Fenriz, speaking to Loudwire about the song cryptically said “I feel that the words and titles are everyone’s property and they can analyse or feel it as they want. I will lead no way here! But when you see the lyrics you will know that it is probably not about a specific person (certainly not Newman from Seinfeld) but perhaps more of a fate or entity even.
“DUKE OF GLOAT Written: Ted Skjellum, Gylve Fenris NagellPublished by: Vile Music
Too old to wring the secret from the master
The well you encountered as a child
Merely acknowledging the beacon now
And now you are not well any longer
So this is the pact of the gloat
Double hell for all All to repair and one to watch No freedom in these domains
Hail the satan Sinister duke of gloat
Wrap up the wretched fates
Intriguing eternal laughter Encyclopedias Of endless futile life toils Shrapnel wounds From shattered inner gargoyles
So this is the pact of the gloat Brave beating hearts,
But All must repair while one beholds No freedom in these domains
The legendary Norwegian longstanding partnership of Fenriz and Ted “Nocturno Culto” Skjellum, return with Old Star, their first studio album since 2016’s hugely popular Arctic Thunder. With a mastery and endless dedication to the art of the riff, they 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. Fenriz enthuses «Old star – again we are here with THE RIFFS! A while after our previous ARCTIC THUNDER album it became apparent that we would continue in that same style, BLACK OLD HEAVY METAL with slow thrash, classic doom and slow death metal. As many have focussed on the 70s sound over the last 20 years, the mix on our new album has ended up being more 80s than ever. The songs are more metal than ever! Ted’s songs have alot of black metal in them, faster and slower but also doomier parts and reocurring parts. My songs are more linear written, it’s an ancient 80s underground trick, with breaks, all slow heavy or slow thrash, classic doom or slow death.»
He continues «All in all it is our most 80s album so far and our most metal one to date with drum sound typical for the 80s USA/German market and damned lyrics, which are all written by me. We feel that OLD STAR is the big brother of ARCTIC THUNDER. More solid and with even better riffs.»
Old Star was recorded at the band’s Necrohell 2 Studios, with engineering and production duties 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”.
Over the course of 30 years, Norway’s 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 the formative years following their 1987 inception, Darkthrone initially started with a strong concoction of thrash & then death/doom metal experimentation, with broader musical influences spanning from the 60s to the 80s, 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.
OLD STAR TRACKLISTING
1. I Muffle Your Inner Choir [06:26]
2. The Hardship Of The Scots [07:36]
3. Old Star [04:28]
4. Alp Man [05:27]
5. Duke Of Gloat [06:49]
6. The Key Is Inside The Wall [07:24]
OLD STAR IS RELEASED ON 31ST MAY 2019 AND AVAILABLE TO PRE-ORDER NOW HERE
Available formats, each comes with handwritten lyrics in the booklet or insert:
CD Black 180g vinyl LP
Ltd Edition 180g purple vinyl
LP Ltd Edition 180g green vinyl LP (exclusively available at the Peaceville store)
Ltd Edition 180g orange vinyl LP
Ltd Edition 7” vinyl box set – Old Star is presented on 3 coloured 7” (black, white, clear vinyl) (exclusively available at the Peaceville store) Cassette (exclusively available at the Peaceville store) Digital album (pre-orders receives “The Hardship Of The Scots” as an instant download)
Darkthrone are:
Gylve ‘Fenriz’ Nagell – drums, song writing, lyrics
Ted ‘Nocturno Culto’ Skjellum – strings & vocals, song writing
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