DARKTHRONE ‘OLD STAR’ LP (Picture Disc)

Over the course of 30 years, Norways Darkthrone has become a staple of the global black metal genre, forging a legacy as one of the most renowned and influential bands in its illustrious & often infamous history. In their formative years, Darkthrone initially started making their mark with a strong concoction of thrash & then death/doom metal experimentation, before the debut album Soulside Journey was unleashed in 1991. Never ones to follow convention or stand still even then, the band soon embraced a much darker, more primitive form of expression with the now iconic second album A Blaze in the Northern Sky, & the rest became history.

Now the longstanding duo of Fenriz and Nocturno Culto return with their first studio album since 2016s hugely popular Arctic Thunder opus, in the shape of Old Star. With a mastery and endless dedication to the art of the riff, the Norwegian legends cut through 6 new epic tracks, taking in the best of the old school of heavy & extreme metal plus a large dose of doom-laden riffing, & channelling it through the grime of the underground. Engineering and production duties were all carried out by vocalist/guitarist Nocturno Culto, complemented with a perfectly organic mix courtesy of Sanford Parker (Voivod) at Hypercube Studios, & mastered once more by Jack Control at Enormous Door.

The stellar cover artistry comes courtesy of Chadwick St John, titled The Shepherd of the Deep