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Metal Monday 24: 

In hindsight, knowing what we know now about Fenriz and Nocturno Culto, having seen the many you tube videos, or the bonus footage that came on the reissued Darkthrone CDs, explaining the making of albums in slurred voices spilling booze on themselves, Transylvania Hunger (this is the original RARE Peaceville pressing) could have all just been a big joke. I just imagine them laughing about all of the extremity and sloganeering in the black metal scene and being like “let’s make a record that’s all one tempo - fuck it”. From the outset though it’s one of the most hypnotic and majestic black metal releases ever. Recorded on an 8 track with lots of tape noise, buzzing mosquito guitars, and drums that sound about the same as cardboard boxes as they speed along in endless paddle beats - it’s a rigid set of limitations. But limiting themselves so much seemed to bring out more expressiveness in their sound than ever. The dark and sweeping melodies of the title track will stick in your head forever if you hear them once, and it’s an important statement because of that - these songs are addictive. Darkthrone and black metal in general often centered on consciously regressive themes, but by 1994 most of their peers were making records that were becoming increasingly complex and in some cases progressive. For better or worse they were able to prove that all of that was secondary to the feeling and spirit of the songs. Transylvanian Hunger is the ultimate “less is more” moment in metal because it so completely qualifies the sentiment. There are no keyboards, nothing was recorded in an airplane hanger, there isn’t a producer, it’s truly RAW. Maybe totally stripping away all the Celtic Frost parts from previous and subsequent albums allowed for a more soulful and honest delivery. Maybe this was all serious and just what the band was feeling at the time; that regression and primitiveness are the truest expression of “black metal”. Either way, directly or indirectly, this album has been responsible for hundreds of home recordings by alienated, evil obsessed youths, obviously though no matter how good these offspring are, they can never surpass this release in influence or inspiration.

Always good for a cloudy day, a cold night, or a bad week. I <3 Transylvania.

Darkthrone - Transylvania Hunger LP (Peaceville pressing)