Under a funeral moon
| Under a funeral moon | ||||
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| Studio album from Darkthrone | ||||
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Publication |
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| Label (s) | Peaceville Records | |||
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Format (s) |
CD, LP |
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Title (number) |
8th |
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running time |
40:41 |
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| occupation |
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Darkthrone & Vidar |
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Under a Funeral Moon is the third studio album by the Norwegian black metal band Darkthrone . It was released in June 1993 on the British label Peaceville Records .
For the band, this album means a premature consolidation in terms of line-up and style after the style change operated on A Blaze in the Northern Sky . It was not until 1996 that guitarist Ivar “Zephyrous” Enger left the band; at the same time, the musical line begun with the previous album was continued with the album.
Emergence
After the recordings of the previous album A Blaze in the Northern Sky in the summer of 1991, the band was busy with the songwriting for the successor. In contrast to its predecessor, the band was no longer given as the originator of the pieces, but the individual members. A total of four songs were composed by Gylve “Fenriz” Nagell and two each by Ivar “Zephyrous” Enger and Ted “Nocturno Culto” Skjellum . Fenriz also wrote all of the lyrics, using older material from 1990.
It was recorded again in the Creative Studios in Kolbotn, Norway . A person named "Vidar" worked as the new sound engineer, otherwise the band was responsible for all aspects of the album production itself. Again a black and white photo of a band member, here Nocturno Culto, was chosen for the album cover; by posing with a scythe , the photography seems to be inspired by the figure of the grim reaper . The inner cover shows the picture Taakeferd ( Nebelreise ) by Tania Stene , who also drew pictures for Ulver , and is reminiscent of the work of Theodor Kittelsen in style .
The album was released in June 1993 as a black CD on Peaceville Records, a second edition with the album cover on the CD was distributed by Music for Nations . In addition, some limited LP editions were published; A large poster was enclosed with the first press. In 2001 a new edition appeared in a slipcase , before 2003, as with all other works, the album was re-released in a digipak and expanded with a video interview. In addition, a picture LP was released, limited to 1000 copies .
Track list
- Natassja in Eternal Sleep (Nocturno Culto / Fenriz; 3:33)
- Summer of the Diabolical Holocaust (Fenriz; 5:18)
- The Dance of Eternal Shadows (Nocturno Culto / Fenriz; 3:44)
- Unholy Black Metal (Zephyrous / Fenriz; 3:31)
- To Walk the Infernal Fields (Fenriz; 7:50)
- Under A Funeral Moon (Fenriz; 5:07)
- Inn i de dype skogers favn (Zephyrous / Fenriz; 5:25)
- Crossing the Triangle of Flames (Fenriz; 6:13)
Total playing time: 40:41
style
After the rather long pieces on A Blaze in the Northern Sky , the trend here is again towards partly shorter songs. Stylistically, the band has changed a bit: The formative production was retained and sometimes even more pronounced, but at the same time the riffing emancipated itself more from the templates from the Death or even Heavy Metal area and emphasized the dissonant component more. Furthermore - also due to the shorter songs - the musical structures became clearer again, which means less strong contrasts related to riffs and tempos . Occasionally this is referred to as minimalism or monotony, or seen as a reference to the punk . When drumming renounced Fenriz on toms, except for a large Bodentom after the hi-hat the loudest part should be of the drums on the album.
Lyrically the line of the previous album is retained. With Inn i de DYPE skogers FAVN is the first time a song Norwegian contained on a Darkthrone album. The lyrics to Crossing the Triangle of Flames , Summer of the Diabolical Holocaust and The Dance of Eternal Shadows were partially reused for the album Goatlord in 1996 .
reception
As soon as it was released, opinions about the album were divided. Frank Albrecht from the German magazine Rock Hard criticized the lack of variety compared to its predecessor and rated the album with only 5 out of 10 points:
“This time around, DARK THRONE had too few good ideas, tried to copy themselves, so I can do the band a favor and hate the album. 'Under A Funeral Moon' is a classic own goal and that is punished with five points. "
In retrospect, however, the album is presented positively and placed on the same level as other genre classics by bands like Burzum or Mayhem :
“Crashing drumming from Fenriz, the vocals from Nocturno Culto […] and the riffs from Zephyrous created something that was better than anything Norway did back then and that includes ' De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas ' and ' Det Som Engang Var ' [ ...]. Certainly a classic and even if it is not perfect for me, it is better than almost everything that came out after its creation. "
Sources and web links
- ↑ a b Review of the Metal Observer
- ↑ Fenriz : DARKTHRONE BIOGRAPHY AND VIDEO CLIPS. November 21, 2009, archived from the original on November 26, 2009 ; accessed on February 21, 2020 (English).
- ^ Peaceville Artists. Archived from the original on July 25, 2011 ; Retrieved January 11, 2010 .
- ^ Frank Albrecht: Darkthrone . Under A Funeral Moon . In: Rock Hard , No. 71.
- Under a Funeral Moon on the label homepage ( Memento from January 3, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
Soulside Journey (1991) | A Blaze in the Northern Sky (1992) | Under a Funeral Moon (1993) | Transilvanian Hunger (1994) | Panzerfaust (1995) | Total Death (1996) | Goatlord (1996) | Ravishing Grimness (1999) | Plaguewielder (2001) | Hate Them (2003) | Sardonic Wrath (2004) | The Cult Is Alive (2006) | FOAD (2007) | Dark Thrones and Black Flags (2008) | Circle the Wagons (2010) | The Underground Resistance (2013)