Darkthrone are good, their NWOBHM isn’t enough – 87%
Colonel Para Bellum, January 23rd, 2020
Written based on this version: 2007, CD, Peaceville Records (Digipak)
This short release had preceded the “F.O.A.D.” album (2007), on which Darkthrone once again “changed” their genre. The title “New Wave of Black Heavy Metal” alerted that this time the band’s fans would be stuffed with a mixture of black metal and “true” NWOBHM (i. e. “New wave of British heavy metal”), or – for simplicity – heavy metal. Indeed, this is what we hear here, no doubt: black / heavy / speed metal. Well, all this gossip is already in the past, nevertheless, we can try to “sort the wheat from the chaff.”
I must say that despite the accusations of “betrayal” that were hurled at them, “good old” Darkthrone can be recognized in almost every song here. Their signature move since “Soulside Journey” – delaying the chord, followed by a pause – is actively used in the first song “Wisdom of the Dead”. It’s not so obvious with the riffs, that we hear, however, if most of them in this song were performed in the appropriate manner, we would get (true) black metal, that’s for sure. But on the “NWOBHM” EP it is what it is, i. e. heavy metal. I mean, “new wave of black heavy metal”.
The same trick can be done with the next song, although at first glance there is almost nothing from Darkthrone in this tribute song, and in addition, what a nuisance, disgusting clangorous / clanking bass dominates here. Nonetheless, riffs are essentially “black metal-ish”. And at 2:09 almost one hundred percent black metal bridge sounds. In “Hedninger fra Helvete” Darkthrone’s classic rhythmic pattern is used – a bit punkish, ah, in professional terms, a syncope. “Bad Attitude”… oops, it’s a cover of a punk song by Testors, almost one to one, uhm, even a disgusting nasal snorts are present. Well, I take it as a banter / mocking and forget about it.
As for true or pure “new wave of black heavy metal”, it is clearly distinguishable in the first solo of “Canadian Metal” – black metal and heavy metal are so intertwined here that it is difficult to separate them from each other (while the second solo in this song is just heavy metal). “Hedninger fra Helvete” is exclusive for this release, and it is almost completely created in the stated genre “new wave of black heavy metal”. Even in the rather interesting riff that sounds after a pause, old Darkthrone (which is very close to Burzum here) fall under the “tyranny” of heavy metal and completely give up their positions. I hate to say it, but I had the impression that this song was composed in a hurry: there is nothing valuable in it, it is far below “Wisdom of the Dead”.
Summary. Well, at least this release is interesting to listen to. Except for the last song, of course. For me Darkthrone can be recognized even under a thick layer of heavy metal powder, because they are “Darkthrone Holy Darkthrone”. It is clear that they were sick of playing the same thing for a long time, so they wanted to somehow diversify the movement of their fingers on the neck of the guitar, hence the birth of such an extravagant genre as “new wave of black heavy metal”. So if this work is interpreted as an experiment, then it is acceptable.
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