Darkthrone

A

card-carrying member in the infamous 'Inner Circle' of early Norwegian black metal bands, Darkthrone has remained true to the spirit of that style. Originally known as Black Death, the band originally played basic Scandinavian style death metal, releasing one album in that field titled, Soulside Journey in 1990 after several demo attempts in 1988 & 89 under the titles of Land Of Frost (1988), A New Dimension (1988), Snowfall (1988), Thulcandra (1989) and Cromlech (1989) under the membership of Nocturno Culto (Real Name: Ted Skjellum; ex-Styricon; vocals), Zephyrous (Real Name: Ivar Enger; guitar), Dag Nilsen (bass), Anders Risberget (guitar) and Fenriz (Real Name: Gylve Nagell; ex-Valhall/ex-Dødheimsgard) before deciding that the then-new wave of black metal was more exciting, so they abruptly changed their style and image (adopting the corpse paint look synonymous with the scene) and with A Blaze in the Northern Sky (1991) they showed the world the result. Not only was their appearance, but also music became raw, primitive and evil. Now without Nilsen and Risberget, 1992 would see them return with Under a Funeral Moon. Shedding yet another member, Zephyrous would leave before the recording of Transylvanian Hunger (1993), which was followed by Panzerfaust (1994), Total Death (1996), Goatlord (1996), Ravishing Grimness (1999), Preparing For War compilation (2000), Plaguewielder (2001; also featuring guest members Sverre Dæhli (vocals) and Ole Jørgen Moe (a.k.a. Apollyon; vocals)), Hate Them (2003; featuring guest Lars Sørensen (a.k.a. Lrz; samples)) and Sardonic Wrath (2004) all on 'Peaceville Records'.