After releasing a trifecta of second-wave royalty in A Blaze in the Northern Sky, Under a Funeral Moon, and Transilvanian Hunger — hell, I’ll even throw in the coup de grace, Panzerfaust — what exactly would have been left for them to achieve? I love Total Death and Plaguewielder, but they never quite did live up to their greatest works. I think the guys knew that, too.
Look, three and a half decades is more than enough time to send metal fans into a frenzy. If you’ve followed the Darkthrone trajectory over the last five or six albums, that anecdote proves true as fans seemingly line up with pitchforks every time they drop something in the vein of trad/doom/speed metal.
So it goes.
That fact of the matter is that there’s beautiful heavy metal history in contemporary Darkthrone. Via the mighty riff, Arctic Thunder, Old Star, Eternal Hails, Astral Fortress, It Beckons Us All, and now Pre-Historic Metal, are museums of ‘80s — and even some ‘70s — lore. Album title aside, the influences are right there front and center. Big fan of Mercyful Fate? Well, you should love “They Found One of My Graves” and its not-so-subtle nod to Don’t Break the Oath’s “A Dangerous Meeting.” Or maybe you’re a fan of Celtic Frost’s To Mega Therion? Yeah, you’ll find that here, too, specifically on the title track, “Pre-Historic Metal.” Fenriz’ drum patterns were made for a Tom G. Warrior OOUGH. And while I might understand being turned away — vocals-wise — by Fenriz’ John Cryiis impression, you’re still thumped by a Nocturno Culto shoutout and subsequent necro-vocals in the final two minutes.
Then, there’s the Manilla Road Crystal Logic riffage. In fact, there’s a plethora of Mark Shelton influence throughout — see “Siberian Thaw.” Speaking of which, after a few listens, “Siberian Thaw” is their best track since 2019’s “The Hardship of the Scots.” That “SIBERIAN THAW. SIBERIAN THAW. SIBERIAN THAW…” chant is absolutely GOAT’d and would absolutely crush in the live setting we’ll never have the privilege of seeing.
All of that said, in many ways, this album’s closest relative would probably be Old Star. I started picking up on that when flipping to the B-side. “Deeply Rooted” has some of Nocturno Culto’s coolest vocal moments that bring a similar raspiness. Then, on songs like “The Dry Wells of Hell,” there are nods to Judas Priest’s Stained Class — see JP’s “Saints in Hell.” Very melodic, catchy, and sprinkled with Fenriz’ singing, you’ll hear an homage or continuation of the band’s 2019 track “The Key Is Inside the Wall.” Of course, it’d only make sense if some moments sounded like a progression from what they were building on 2024’s It Beckons Us All. “Eat Eat Eat Your Pride” conjures up similar riff ideas found on “Howling Primitive Colonies” and “Black Dawn Affiliation.” The back-and-forth between chunky power chord riffs and tremolo picking fits Nocturno Culto’s guitar tone perfectly. “Eon 4” bestows that to a T as well.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I understand if this era of the band isn’t for you. Seriously, I do. It’s easy to hold a band to an impossible standard — I do it, too. But A Blaze in the Northern Sky came out more than three decades ago. At some point, you have to let it go.
As for Darkthrone, I genuinely enjoy their recent material — and, maybe more importantly, I appreciate what they’re doing. No trends. No bullshit. Just two guys making the music they want, completely on their own terms.
Sure, Pre-Historic Metal isn’t perfect. The drums could pop a tad more, sometimes finding themselves buried beneath the guitars. At times, the vocal back-and-forth between Nocturno Culto and Fenriz may seem disorganized, but, to be fair, it lends the album character and sets it apart from the last few albums. They continue stacking little nuances here and there, and that’s cool with me. I think that’s way more important than catering to a bunch of folks on the internet.
I’ll stand on this: Too many people seek perfection to fall in love with an album.
I’ve rambled on here, so I’ll conclude with the same words I left regarding It Beckons Us All: For the old-school metal faithful, Pre-Historic Metal is for you. It’s another Darkthrone album full of memorable riffs, vocal performances, and throwbacks to the icons that shaped heavy music as we know it today. It’s pretty damn good.
Instead of holding the guys to the standards of yesteryear, cherish the fact that we still have them around. Too many legends have moved on to another plane of existence as of late.
Oh, and one last thing.
The first dinosaur to be scientifically described and named was Megalosaurus in 1824 by British naturalist William Buckland.
America’s first president, George Washington, died in 1799. He never knew dinosaurs existed. Crazy, right?
Even more depressing, Darkthrone formed in 1986. So, George Washington never knew Darkthrone existed.
But you, my friends, you know.
How lucky…
At the very least, luckier than the dinos…
Asteroids, am I right?
