Darkthrone - Under a Funeral Moon

 

Darkthrone – Under a Funeral Moon
Release Date – 06/24/199
Number of Tracks – 8
Country of Origin - Norway

By the early 90s it was rather clear that as far as extreme heavy metal in the Nordic lands went, Norway firmly was planting its feet in the camp of black metal. The genre which started as a fringe and slowly grew was being pioneered in the country, and with the appeal of it growing more and more a shift started to occur. Bands that were classified as thrash or death metal made the change over to the move evil, darker, and satanic side of metal. To be frank it could be argued that some of these bands may not have reached the critical heights they did/have without making the jump.

One of the easiest to point out, and quite possibly the standout in terms of name recognition, would be Darkthrone. Starting in the mid/lateish 1980s as a death metal band, the group slowly trimmed down the number of members to three and (as you can clearly guess) transitioned to a blacker metal image. While the band like many others had tinges of the genre already in their music and image, it wasn’t until the 1990s that it become the main genre the band embraced (though they have since played around with various other genres). You could call it a risky move (reportedly Peaceville, the company Darkthrone was signed too, was so apprehensive about the switch that the band threatened to sign with Euronymous’ Deathlike Silence Productions if they wouldn’t release their black metal material). But the fact that the band stuck to their guns and what they wanted to creative is definitely admirable and helped pave the way for their career moving forward.

Yet as I said this was not an overnight change. The band’s second album A Blaze in the Northern Sky, while definitely more of a black metal affair, was still rooted a decent amount in death metal. It wasn’t until their third album (and our subject today) Under a Funeral Moon that you could consider the change complete. Since I’ve been in more of a black metal mood as of late (watching a movie about the scene will do that to you) my listening choices have obviously echoed that. As such why not review an album from one of my favorite bands in the genre?

Tracklisting
1. Natassja in Eternal Sleep
2. Summer of the Diabolical Holocaust
3. The Dance of the Eternal Sorrows
4. Unholy Black Metal
5. To Walk the Infernal Fields
6. Under a Funeral Moon
7. Inn i de dype skogers favn (Into the Embrace of the Deep Forests)
8. Crossing the Triangle of Flames

While extreme metal is always going to be an assault on the ears, the immediately thing that first comes to mind when trying to describe the album is, well, that it is a flat-out assault. The music of Under a Funeral Moon is definitely a heavier piece of work, it digging into the groove (yes I know it isn’t groove metal, just using the word here) bands such as Hellhammer/Celtic Frost, Venom, and Bathory. Yet while this is a pretty heavy black metal album, I would honestly say that Under a Funeral Moon still retains some death metal elements. An argument could be made that the genres show traits period, but I think that Darkthrone started as a death metal band will always give their music, regardless of the direction, a tinge of it. Some of the songs just carry that speedier and more rhythmic style that death metal has when compared to black metal. It doesn’t mean BM can’t be like that; this is still with those DM elements a black metal album. But it is my personal opinion that Under a Funeral Moon still retains a small but sizeable helping of some death metal hallmarks.

Regardless of where you may stand on my above thoughts, this album just flat-out is amazing. When the album wants to be that faster more death metal sound it is headbangingly catchy and easy to just start getting energized (definitely odd to use that word in a review about a black metal album). Yet when it wants to be that more traditional black metal sound boy oh boy is it just a relentless wall of dark, gloomy, plain heavy goodness. No matter the mode the record is currently in, it is simply a masterwork of heavy/extreme metal, able to get you thrashing around and then just as easily have you stock still in place as it drags you through the darkness.

One aspect that I found surprising upon re-listening to the album for this review is that, in terms of the technical aspects, it is actually really solid. For a 1993 black metal album (from a band which tends to value the lo-fi qualities of the bands before them) it holds up rather well. All of the instruments can be clearly heard and all have a presence/time to shine. I will say that the guitars at times can overshadow the bass and drums, but it is something I find doesn’t happen a whole lot (honestly I’m shocked by how much of the bass I can hear). Honestly this was the one area I thought I’d have some real critiques about the album, yet here I am, praising a 16 year old black metal album for how technically sound it is.

Poe's Favorites
Summer of the Diabolical Holocaust
To Walk the Infernal Fields
Inn i de dype skogers favn

To conclude, Under a Funeral Moon is undeniably one of the classics of the black metal genre and I would go so far to put it up against many a classic heavy metal records period. At multiple points melodic, thrashy, heavy, and hard and dark, Darkthrone etched their name as far as I am concerned here into the halls of black metal history. I have a hard time throwing around words like classic or masterpiece; however this is an instance that I have no problem throwing it around. Highly recommended and flat-out required owning for any fan of black metal, Under a Funeral Moon is simply an evil wunderkind.

Darkthrone circa 1993