Lifelong disciples of suspense and mystery, the enigmatic duo that is Nocturno and Fenriz return under their Darkthrone guise with a new album, It Beckons Us All, out now on the Peaceville record label.
They’ve also recently released a video in ‘The Bird People Of Nordland’ about which band member Fenriz said: “Not a very metal subject, sorry!” Then explained, “ It’s about the eider bird and Nordland. Many years ago I saw a Norwegian documentary with the symbiotic relationship the coast people of Nordland had with the bird. They watched over the nests and in return could pick the eider for pillows clothing, warmth etc. So that is what the lyrics are about.”
He continued, “Again, this is Ted’s song so a bit hard for me to comment on it musically but I will tell you all what I think when I hear it: First of we have a typical grim Ted riff for the verse, then he surprises with a catchy riff for the refrain and then comes my fave part of the album; the post-refrain riff which sounds like Queensryche 1984 style and you can also hear how much we enjoy to play it! Exactly where I want to be! Could have played that riff for 8 minutes straight, haha! This loops again with the refrain again without singing and then back to Queensryche ’84. Then first riff again with my added harmony guitar playing on it, what our studio man Ole Øvstedal called “the Corleone part”.
“A break arrives and then things are sped up (not faster than Yardbirds in 64, we are not an extreme metal band, more like moderate epic) which corresponds with a slower heavy metal riff where we also brought out the Mellotron if I remember correctly.
“Then Ted bombs you with a final part, primitive d-beat thrash with a riff that sounds like Tom G Warrior made it and I also ordered Ted to lay on some hellish guitars. Anyway, I live for that Queensryche 84 riff, Ted!”
While Nocturno Culto stated “Well, again, talking about our music really blows or is very difficult, at least for me. Personally, music is a floating thing, and I am having a hard time to try to break it down. It´s metal, a bit of heavy/doom/black/thrash, that is Darkthrone now, mixing genres has been something we have done since A Blaze, and especially since 2005. And I am just looking forward on new material, new riffs and ideas.”
You can check out the video here at RAMzine.
Also out now is ‘Black Dawn Affiliation’, the only track due for release as a single from the album, and you can also check out the animated video for it here at RAMzine.
Fenriz comments of the song’s creation “Nocturno Culto sculpted ‘Black Dawn Affiliation’, and as much as I writhe in woe trying to describe riffs I did not make, we are certainly rocking hard and dark around a dungeon of slow Kreator 1986-era riffs (think ‘Awakening Of The Gods’ or ‘Take Their Lives’ from the Flag Of Hate 12″).
“The song is linearly constructed, which is bold for a single but we often write this way. One could say it is a two-pronged beast which after the intermission (filled with a choir of the damned that we sung ourselves, believe it or not: “Aaaaaa”) continues with my favourite riff in the song since I first heard it appear early in the second part and it is there that I was given the reins to let the halls and chambers of stardust levitate with unearthly synth and a voice that still today, when writing this, strikes me as being influenced by the first rock album I heard back in 1973 – Morrison Hotel. Lyrics darker and more disturbed than ever solidify these halls now.”
Nocturno Culto added “It is not easy to describe the music you make, but for sure I will try… It´s heavy! Everything worked out as I hoped for this track. Some things are just forged in the studio, like as Fenriz´s excellent vocals at the end of the song; and the choir I wanted. Instead of just taking shortcuts, Fenriz and I recorded three vocal tracks each, and it was brilliantly mixed by Silje at Chaka Khan. There are many things one can say about riffs, but I make songs from a combination of a very methodical approach and happy accidents! And somewhere in the back of my head, it’s most likely there is something affecting a lot of my decisions on little details that shapes the riffing.”
Formed in Norway, back in 1986, their debut album Soulside Journey, was followed by another trio of releases, often referred to as ‘the unholy three’, setting a benchmark for black metal in the early 90s, albeit they’ve also distilled elements of vintage punk, doom, thrash and death into their own sonic fingerprint throughout the years.
It Beckons Us All is said to be “an intense observation of the world around them,” and that some of the riffs “howl across a gallery of ice and snow while others crackle like a volcano awakening from its timeless slumber”
“I am having difficulties putting into words my personal feelings around the existential title It Beckons Us All, I can only hope others out there can feel the darkness that encompasses it,”said Fenriz.
Nocturno commented: “We recorded in the manner we always do, live, meaning drums and guitar, with another guitar added later. We found a new twist during this process that surely benefited this album. Fenriz did stellar clean vocals on several songs, and his way of thinking creatively made it so good. We also shared the bass work this time around. We added a lot of extra layers like solo guitars… It was just a cauldron of ideas. Instead of finding a plug-in or choir synth patch, we both recorded four vocal tracks each.
“Darkthrone is an ever-evolving band, as many should know by now, and this album is touching a bit into the heavy genre. I have no idea what genre we are, and have really not cared much about it, but I know for sure it’s metal.”
Described as “music for dreamers who find themselves paralysed by the contrasting beauty and ugliness in the world surrounding them” the It Beckons Us All album was recorded in April and May 2023 at Chaka Khan Studios in Oslo, the same location used for the Eternal Hails and Astral Fortressalbums, mastered by Jack Control at Enormous Door, with artwork courtesy of Polish artist Zbigniew Bielak.
It Beckons Us All will feature the tracks ‘Howling Primitive Colonies’, ‘Eon 3’, ‘Black Dawn Affiliation’, ‘And In That Moment I Knew The Answer’, ‘The Bird People Of Nordland’, ‘The Heavy Hand’ and ‘The Lone Pines Of The Lost Planet’.
It will be available as a limited edition deluxe boxed edition with Allon CD, exclusive corona vinyl LP, cassette and art prints all housed in a heavy duty lift off lid box; limited edition Fenriz edition LP on blue marble coloured vinyl – exclusively available through the Peaceville stores; limited edition Nocturno Culto edition LP on grey marble coloured vinyl – available through the Peaceville stores, on CD,LP and digitally, with other limited edition coloured vinyl LPs available in stores across the world, suich as cream white, crystal clear, petrol and a collectors dream, if you can find them.
To order your copy click here.
You can check out a video trailer for the album here at RAMzine, and one where Fenriz introduces the record.
