Darkthrone - F.O.A.D Review

Revision as of 15:24, 6 May 2009

1. These Shores Are Damned 2. Canadian Metal 3. The Church of Real Metal 4. The Banners of Old 5. F.O.A.D 6. Splitkein Fever 7. Raised on Rock 8. Pervertor of the 7 Gates 9. Wisdom of the Dead

Genre: Black metal/punk Released: 2007

This is Darkthrone's 13th album, I got it in the mail today and I love it!

Darkthrone is in my opinion one of the few bands that never makes any dissapointing albums, unlike 98% of all other bands. Though, none of their albums are as good as A Blaze In The Northern Sky, Under A Funeral Moon and Transilvanian Hunger, I think most people agree with me on that. Immortal classics.

It seems like F.O.A.D(F*** Off And Die) is one big dedication to all their influences like Iron Maiden, Venom, Pentagram, Sabbath and many, many more.

Sound:

I had to giggle a little when I read what Gylve "Fenriz" Nagell said in a interview:

The journalist said something like: "So, you and Ted Skjellum have just produced a new album."

Fenriz: "Well, I don't know if you could call it produced, I didnt touch any buttons atleast."

When I read that I knew I had something good to look forward to!

Darkthrone's sound is always raw and unique. This album is as dirty as it gets, nothing is cut away, no silly effects, this is NOT some overproduced crap! And that is the way it's supposed to be, ALWAYS with metal. Not all genres can have a dirty sound though, I prefer Grieg with good sound. But when it comes to metal, Darkthrone always get the sound right, raw and real. Thats why I love Darkthrone. This sounds like something from the 70's, wich is of course great. On one song they even used very little distortion on the guitars to make it sound really old school. It sounds like the drums are recorded inside a box, or how I should say it. Makes it sound really freakin good. Crispy raw guitars, what more can I say.

Vocals:

Nocturno Culto usually do the vocals, but Fenriz "sings" alot on this album. Fenriz got perfect filthy rock'n'black vocals, he sort of sounds like some drunk German guy screaming(No offence to Germans! I just got that impression when I saw video clips from Wacken ). Thats how I see it atleast. They also have guest vocals by Czral from Aura Noir. Nocturno's vocals are also less "growling" and more punkish filth. Also, they have ALOT of really great short sentences they scream out! "UGH! I was Raised On Rock!!"

Riffs/music:

They call their new style "NWOBHM". Not New Wave Of British Heavy Metal, but New Wave Of Black Heavy Metal. I think that describes the style well. The heavy metal bands from the NWOBHM was influenced by punk, and so is Darkthrone, except that this is Black metal mixed with punk and heavy metal. The riffs are really amazing in my opinion, alot of typical Darkthrone style riffs but you can easily hear that they have tons of Iron Maiden(and many more) influenced riffs. They even have some lead guitar stuff, not only chords. They sort of harmonize it with the riffing guitars and bass. There are really big variations in this album. They got some classic Darkthrone riffs and then suddenly you hear Iron Maiden riffs and guitar solos. Very interesting and different in my opinion.

Lyrics:

Well, there arent written any lyrics in the album so I cant say much about it. I read in another review that the lyrics on this album was very childish. I've managed to figure some of the lyrics out, and well yeah, most of it sounds like "F*** Off And Die" lyrics... But hey, thats punk?

I would also like to talk a little about the album cover. What can I say, coolest album cover ever? And very different from their old album covers. If you're a fan, the pictures inside are worth the money alone. Fenriz and Nocturno have been out camping in the woods and taken alot of pictures. What I also loved was how they wrote a little something about each song.

Conclusion:

Very cathcy black metal(Catchy black metal? ) with alot of elements from heavy metal and punk, but also classic Darkthrone riffs. Pure, raw and real sound, just as metal is supposed to be!! I'll give it a 9/10. But then again, I'm a Darkthrone fan boy, some others will probably disagree.

BUY IT OR DIE!

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=vnLxun1gdz8 - Darkthrone - Canadian Metal This song reminds me alot of their previous release: The Cult Is Alive. This was the only song I could find from this album, but the other songs are actually pretty different from this one