This is an odd album. Darkthrone is one of the most important and well-respected black metal bands from the fruitful Norwegian scene. Yet, this--their first album--doesn't sound like black metal. It really sounds more like a Swedish death metal album. The song structures and riffing style owe more to Entombed than Mayhem. In fact, I would say that this whole album sounds like Necrophobic's style more than any other band. Thankfully, Darkthrone are talented and therefore produce good metal of any genre--but they are at their best when doing black metal. Hence, check out everything after.
After Soulside, the bad boys of Darkthrone (except their bassist, Dag Nilsen) decided that death metal wasn't worth their time. They heard some of the stuff their fellow countrymen were making (especially the guys over in Mayhem) and decided to forge ahead in the new style. So, Darkthrone created one of the most raw, primitive, hateful black metal albums. Yet unlike other primitive black metallers (Canada's Blasphemy and Finland's Beherit, for example), Darkthrone has crafted a very beautiful album. This whole disc has a haunting, almost melodic atmosphere to it. This is very similar to early Burzum. The main differences are that I would say Darkthrone has a stronger guitar and drum sound. This album and Burzum's self-titled are what put the poorly-produced, yet brilliantly atmospheric Norwegian sound on the map. "Kathaarian Life Code" is probably one the best Darkthrone songs ever--scratch that, one of the best BLACK METAL songs ever.
