Astral Fortress
“Darkthrone does not sleep—it only waits.” Such is the tagline for the Norwegian black-metal pioneers’ 20th album, which is billed as part of the duo’s ongoing writing process. As the follow-up to 2021’s *Eternal Hails…...*, which featured five epic, old-school heavy metal songs sprawled across 42 minutes, *Astral Fortress* sees drummer/vocalist Gylve “Fenriz” Nagell and guitarist/vocalist Ted “Nocturno Culto” Skjellum forging onwards and upwards from their late-’80s death-metal origins, early-’90s black-metal trailblazing, mid-aughts punk reinvention, and classic heavy metal-isms of the past decade. As is their habit for the last several releases, they’ve split the songwriting more or less down the middle, with Nocturno Culto penning three tracks and Fenriz four. “*Astral Fortress* is the natural continuation of *Eternal Hails…...*, although with more tightly packed songs,” Fenriz tells Apple Music in a cryptic transmission from his home in Norway. “Plenty of clearings in the woods as well. And I see it from the inside, so I think it has a lot of variation.” Below, he offers written commentary on each song—some more than others. **“Caravan of Broken Ghosts”** “*(anticipation)*……………………………………….A touch of something.” **“Impeccable Caverns of Satan”** “Sounds like someone fused ’70s AC/DC with classical music and then ’80s black metal greets you in various ways shortly thereafter.” **“Stalagmite Necklace”** “*(musing deeply and intently)*…………………………Onward, but slowly.” **“The Sea Beneath the Seas of the Sea”** “This is it—THIS is what I pictured my metal to sound like back in 1986/1987/early 1988, when I started up! Epic metal of the ’80s and ’70s style. I think one riff might be inspired by Uriah Heep’s ‘Pilgrim,’ too, but you’ll never guess which one, as it seems what I hear in my music is vastly different from what others hear.” **“Kevorkian Times”** “*(deliberation)*………………….One riff unconsciously inspired by Morbid Angel.” **“Kolbotn, West of the Vast Forests”** “Weirdness commences as this intermission track hails my homeplace. Not your usual city anthem!” **“Eon 2”** “The continuing saga of our ‘Eon’ track from early 1989, it is called so because of a long piece of poetry I wrote \[that\] will become ‘Eon 3’ and ‘Eon 4’ as well. The metal here is a mix of ’84-’86 thrash and a middle part of the more atmospheric old-school black metal.”
A NEW, STELLAR AND ECLECTIC JOURNEY OF OLD METAL IN THE DARKTHRONE ODYSSEY From their formation back in 1986, to becoming one of Norways’s finest musical exports (with a number of highly revered black metal masterpieces released in the early 90’s helping to solidify their legacy), Darkthrone has continued to evolve and challenge in equal measure, throughout their illustrious recording career spanning over three decades. And now, the ever-productive duo of Nocturno and Fenriz continue their own metallic saga with a new selection of fine, vintage sounding headbanging classics in the making. ‘Astral Fortress’ is itself a swift follow-up to 2021’s ‘Eternal Hails’ opus, as a result of Darkthrone’s consistent and ongoing writing process, which has been in force for some years now. For Darkthrone does not sleep - it only waits. Carried on the brisk wind of eager rock, with foundations in black, thrash, doom and heavy metal, ‘Astral Fortress’ is the latest album of stellar, eclectic old metal in the Darkthrone odyssey. With a seemingly endless dungeon full of heavy metal influences channelled through Darkthrone’s dynamic riff-machine, plus also with many increasing inspirations taken from their own past catalogue, Darkthrone has truly become its own beast within the metal world. Even though sprinkled with atmospheric touches such as synthesizers and mellotron on ‘Astral Fortress’ to great effect, the Darkthrone sound remains stripped down to the core; always primitive and organic. ‘Astral Fortress’ was recorded at Chaka Khan Studios in Oslo, the same location used for the ‘Eternal Hails’ album, with Ole Øvstedal and Silje Høgevold.
The apparent effortlessness (and occasional silliness) of the metal band’s 20th album could make it feel tossed off, but the duo’s enthusiasm mostly prevents that from happening.
Dev Place reviews the new album from Norwegian legends Darkthrone! Read her review of 'Astral Fortress' here on Distorted Sound!
"Metaphorically speaking, Astral Fortress is like a solitary figure representing a moment in Darkthrone's past."