Using Metallica and ZZ Top as signposts, and moving from their condemned bomb shelter studio to a pro room, the wicked progenitors of Norwegian black metal give off major throwback vibes on their new Eternal Hails.
Norwegian extreme metal band Darkthrone have been shrouded in mystique ever since their 1986 inception. The band's second, third, and fourth albums, A Blaze in the Northern Sky, Under a Funeral Moon, and Transilvanian Hunger—released in 1992, 1993, and 1994, respectively—are commonly regarded as the unholy trinity of black metal. But the band no longer consider themselves purely black metal, and it's questionable as to whether they ever did. They've arguably jumped around stylistically for their entire career—from death metal to doom metal to black metal, and even crust punk, as evidenced on 2006's The Cult Is Alive. They never tour or perform live (their last performance was in 1996), which defines their sound just about as much as any musical influence, as they've long chosen to focus their creative energy on crafting albums in their own makeshift studio, which was located in an old bomb shelter in their hometown, Kolbotn.
Since Transilvanian Hunger, there have been only two members: Nocturno Culto (Ted Skjellum) on guitar and Fenriz (Gylve Fenris Nagell) on drums. Both somewhat reclusive, they work in seclusion from each other when songwriting. Fenriz has a reputation for being ornery and interview anemic, though he hosts the Fenriz Metal Pact radio show/podcast. (He was also elected to sit on his town council after posting a photo with his cat and the slogan "Don't Vote for Me.") Nocturno Culto, who often serves as the band's primary engineer, is more affable.
Darkthrone - Eternal Hails...... (2021) FULL ALBUM
Darkthrone's latest album, Eternal Hails, throws yet another plot twist into their hallowed career. Their 19th release, it's not what one might expect from the most acclaimed progenitors of black metal. The album is brimming with musical and sonic nostalgia that harkens back to an earlier, more formative style of traditional '80s heavy metal and thrash. The word "organic" is often bandied about nowadays to convey something as more real or natural, but Eternal Hails truly earns that descriptor. In contrast to modern metal's penchant for digital enhancement, from quantized drumbeats to auto-tuned vocals, Eternal Hails sounds primitive, like a good, old-fashioned heavy metal record.
There's a loose feel to the performances that gives the heavy guitar riffs a bit of swing, as if they're evoking Black Sabbath. Nocturno Culto attributes this to the lack of a click track. "Since 1987, we have not used any metronome," he says. "That is part of why it sounds organic. It would make no sense to play with a metronome, because, since we started releasing albums—especially since 2005, when we got our own studio—we have this habit of recording one [rhythm] guitar and drums live, and that is what gives us pleasure, to play together." Sure, one could map it all out on a grid in Pro Tools, but that's not the headspace Darkthrone occupies. Fenriz, whose role, in addition to playing drums, has been writing guitar riffs and lyrics, sums up their recording strategy like this: "It's letting yourself be open to coincidence. Throw caution to the wind. It is more important the recording sounds alive, with nerve—that there are people actually playing this [material] in one or two takes."
If a riff sounds good without fuzz, it will most certainly sound killer with fuzz."–Fenriz
Similarly, Sabbath-esque, dark, foreboding songs such as "His Masters Voice" and "Hate Cloak" traverse soundscapes that bound from one section to another, avoiding formulaic verse-chorus song structures. The duo also seem to slow down their pulse from their previous work. "We both feel better [nowadays] playing mid-tempo and slow," explains Fenriz. "All of Ted's songs have slow parts, and all of my songs have slow parts. Ted added the more complex rhythms and strange riffs on 'Voyage to a Northpole Adrift.' I had a complex break in 'Hate Cloak,' but I usually thrive in 4/4—wanting to fill the 4/4 timeframe with as much primitive metal as possible."
With the band's bomb-shelter studio now condemned, Darkthrone were forced to use a commercial studio for the first time since 2005. They chose Oslo's Chaka Khan Studio, where they learned that it's easier to be creative when you have help. "We can go off the initial plan, like in the last part of 'Lost Arcane City of Uppakra,' and create something otherworldly," explains Fenriz. Nocturno Culto concurs, citing that it was a "nice experience to just play guitar and be a musician" without the extra pressure of engineering the sessions, too. But both admit that it also made them nervous to have other people around. "It was 17 years and seven albums with just the two of us in the studio before Eternal Hails," says Fenriz. "We were adamant that we made Ole and Silje [Ole Øvstedal and Silje Høgevold, who engineered Eternal Hails] our friends, too, and not try to boss them around in the studio. We were very hands off. It was the exact opposite of going to a pro studio where many metal bands have been before, and where you know what sound you will get. This was unchartered [sic] territory." Nocturno Culto adds that the older equipment at their disposal at Chaka Khan also allowed them to achieve their desired results. "Take the echo on the vocals. It's not a plug-in. It's this old tape echo recorder," he says. "It's a bit more difficult to have perfect control over it, but we like our studio recordings to live their own life, and we have a vision when we go into the studio."
Nocturno Culto's Gear
Nocturno Culto and his Solar Guitars E1.6D LTD scowl at the camera.
Photo courtesy of Solar Guitars
Guitars
- Solar Guitars GC1.6FAB
- Solar Guitars E1.6D LTD
- Rickenbacker 4004 Bass
Effects
- Tube Works Blue Tube
- Fulltone Custom Shop Tube Tape Echo
- Thermionic Culture Freebird 3-channel tube-EQ
Amps
- 1972 Hiwatt SA212 with Celestion Sidewinders
- WEM Clubman MK8 with a Celestion Sidewinder
- Avalon AD2022 Dual Mono Pure Class A Preamplifier
- Groove Tubes STP-G Studio Preamp
- Universal Audio Teletronix LA-2A Classic Leveling Amplifier
Strings and Picks
- D'Addario (.010–.052)
- Dunlop .73 mm Nylon Standard
Both band members thought it would be in everyone's best interest to provide the engineers with a couple of albums as a sonic reference point, and it's a revelation to learn which albums they furnished, because, surprisingly, they were not their own. They were Ride the Lightning by Metallica and American doom-metal band Trouble's self-titled fourth album. "Not that we wanted to copy their sound," clarifies Nocturno Culto, "but something to point in the direction of the drum sound and the overall feel." If something hints at a nostalgic element in Eternal Hails, it is likely derived from those two albums.
The overall production aesthetic is important to Darkthrone, even when working with outside engineers. "You want to create its own space, to take the listener to," says Nocturno Culto. "If you see a big painting, you can say that the actual painting is the music. But every good painting has a frame that has to fit and provide an overall experience of watching that painting. And so for us, the frame is the sound. Some people say, 'Let's have a plastic frame, it works.' But it doesn't work for us. We have to carve the little things out and try to make a cozy place out of it."
TIDBIT: With their bomb-shelter studio condemned, Nocturno Culto and Fenriz recorded Eternal Hails—the 19th Darkthrone release—at Oslo's Chaka Khan Studio. It was their first time in a commercial studio since 2005.
While songwriting, Nocturno Culto and Fenriz work separately and spend plenty of time preparing before they begin recording. "Being the only guitarist, I have to basically learn [Fenriz's] riffs quite fast," says Nocturno Culto. "For me, it's important to play a lot of guitar [before going into the studio] and be on top of my game, because there's a lot of things in the studio I have to cut straight away." For Fenriz, he likens his songwriting process to more of a filing system. "I don't know anything about Ted's creative process, but I imagine he sits down to write," admits Fenriz. "I just get my riffs in any situation possible—'Hate Cloak' and 'Lost Arcane City of Uppakra' came after a long hiking trip—so there's nothing else to do than to hum them into my recorder, or play them with my guitar."
For Fenriz, guitar is simply a "vehicle" for writing songs and not something he necessarily aspires to be good at. "I play guitar very loosely and sloppy," he confesses. "I am bad at repetition and bad at copying even my own riffs. I have to take this into consideration, since Ted plays much more militant and sternly, so whenever I make some weird funky detail, I can only hope that it is played in the vicinity of what I originally wanted." Fenriz says he was, arguably, a better guitar player in the past than he is now, but that it didn't necessarily make him a better songwriter. "I didn't make better material. I just made more material," he assesses. "When I am constricted by my Fenix [guitar], which is hard to play, and my lack of skills, it seems I use my brain more for creative angles of primitivity, and I think the riffs are better, and the assembly of the songs are better and more interesting." He also, maybe surprisingly, writes without fuzz. "If a riff sounds good without fuzz, it will most certainly sound killer with fuzz," he concludes.
Fenriz plays drums on Darkthrone's albums, but co-writes the band's songs on his Fenix guitar, not seen here. "When I am constricted by my Fenix, which is hard to play, and my lack of skills, it seems I use my brain more for creative angles of primitivity," he says.
Photo by Jørn Steen
Nocturno Culto, however, is the sole guitarist on Darkthrone albums, and also played bass on Eternal Hails. He draws from a deep well of inspiration, including some unexpected influences, claiming ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons as one of his biggest guitar heroes, in a surprising twist to the band's musical DNA. But listen closely and there's evidence of Gibbons' bluesy swagger, particularly in his rhythm chops. "There's just something about his playing," he says. "I really dig the '70s ZZ Top. His playing there is absolutely stunning. And that goes for the rest of the band as well. When you hear the drummer of ZZ Top, in the '70s, he's holding a low profile, but when you listen enough to ZZ Top, you understand he's a really fucking good drummer—he's amazing."
Darkthrone are among the prominent progenitors of Norwegian black metal, but label Eternal Hails' genre as Black Epic Heavy Metal
Photo by Jorn Steen
The ultimate question is whether the duo consider Eternal Hails to be black metal. Nocturno Culto says, "I don't think we consider ourselves black metal, but I think there is always black metal riffing somewhere on the records." Fenriz highlights a common denominator between all their albums. "Since the first demo, we've been displaying a wide variety of influences. However, the vocals often tie it together and display a more die-cast impression, leaving the total picture to sound less varied than it actually is, perhaps." He adds that during the writing and recording process, the band would joke that the genre label for Eternal Hails is "Black Epic Heavy Metal." Nocturno Culto concludes, "No matter what we do, I think we always end up sounding like Darkthrone."
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It’s Day 10 of Stompboxtober! Today’s prize from Truetone could be yours. Enter now and come back daily for more prizes!
Truetone 1 Spot Pro XP5-PS 5-output Low-profile Isolated Guitar Pedal Power Supply
The XP5-PS is a package containing the 1 Spot Pro XP5, along with a 12Vdc 2.5A adapter, which allows you to power the XP5 without having a CS11. The adapter comes with an array of international plugs so that you can take it with your pedalboard anywhere in the world. Some musicians may even choose to get one of these, plus another XP5, to distribute their power around the pedalboard and have the dual XP5s acting as two pedal risers.
Discover the latest from PRS Guitars with the 2025 SE Series lineup.
PRS Guitars today announced the 2025 PRS SE Series lineup, bringing sophisticated new instruments, new colors, updated player-centric appointments, and new left-handed signature models to players.
New Models
SE Custom 24
2025 brings two stunning new electric models to the PRS SE Series with the PRS SE Custom 24-08 Quilt and the PRS SE Custom 24 Semi-Hollow Piezo. While the SE Custom 24-08 is an aesthetic update, the PRS SE Custom 24 Semi-Hollow Piezo is an all-new instrument for players seeking acoustic and electric tones in one instrument.
“Veneering is an artform our partners have mastered and branching out into more veneer materials like quilted maple, and further developing our staining operations, brings visual art to players while we also continue to advance the tactile elements of guitar making at PT Cort,” said PRS Guitars Chief Operating Officer, Jack Higginbotham. “Meanwhile, the SE Custom 24 Semi-Hollow Piezo model represents our continued quest to bring innovation, sophisticated versatility, and value regardless of where a guitar sits inside of our lineup. The piezo system developed with Lloyd Baggs and his team truly shines in this guitar.”
Also debuting for 2025, the PRS SE T60E is the newest addition to the SE acoustic-electric family’s Tonare Grand body shape. Built to exude full, vintage tone, the SE T60E pairs ziricote back and sides with a solid spruce top, PRS hybrid “X”/Classical bracing and a PRS-voiced Fishman Presys VT pickup.
Left-Handed Signature Guitars
PRS SE Zach Myers
As teased earlier this year, three new left-handed signature models are also now available: PRS SE Silver Sky, PRS SE Silver Sky Maple, and the PRS SE Zach Myers.
“We put years into creating guitars that meet the exacting specifications from our Signature Artists. For them to attach their name to a model means it must be everything they need and everything other players, from beginner to pro, will need,” said PRS Guitars Director of Artist & Community Relations, Bev Fowler. “We are pleased to finally offer these two artist models for left-handed players.”
Updated Appointments & New Colors
SE McCarty 594 Singlecut
Updated appointments and new colors across much of the lineup also continue to elevate the playing experience of the PRS SE Series. For 2025, many of the guitars in the SE Series will now feature lampshade knobs (replacing speed knobs), and guitars that sport a 5-way blade electronics switch will be upgraded to PRS’s proprietary flat-tip switch design. Both of these designs are modeled after appointments found on PRS’s Maryland-made electrics and give players a more ergonomic, player-friendly experience.
“We are happy to bring our latest efforts to the guitar-player community. It almost feels like we are presenting a song we wrote instead of a guitar we’ve designed. It’s a personal effort and our team has all the right kinds of pride around sharing these new instruments and enhancements. Paul can often be heard saying ‘this is our time,’ and I feel that across the spectrum of our instruments, from our Maryland-made guitars through our SE Series,” said PRS Guitars Chief Operating Officer, Jack Higginbotham.
Many models have also been updated with new colors, like Cobalt Blue and Fire Red acoustic models as well as new blue, gold, and silver satin metallics on the $499 USD PRS SE CE Standard, a model introduced earlier this year.
For more information, please visit prsguitars.com.
PG contributor Tom Butwin demos three unique semi-hollow guitars from Epiphone, Rock 'N Roll Relics, and PRS. Discover the features of these versatile instruments.
Positive Grid unveils Spark EDGE, a multi-channel smart amp & PA engineered for musicians demanding portability, versatility, and pro-level sound.
Positive Grid unveils Spark EDGE, a multi-channel smart amp & PA engineered for musicians demanding portability, versatility, and pro-level sound. Designed for everyone from singer-songwriters and buskers to acoustic duos and electric players, Spark EDGE packs 65 watts of studio-quality sound, built-in effects, and a looper into a lightweight, compact design. Capable of serving as an amp, PA, or personal monitor, Spark EDGE offers flexible connectivity for electric and acoustic guitars, bass, vocals, keyboards, and more. With optional battery power (sold separately), Spark EDGE delivers the freedom to perform anytime, anywhere.
Pro-Level Sound with Advanced Audio
Powered by Sonic IQ Computational Audio, Spark EDGE enhances every note with precision. Its tech-driven system features a dedicated computational audio chip that refines dynamic range, boosts vocal clarity, and deepens bass. The result? Precise, immersive sound in any setting. Complemented by an advanced speaker design—featuring a woofer, tweeter, and reflex ports—Spark EDGE delivers rich, full-bodied sound that brings any performance to life.
Seamless Multi-Instrument Connectivity
Featuring four versatile channels, Spark EDGE offers seamless connectivity for multiple instruments:
- Channel 1: Equipped with 36 amp models and 50 effects for electric guitars, acoustic guitars, bass, and vocals.
- Channel 2: Tailored with dedicated amp models and effects for vocals, bass, and acoustic guitars.
- Channels 3/4: Stereo input channels designed for keyboards, drum machines, and other instruments.
All the Gear in One App
The Spark App transforms Spark EDGE into a performance powerhouse:
- 36 Amps: Instant access to guitar, bass, and acoustic amp models
- 50 Effects: A comprehensive selection of built-in effects for any instrument
- Creative Groove Looper: Layer, loop, and experiment with over 100 drum patterns
- Spark AI: Automatically generate the ideal tone with AI-powered suggestions
- Smart Jam: Create dynamic backing tracks that adapt to any playing style
- Auto Chords: Real-time chord display for millions of songs
- 100,000+ Tones: A vast library of downloadable tones, created by musicians worldwide
Ready for the Road
Lightweight yet rugged, Spark EDGE is built to go anywhere. Featuring an ergonomic handle for easy carrying and a durable design that withstands the rigors of travel, Spark EDGE offers two listening angles—upright or tilted. In addition, an optional rechargeable battery (sold separately) offers up to 10 hours of playing time per charge.
Limited Edition Grilles
Limited-edition grilles (sold separately) allow for personalization, with bold designs like Sunburst and On the Edge offering a distinct, eye-catching look before the first note is even played.
Essential Extras
- Bluetooth® Streaming: Stream music directly through the amp and blend tracks with live performances using onboard volume control
- WiFi: Over-the-air firmware updates ensure seamless improvements, with no computer required
- Send stereo outs to the PA and use Spark EDGE as a monitor while maintaining tone control
- Compatible with Spark accessories including Spark Control X, Spark CAB, Spark LINK and more