Darkthrone – Panzerfaust

Panzerfaust" gets underrated in comparison to the previous three albums of Darkthrone. Many listeners talk about the so-called "unholy trinity" of 1992-1994, but it was actually the tetralogy of 1992-1995. Some call "Panzerfaust" too Celtic-Frost-ish, but it isn't influenced by Celtic Frost as much as the next album of the band, which is called "Total Death". Darkthrone had quite an amount of the CF influences on "A Blaze in the Northern Sky" and "Under a Funeral Moon". "Panzerfaust" unites Celtic-Frost-ish stuff with the Norwegian style similarly to those works.

The likes of "En vind av sorg" and "Hans siste vinter" are examples of classical black metal, based on tremolo riffing and blast beat drumming. These tracks sound dark, evil and tragic, they resemble the material of "Transilvanian Hunger". The likes of "Triumphant Gleam", "The Hordes of Nebulah" and "Beholding the Throne of Might" are highly influenced by Celtic Frost. The opening riff of "Triumphant Gleam" even sounds pretty similar to the one of "The Usurper" by the Swiss band. The starting riff of "Beholding the Throne of Might" sounds almost like the main riff of the famous Darkthrone composition, which is called "In the Shadow of the Horns", while it is quite Celtic-Frost-ish itself.

On the last compositions of "Panzerfaust" Darkthrone brings something completely new. "Quintessence" is a slow, brutal and catchy track. Some riffs there are borrowed from "Noregsgard" by Storm, the folk/viking metal band of Fenriz and Satyr. "Quintessence" sounds rough and heavy. It's a highly memorable composition, a specific one in the context of the Darkthrone oeuvre. The lyrics of "Quintessence" was written by Varg Vikernes and that's easily a one of the best texts in black metal. It's so profound and prideful, it fits the measured and heavy music of the composition perfectly. Here're the most memorable lines:

"Five million christians on a ride towards us
Oh, I slaughtered the bunch with one single hit (with my spear)
Five million women so alone in the night
Oh, I had them all satisfied profusely (every night by myself)"

"No single book were behelden by me
Oh, no question I cannot do answer
Only one single lamp do show me this way
And that is the eye of Satan"

The conclusion comes with "Snø og granskog (Utferd)", which is a folk/ambient track. For Darkthrone it's very uncommon to have such stuff, but in that period of time Fenriz was quite obsessed with folk music. Apart from the already mentioned Storm, Fenriz had his own folk/viking metal project, called Isengard. "Snø og granskog (Utferd)" sounds hypnotic and fits a role of an outro well. The vocals are spoken by Fenriz there. Nocturno Culto sings on the other tracks, while his performance on "Panzerfaust" is another specific thing about the album. Nocturno's screaming is lower than usually, it features more expression and sounds brutal. Maybe it's an attempt to recreate the style of Thomas Fischer. Anyway, such manner sounds great with the material of particularly this album.

So, "Panzerfaust" has its distinctive features, but, actually, it can be said about each album of the 1992-1995 period. It was classical Darkthrone. After that there will be more significant changes in the style of the duo. "Total Death" will be a full-loaded tribute to Celtic Frost, it will present the first signs of black'n'roll in the sound of Darkthrone. There will be only more such things in the future. Yet "Panzerfaust" is that dark, cold and grim, as the three previous works, and it's a great conclusion to the classical era of the band. Yes, "Panzerfaust" has some quotations, but an overall appearance of the album is special enough, while the work remains black metal to the core and it's fair to put it in the same niche with "A Blaze in the Northern Sky", "Under a Funeral Moon" and "Transilvanian Hunger". - HviteGuden

Bot a big fan or expert of black metal, but last track - Snø Og Granskog (Utferd) is something exceptional. Reminds ambient/techno stuff from Varg/Nothern Electronics. Definitely will use for mix.

Apparently there is also a bootleg version on picture LP also limited on 100 pieces.