Review by Ben for Darkthrone - A Blaze in the Northern Sky (1992)

What an incredible release this was back in 1992. After releasing a straight-forward but enjoyable Scandinavian death metal album as their debut, Darkthrone surprised everyone by unleashing the coldest, most evil sounding black metal the world had ever heard. All the ingredients were there right from the start. A fantastically mysterious and wicked looking album cover in the now standard black and white, with corpse paint included. The rawest of productions that remarkably still managed to be completely listenable and added to the atmosphere and depth tenfold. Blasphemous lyrics spat out in the most venomous and demonic of styles. Freezing cold riffs that somehow sounded epic and majestic while attempting to rip your face off. This is true black metal and Darkthrone nailed it on their first attempt!

While I find the bands recent, more punk and rock n roll influenced albums to be downright atrocious, you can hear that aspect of the band within A Blaze in the Northern Sky. There is a certain punkish element to the band when they hit top speed and In the Shadows of the Horns has a rather rocking feel to certain sections. The difference is that these Norwegian legends played this album with complete conviction, while their new stuff is simply a parody and a piss-take, and an offense to their former fans. It's a sign of just how good and important this album was that it still stands up proudly today, over 15 years later. Literally hundreds of albums have tried to replicate it and very few have managed to get close.

All six tracks are pure black metal gold, but my favourites would be Kathaarian Life Code, In the Shadow of the Horns, Where Cold Wind Blows and The Pagan Winter. A Blaze in the Northern Sky is not only an immensely important album in terms of the evolution of black metal. It is simply a grand example of the genre done right. It’s a shame the band decided to become a joke, and not a very funny one at that!