Soulside Journey

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Soulside Journey
Studio album from Darkthrone

Publication
(s)

1991

Label (s) Peaceville Records

Format (s)

CD, LP

Genre (s)

Death metal

Title (number)

11

running time

41 min 44 s

occupation

production

Tomas Skogsberg

chronology
Cromlech
(demo, 1989) 		Soulside Journey A Blaze in the Northern Sky
(1991)

Soulside Journey is the debut album by the Norwegian metal band Darkthrone . It was released in January 1991 on the British record label Peaceville Records .

In contrast to the following albums, which were defining the style of Nordic Black Metal , the music on the album can clearly be assigned to Death Metal .

Emergence

The album was preceded by a total of four demos in 1988 and 1989 , with the last two ( Thulcandra and Cromlech ) already containing five of the songs from the debut album. Curiously, the title Cromlech was not composed for the demo of the same name, but for the album.

The recordings for the album took place in 1990 in the Sunlight Studios in Stockholm . Under the sound engineer Tomas Skogsberg , this recording studio was considered formative for typical Scandinavian, especially Swedish Death Metal; Among other things, early albums by Entombed , Dismember , Grave and Amorphis were made here . The album was then released in 1991 on CD and LP .

The record cover was painted by Duncan Fegredo and shows the outlines of various people on a wide plain, above a black sky with the silhouette of an indefinable machine made of cogwheels. The colors black, white and blue dominate.

In 2001 a new edition appeared in a jewel case , in 2003 as part of a series of complete Darkthrone new editions in a digipack . This edition, like the rest of the band's re-released albums, was provided with a data track that contained a computer-playable video interview with the band on the album in question. In addition, an edition limited to 1000 units was released as a picture LP .

Another curiosity is the naming of the band members on the back cover. While the band members later appeared under pseudonyms , the real names of the musicians were used here. The exception is the drummer Gylve Nagell , who is called here under the name "Hank Amarillo". In the new editions, however, Nagell is called by his later stage name "Fenriz", while the rest of the band members still use their real names.

Track list

  1. Cromlech - 4:11
  2. Sunrise over Locus Mortis - 3:31
  3. Soulside Journey - 4:36
  4. Accumulation of Generalization - 3:17
  5. Neptune Towers - 3:15
  6. Sempiternal Sepulchrality - 3:32
  7. Grave with a View - 3:27
  8. Iconoclasm Sweeps Cappadocia - 4:00
  9. Nor the Silent Whispers - 3:18
  10. The Watchtower - 4:58
  11. Eon - 3:39

style

The music is essentially based on the typical Scandinavian Death Metal of its time, which is reinforced by the corresponding bass-heavy Sunlight production. A contrast between slower and faster parts is also characteristic. Occasionally, stylistic elements of the later Black Metal are used, which consist of riffs based on dissonances (e.g. in the song Cromlech ).

In his review of the album, Frank Albrecht from Rock Hard magazine brings the style of music closer to that of the band Death , but also points out other influences:

“[...] you can easily see that DARK THRONE liked to listen to Chuck Schuldiner's records , because the structure of the songs reminds you of Death in places [...]. 'Soulside Journey' is simply a synthesis of Florida-style Death Metal sound and typical Nordic influences, which are particularly noticeable in the sound, the Doom parts and the vocals. "

- Frank Albrecht

The texts on the basis of which members of the Norwegian black metal scene such as Euronymous and Varg Vikernes assigned the album to black metal are from pagan rites ( Cromlech , see the meaning of the name ; Sempiternal Sepulchrality ), anti-Christian themes ( Sunrise over Locus Mortis , Grave with a View ). Occasionally, existential or transcendental borderline experiences are portrayed in a surreal way ( Soulside Journey , The Watchtower ). Exceptions are the historically inspired Iconoclasm Sweeps Cappadocia (see Iconoclasm ) and the science fiction theme in Neptune Towers (see Neptune (Planet) ).

Reception and effect

When the album was released, music critics first highlighted the fact that Darkthrone had released Soulside Journey , one of the first death metal albums from Norway, at a time when the scene was dominated by bands from Sweden and Florida. However, it was criticized that the music style showed little independence compared to other bands. The album production was also described as not optimal. In his review of the album, Frank Albrecht gave the work a rating of 8.5 / 10 points and finally drew the following conclusion:

“ Nonetheless , 'Soulside Journey' is a very interesting album that will cause quite a stir. I give 8.5 points, combined with the advice that next time it is best to produce in Australia or the Fiji Islands in order to achieve a more independent sound. "

- Frank Albrecht

In retrospect, the style of the album was not taken up again; The work Goatlord , recorded immediately after Soulside Journey during the change of style to Black Metal , was discarded in the course of this development and only provided with vocal traces and published regularly in 1996. Instead, the nominal sequel A Blaze in the Northern Sky appeared in 1992 .

The title of the song Neptune Towers was also the name of an ambient side project founded in 1993 by Gylve "Fenriz" Nagell.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Frank Albrecht: Dark Throne . Soulside Journey . In: Rock Hard , No. 50, accessed January 24, 2013.
  2. ↑ Esa Lahdenpera: Mayhem . Northern Black Metal Legends. In: Kill Yourself !!! Magazines . No. 4 , 1995, p. 43 ( Mayhem ( memento of February 7, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) [accessed January 24, 2013]).
  3. ↑ Interview with Count. In: Putrefaction # 7. Retrieved November 16, 2009 .

Web links