The year 1996 will be
marked in the memory of all Black Metal fans forever. It is only one
year after Darkthrone released "Total Death", and things
were not looking that promising for the band. Nocturno Culto was
making more frequent visits to his beloved Norwegian Mountains, and
Fenriz was left behind looking with disgust at what he still refers
to as the "Black Metal circus".
The duo announces that
they’re preparing themselves for their very last show, - an
announcement that brought coldness, much stronger than any Northern
European Winter ever did, into the hearts of their fans. The gig
takes place during Easter and then the band reaches hiatus. The next
couple of years find Nocturno Culto composing new material in slow
rhythms and Fenriz being in what he calls a "psychedelic acid
period", whatever that may mean.
The only thing that
managed to bring Darkthrone back to life was Nocturno Culto’s
re-evaluation of the whole situation. The band’s axeman realised
that both he and Fenriz had so much more to offer to the scene, and
began composing new material.
At the same time he
asked Fenriz to write lyrics for what was destined to become the next
Darkthrone album. As time was passing by, both musicians were
becoming more and more excited at the idea of recording a new album
and in that same year "Ravishing Grimness" was released.
The first thing that I
believe that needs to be mentioned at this point is that
"Ravishing Grimness" was not judged fairly by the fans of
the band. Most Darkthrone fans probably expected that the band would
return to the raw sound of albums like "Transylvanian
Hunger" and "Under a Funeral Moon", but the Norwegian
duet had totally different plans.
The six tracks that
make up the band’s 7th studio album are mid-tempo
compositions, with the only exception of "To The Death (Under
the King)", which still doesn’t manage to reach the
hyper-speed levels of previous efforts like "Natassja In Eternal
Sleep" and "Unholy Black Metal". Still Darkthrone
managed to create far more mature compositions, which at the same
time preserved the dark feeling that established them as the leaders
of the Norwegian Black Metal scene.
Nocturno Culto did a
brilliant job by composing non-complicated, but powerful and
memorable guitar riffs. The opening track "Lifeless" is a
perfect example of a song that is based on such a riff, whose melody
will keep you hooked for quite a long time. This album continues the
traditional tribute to the music of Celtic Frost, elements of which
you can find in "The Beast", "Across the Vacuum"
and the same-titled composition.
"Ravishing
Grimness" has a certain vibe as an album that will not allow you
to find a composition that will stand out. I found it really
difficult to make such a choice, but I end up voting for the opening
track "Lifeless"(mainly because of that brilliant guitar
riff), and also for "The Claws of Time" – an atmospheric
composition with an almost "Epic" character.
You could not have
wished for a better album to mark the return of the Norwegian
Darklords to the music scene.
If you are one
of these Darkthrone fans that decided to let "Ravishing
Grimness" collect dust in his cupboard after only one audition,
I urge you to reconsider. It may not be their best album, but it is
without doubt a classic album that influenced the direction of not
only the band's following releases, but that of the whole Black Metal
scene.
****
Review by John Stefanis
