tunes with a touch of groovy brutality, plodding doom, and catchy punk rhythms that are pretty much always a joy to hear. I honestly don’t give two shits about song titles, but I know a few off this album just because I’ve played them so many times. The lyrics are venomous and vitriolic and all those adjectives, but they’re also really catchy and urge you to sing along (even if it’s “Hate is the law” and you’re not the least bit versed in Norwegian).
The more aggressive “black metal” moments from this record rank right up there with some of the band’s best and are undoubtedly among their best sounding. Culto’s guitars have a bit of a searing treble edge unlike past releases, which removes some of the grim-and-frostbitten-ness that “A penis in the northern sky” or “Transylvanian hunger” utilized so well, but that edge only makes the music better. The production is not Bob Rock crystal clear, by any means, nor are the performances magnificently tight, but for my money, this is one of the best sounding black metal releases there has ever been. The sound has plenty of mass and clarity, but maintains the rawness that black metal needs.
If you like raw black metal, I don’t see why you wouldn’t like “Sardonic wrath”. If you like black metal with a hint of punk, you would love “Sardonic wrath”. The world of black metal is flooded with shit that nobody cares about these days because everything sounds like everything else, but I can honestly say this album possesses a uniqueness that makes it something you need to hear.
- Information
- Released: 2004
- Label: Moonfog
- Website: www.darkthrone.no
- Band
- Nocturno Culto: vocals, guitars, bass
- Fenriz: drums, vocals
- Tracklist
- 01. Order of the Ominous
- 02. Information Wants to Be Syndicated
- 03. Sjakk Matt Jesu Krist
- 04. Straightening Sharks in Heaven
- 05. Alle Gegen Alle
- 06. Man Tenker Sitt
- 07. Sacrificing to the God of Doubt
- 08. Hate Is the Law
- 09. Rawness Obsolete
