Darkthrone "A Blaze In The Northern Sky" Peaceville (1992)

One of the seminal releases of the infamous second wave of black metal, "A Blaze in the Northern Sky" serves as a stepping stone for Darkthrone to their own particular niche in black metal as well as a guide for the less inspired as to how to create phenomenal black metal. This second album is a funny because Darkthrone obviously wears their influences on their sleeves and the album obviously owes much to CF/Hellhammer, yet at the same time this disc contains its own unique voice and there simply has never been an album like it.

Track list form this album: 

Sice A:

"Kathaarian Life Code" – 10:39

"In the Shadow of the Horns" – 7:02

"Paragon Belial" – 5:25

Side B:

"Where Cold Winds Blow" – 7:26

"A Blaze in the Northern Sky" – 4:58

"The Pagan Winter" – 6:35

Setting themselves apart from their contemporaries, Darkthrone strived to achieve a catchy and 'metal' album. Not forgetting the importance of riffs from the forebears of black metal, and the thrashy/groove elements championed by Morbid Tales Celtic Frost, Darkthrone implements guitar solos (something many second wave, as well as modern black metal bands, tend to overlook), mid-section groove stomps and countless rhythm changes. When comparing this album to contemporaries of the time it is interesting to see how Darkthrone retained a death metal/trash sense of composure and time. "Immortal's Diabolical Fullmoon Mysticism" is a good, but wholly inspired by Bathory effort which offered little variance amongst its tracks and seemed much more restrained. also abstains from the absurdly fast-all-the-time style of De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas or the dreary slow dirge of Burzum. Really comes out as its own and as a unique vessel in the second wave. Like a good thrash album, This album offers a sense of fun and invigoration, something like feels more foreboding and moody.

Line up 1992

Nocturno Culto Vocals (lead), Guitars (lead)

Zephyrous Guitars (rhythm)

Fenriz Drums, Vocals (spoken lines, intro), Lyrics

The instrumentation, attention to detail, and overall vibe given by A Blaze In The Northern Sky seems to make their contemporaries look childish, Darkthrone were musicians and creators of music first and foremost, while they paid great attention to their appearance, it wasn't until Transilvanian Hunger that they begun to exchange creativity and performance for image and reputation.

The drums are so powerful and authoritarian on this album, I love it. They guide each song with such brute strength and have a great tone. Fenriz's performance is one of my favorites and is very fun and interesting to listen to. The guitar work is top notch and countless riffs are undeniable classics. Every song is a classic, its hard to skip anyone of them, and downright unfair to say anyone of them is unimportant.

Darkthrone have defiantly established themselves as one of the most important names in black metal, and much of that credit is given to Transilvanian Hunger. But it was with this album that Darkthrone modernized the music they had been influenced by and were able to create many of the variables that have characterized the scene since. The album surges and jumps, contains a vibrant and robust production that really emphasizes the power behind every instrument, another element they lost to the muffled and lifeless production of Transilvanian Hunger.

For me, it is a tough debate between De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas or A Blaze in the Northern Sky as the king album of the second wave. They offer radically different approaches to the genre in question, and are amazing in their own right. A Blaze In The Northern Sky always seemed like a good stepping stone from thrash and death metal to black metal, Feels like an album that requires a lot from the listener and isn't as simple as just picking up.This is one of the few albums i actually have fun listening to as an activity in of itself. If this album doesn't catch your fancy the first time around, put it down and come back to it, because it really is a marvel and gem of music as a whole.

Some links about vids alive.

Live 1991

Finland 1991

"Paragon Belial"