Darkthrone – The Underground Resistance (Peaceville Records)
Over the course of their quarter-century existence, Darkthrone has pursued a path that might charitably be described as counterintuitive, one characterized by shifts and deviations so sharp their only common thread is the degree to which the band does not give a single fuck what anybody may want from them or expect of them.
Darkthrone – The Underground Resistance (Peaceville Records)
Over the course of their quarter-century existence, Darkthrone has pursued a path that might charitably be described as counterintuitive, one characterized by shifts and deviations so sharp their only common thread is the degree to which the band does not give a single fuck what anybody may want from them or expect of them. They started out death metal, and when that became popular, they switched to black metal, releasing several of the greatest albums that genre has ever seen. Rather than riding that to popularity like so many of their peers, they stopped recording for several years, refused to play live, and, after returning to the studio, released a succession of albums that saw the band initially focusing on a messier, lower-fidelity version of their better known material (which wasn’t exactly polished in the first place). Eventually, they shifted to a grimy, punkish approach equally reliant on Inepsy-ish, motorpunk bludgeoning and cantankerous, contentious lyrics, baiting pretty much anybody involved with metal after 1989 or so. And while their last few albums focused on this approach, Darkthrone’s history has shown that listeners would be ill-advised to take for granted they’ll stick with any single sound for long – which is borne out by their most recent album, The Underground Resistance.
Opener “Dead Early” sets the tone for the album, with a galloping speed metal riff that sounds like Manilla Road or Saxon shot through with an unhealthy dose of the first Celtic Frost album – a direction that isn’t surprising in and of itself, given the band’s outspoken championing of the heavy metal of yore in its varied strains. What comes as a considerably greater surprise are drummer Fenriz’s vocals on songs like “Valkyrie” and “Leave No Cross Unturned” (the latter featuring what might be the best metal song title this year). His triumphant, melodic vocal style highlights the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal influence more dramatically than any other material the band has yet released (though the occasional stab at King Diamond falsetto can come off a little forced and, whether intentionally or not, kinda funny).
I hate to say it (just as the band would likely hate to hear it), but Underground Resistance is such a compact burst of energy that it’s almost a fun album, at least compared to most metal, though it does forgo some of the levity the band utilized in their specific references to their genre (whether the positive name-dropping of “Canadian Metal” or the more harshly critical stance they’ve taken in quite a few of their songs). There are still elements present that display their much-vaunted reverence for a wide-ranging array of influences, however, from the artwork by Jim Fitzpatrick (who created album covers for Thin Lizzy, amongst others, but is far better known for his iconic image of Che Guevara that’s gone on to adorn posters on the walls of millions of college dorm rooms over the past four and a half decades) to the album’s title, which is shared with a collective of socially conscious Detroit techno producers (almost certainly not a coincidence, given Fenriz’s long-standing interest in electronic music).
But this sort of extended love letter for those they perceive to be fighting the good fight is nothing new, and while Underground Resistance acts as something of a stylistic shift for Darkthrone, it’s in keeping with their larger body of work, both in its reverence and in the sense that it takes a direction likely unanticipated by many. Though they’re best known as a black metal band, their newest album demonstrates that they’re as good with majestic speed metal as they have been with death metal and grimy, punk-oriented material. It’s easily their most consistent album in years, and is further proof that no matter what Darkthrone attempts, they likely couldn’t make a bad album if they tried.
