A FIST IN THE FACE OF GOD 1994: TRANSILVANIAN HUNGER

By †ROCKWELL†

Continuing the trip into the slightly thin forest that is 1994's classic metal albums, we come to maybe the most brutal and genre-defining of them all: Darkthrone's Transilvanian Hunger. This is widely regarded as Kolbotn's finest's greatest accomplishment (although Under a Funeral Moon gets my vote), but some have dismissed the record's lo-fi production as a step too far. Darkthrone continue the black metal sound they evolved on the previous two releases but the production on this one though is where it differs. Like 1994's other black metal classic releases (De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas and Hvis Lyset Tar Oss), this is as pure and black as both, yet it has a totally different sound and feel – a lot rawer than Burzum's effort and more haunting perhaps than Mayhem's. Like I mentioned before, these all do fall under the category of "black metal," but are all very different in their approach to the genre's title. This record caused some controversy around its release, as the second half of it was penned by then-jailed murderer/arsonist Varg Vikernes (there is backmasked speech from the man himself on the end of "As Flittermice As Satans Spys"). Again, the notoriety and infamy of this record has possibly overshadowed what is a classic metal album. This is the record that produced a million imitators – some good, most awful. Admittedly, the first time I heard this record it actually kinda scared me a bit. I mean, I always like to smoke a bowl or two before listening to a new record (it gets me focused), but this time it kinda backfired; I wasn't expecting something as ferocious and feral as the tones on Transilvanian Hunger. It is like a sea of razor-sharp piranhas flooding the caverns of your mind and tearing the fabric of your inner ear away, then feeding it to rabid jackals. I guess it falls into that category where it sounds like it was recorded thousands of years ago by plunderers from the future in a cave under the ocean floor where the souls of Vikings lay. This, put plainly and simply, is True Norwegian Black Metal. You either like it or you don't. Darkthrone, "Skald Av Satans Sol" Darkthrone, "Skald Av Satans Sol"

Darkthrone, "I En Hall Med Flesk Og Mjød"