Darkthrone - Hate Them

Rodrigo

Heat in 7
Apr 17, 2001
883
3
18
Southern California
DARKTHRONE - HATE THEM
Moonfog/The End Records - 2003

By Rodrigo Escandon

darkthrone_hatethem.jpg


Forget it folks! Darkthrone is not going back to sound of their early albums and either you can reminisce about those good old days or move with the times and listen to the band?s excellent new album Hate Them. Continuing with the sound that was present in their last two efforts, Darkthrone seems to have come out with their greatest current effort. I say seems because right now it is running neck and neck with Plaguewielder in my score card.

Recorded in 26 hours, featuring a production courtesy of Satyr and showcasing more groove and dynamics to the music is the recipe that makes Hate Them such a great listen. The album opener "Rust" has quickly become one of my favorite songs by them. It starts with very slow guitars, drums and one can actually hear the bass guitar underneath it all. The song slowly begins to pick up the pace as time passes by and soon goes into a mid-tempo groove and then at around 4 minutes into the song all hell breaks loose and there is no doubt that this band can still come out with excellent music. Finally the last 30 seconds of the song feature an unbelievable riff and if this does not have you head banging then you are in serious trouble. This song clearly defines what I meant with the added dynamics that Nocturno Culto and Fenriz have added to their music. "Striving for a Piece of Lucifer" and "In Honour of thy Name" exemplifies the extra use of groove mentioned earlier and this is done without sacrificing the intensity and harshness of the music. Think of early Venom when I mention this.

Hate Them is a statement by the band saying that they are not going anywhere and their musical attack is still as powerful as ever. Some have said that Darkthrone should stop recording and call it quits and that would be a shame because what other bands can provide this cold and raw style of black metal? It is comforting to know that Darkthrone still manages to do this at a high level.

Moonfog Records Website
The End Records Website
Darkthrone Official Website
 
Fenriz said it was a tribute to the old ways and its originators, Celtic Frost, Venom, Hellhammer, etc. Also. Hate Them is not in the same vein as Plagueweilder. The drum beats are strikingly similar to the more varied stlyes heard on DT first BM album "Ablaze in the Northern Sky." As both Ted and Glyve have said, Hate Them is certainly a leap backwards from Plagueweilder in both style and sound quality. While it is certain that the good ol days are done and over, it is not fair to say that DT has not stayed true to this although some evolution is welcomed and involuntary in a few cases.The previous 2 releases shouldnt obviously be compared to such masterpeices as "Transilvanian Hunger," but Hate Them is a far superior album to their last effort Plagueweilder which was more of an experimental album. It is a solid album overall. I particularly like the closing riff for "Fucked up and ready to die" and "Rust" is excellent as well. I would definitley recomend this to any BM fan.