Great debut, but I’m glad that they changed styles – 75%
Valleys_Of_Hades, April 6th, 2006
Let’s get one thing straight here; The material on this album isn’t the Darkthrone that we all know and love, yet that statement isn’t an implication that this album is necessarily a bad debut. Instead of the harsh, raw and cold Black Metal that the Metal scene has grown to recognize Darkthrone for, Soulside Journey is at the opposite end of the extreme Metal scale. There’s no cold or harsh atmosphere to be found here and the musicianship is highly complexed and technical, which is the COMPLETE opposite of the way the later Darkthrone albums would sound. For those people who claim that Fenriz and Nocturno Culto are bad, lame and/or sloppy musicians who can’t play their instruments, I strongly suggest that they REALLY check this album out. Despite the band hailing from Norway, the sound on this album sounds very Swedish, much similar to early Entombed, Grave, Unleashed and Dismember. After all, the album was recorded in a Swedish studio that was shared with the members of Entombed at the time. Darkthrone’s Soulside Journey is probably the most atmospheric Death Metal album I have ever heard. Even Grave and Entombed had more brutality than this, but I’m not saying that as a bad thing. The complexity and atmosphere adds such a uniqueness to the album that little or no Death Metal bands have ever been able to mimic. As for the production…well, it’s there, which is a surprise, considering that this is Darkthrone we’re talking about. As a matter of fact, the production here is crystal clear, allowing every instrument to be deciphered while still maintaining a dark and sludgy sound to everything. The bass and drums seem to have this technical jazz influence to them, though not to the extent that bands like Atheist had. The riffs are all down tuned, and the vocals are a low, mediocre growl instead of the high pitched, raspy shrieks that Nocturno Culto uses on the later Darkthrone releases.
The opening track, Cromlech is one of the best, if not, THE best track on the whole album. What starts out with a dark and moody hymn, leads right into a double bass and riff assault while still maintaining total complexity. The use of triggers on the drums are presented almost through out this entire song (and album as well), sustaining the speed at a constant pace; nothing overally fast, yet still providing something great to headbang to. There are also some incredible, highly atmospheric Doom Metal breaks during several parts of the track, as well as some killer Thrash Metal assaults, showing that Darkthrone had indeed taken their extreme Metal influence from the 80s onto a whole new level. The majority of the next track, Sunrise Over Locus Mortis, is very Doom based, yet the Thrash outbreaks are still quite present, particularly during the middle of the song. As for the riffs, well…they’re at a constant change. Like I stated many times so far, this album is complexed, technical Death Metal, and although the jazz influenced bass and drumming have much to do with that factor, the riffs really top it all off. This isn’t just guitar wankery either. This truly is some great guitar work.
The album’s title track is a relatively doomy number, coming off as one of the heaviest tracks on the record. Just check out that amazing riffing there! Sounds like an ode to Candlemass or early Sabbath to me. This just goes to show the diversity of Darkthrone during this era. However, this song doesn’t fail to also thrash things up as well. Accumulation Of Generalization is also a really nice instrumental. Pointless? Kind of…there’s nothing to be found here that won’t be found on the rest of the album, aside from a few random growls. Good track, needless to say though. Neptune Towers is very much like the title track since it consists highly of Doom inspired riffing that sets a quite darkly mood upon the listener, although much of the song still manages to thrash things up quite a bit. And just check out those church organ keyboards during the mid segment of the track. They give off quite a…shall I say…dark vibe? Okay, that’s such an understatement, but whatever…
Sempiternal Sepulchrality is one major thrasher! Yes, this track is by far the most aggressive and thrashiest on the whole entire album. I mean, just look at the title. An ode to Sepultura? Or perhaps Sodom? Sodom has a song called Sepulchral Voices on their In The Sign Of Evil EP. After all, Darkthrone claims to be inspired by the early works of both bands. I think the best thing about this song though are the riffs. Despite the majority of the album relying more on atmosphere and melody, the riffs here absolutely kill! In a way, they kind of remind me of Sepultura’s Beneath The Remains album, and if you’ve heard that record, you’ll know damn well what I’m talking about. That one’s a fucking riff fest! A Grave With A View is yet nother Doom inspired track. Dark and heavy as hell, and if that’s not enough to bring forth an atmosphere of darkness and despair, some of the track’s doom breaks are underlined with eerie chants. Just like most of the songs on the this record, this track does have its thrash breaks as well, but it’s nothing compared to the previous song.
The next track, Iconoclasm Sweeps Cappadocia consists of some strange, yet highly unique bass work. Let me just say this; Dag Nilsen is a MASTER at great bass work. It’s no wonder he chose to leave the band after Darkthrone decided to acquire a more primitive, simplistic style of Metal. You’ll really have to hear this bass work for yourself to understand what I mean. As for the song itself, well…it’s just another great slab of technical Death Metal, much like every other song on this record. There aren’t many thrashy moments to be found on this one though. Nor The Silent Whispers is much in the vein of the previous song. It’s basically is no frills, non-thrashy technical Death Metal at its finest, yet along with the title track and Neptune Towers, it does have much doomier moments than the rest of the album. You know, there weren’t many bands back then that mixed Doom Metal with Death Metal, with the exception of Autopsy, of course. I know that Fenriz is a huge fan of Autopsy, so its no wonder why there are plenty of Doom inspired riffs on Soulside Journey.
The Watchtower, once again, manages to thrash things up a bit more, much in the vein of Sempiternal Sepulchrality. Of course, this particular song is much less impressive than the latter, while managing to stray away from filler territory. It’s just that by the time the listener is this far into the record, a track like The Watchtower offers nothing special. The last track on the album, Eon, is another instrumental that is far more impressive than Accumulation Of Generalization, which is the only other instrumental song on the album. The main difference? The dark, melodic chants in the background. They really give off an incredible atmosphere to it all. Not to mention that the riffs are far better as well.
For those of you who can’t stand Darkthrone’s later works, I strongly suggest that you check this album out. Like I stated earlier, Soulside Journey is at the opposite end of the extreme Metal scale when compared to other Darkthrone albums like Under A Funeral Moon, Transylvanian Hunger, Panzerfaust or even A Blaze In The Northern Sky. It’s not raw, it’s not grim or cold, it sure as hell isn’t primative and it isn’t extreme in the sense that you need an acquired taste to get into it. Even those of you who can’t stand Death Metal might even like this. Who knows, just check it out for yourself.
rafazardly 