A Blaze in the Northern Sky is the second studio album by Norwegian black metal band Darkthrone. It was recorded at Creative Studios in August 1991[1] and released on 26 February 1992 by Peaceville Records. Apart from earlier rehearsal recordings between March 1991 and the Norwegian summer holidays (later released as a demo compilation in 2016) the record contained the band's first official black metal recordings[2] and is considered a classic within the genre.[3] It was the first album of what fans dub the "Unholy Trinity", the other albums being Under a Funeral Moon and Transilvanian Hunger.[4][5] It was the last album to feature bassist Dag Nilsen. In 2020, the album was put on the National Library of Norway's permanent exhibition due to its significance to Norwegian culture and as a starting point for Norwegian black metal.[6]
Darkthrone's first album, 1991's Soulside Journey, was a Swedish-styled death metal release. After recording Soulside Journey, the band began writing songs with more black metal traits. This yielded the instrumental demo Goatlord.
After recording Goatlord, three of the band members—Fenriz, Nocturno Culto and Zephyrous—decided that they wanted to focus on making black metal music. Bassist Nilsen disliked this shift in direction, and quit the band. However, he agreed to record his bass parts for the album as a session member. A Blaze in the Northern Sky was recorded during August 1991 at Creative Studios in Kolbotn; the same studio where Mayhem recorded their influential Deathcrush EP. In an interview, Fenriz said that the album was somewhat "rushed" and that many of the songs have "death metal guitar riffs" played in a "black metal style".[7]
Due to Darkthrone's sudden change from death metal to black metal, Peaceville was unwilling to release the album as it was. The shocked record label had expected that the band would continue recording death metal in the vein of Soulside Journey. Peaceville agreed to release the album only if they were able to remix it, stating that the sound was "too weak". The band then threatened to release it through Deathlike Silence Productions, the record label owned by Øystein "Euronymous" Aarseth of Mayhem (to whom the album is dedicated).[7] However, Peaceville eventually agreed to release the album as it was recorded.
Releaseedit
The album was released by Peaceville on 26 February 1992. The first CD pressing was limited to 2,000 copies and had a white disc.[citation needed] The front cover featured Ivar Enger (Zephyrous), the band's rhythm guitarist.
It was remastered and reissued by Peaceville in 2003, as well as being repackaged in a cardboard digipak. The second chapter of a four-part video interview (spanning the first four albums) with Fenriz and Nocturno was also included. A Blaze was reissued again by Peaceville in December 2009 as a double gatefold LP on 180 gram vinyl, limited to 2,000 copies.
In his retrospective review of the album, Eduardo Rivadavia from AllMusic gave A Blaze 5 out of 5 stars, calling it "a classic whose almost indefensibly lo-fi standards would reinvigorate an entire strain of black metal".[2] Valefor from Metal Reviews wrote that it "would come to epitomize True Black Metal [...] raw production, simple riffs, no color on their album covers... just pure frozen evil."[10] Channing Freeman of Sputnikmusic called the album "triumphant", with a balanced blend of "frozen production and guttural screams" and "a sense of community".[9]
In 2009, IGN included A Blaze in the Northern Sky in their "10 Great Black Metal Albums" list,[11] while a 2007 article in Decibel magazine called it "the first truly blackened death metal album".[12]Kerrang! called it "a dark watershed for the black metal genre" and the song In the Shadow of the Horns as "seven minutes of defiant lo-fi production, frostbitten purpose and blunt-force simplicity".[13]
Track listingedit
All lyrics are written by Fenriz; all music is composed by Darkthrone
^Darkthrone – A Blaze in the Northern Sky CD cover 11 July 2012 at the Wayback Machine
^ abcRivadavia, Eduardo. "A Blaze in the Northern Sky - Darkthrone". AllMusic. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
^Fenriz (16 November 2020). The album that defined early Norwegian black metal – Interview with Fenriz with English subtitles (Videotape) (in English and Norwegian). Nasjonalbiblioteket. Retrieved 24 March 2022 – via YouTube.
^Eduardo Rivadavia: Under a Funeral Moon - Darkthrone.
^A Blaze in the Northern Sky: Ted Skjellum and Harald Fossberg (in Norwegian). Nasjonalbiblioteket. 10 November 2020. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
^ abA Blaze in the Northern Sky (video interview). 2003.
^Sodomsky, Sam (22 September 2019). "Darkthrone: A Blaze in the Northern Sky". Pitchfork. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
^ abFreeman, Channing (18 January 2013). "Album Review - Darkthrone: A Blaze in the Northern Sky". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 22 January 2013.
^Valefor: Darkthrone - A Blaze in the Northern Sky. Retrieved 4 October 2012.
^Ramirez, Carlos (6 January 2009). "10 Great Black Metal Albums – IGN". ign.com. Retrieved 12 September 2012.
^"Darkthrone - "A Blaze in the Northern Sky"". Decibel Magazine. 18 March 2007. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
^"The 50 Most Evil Songs Ever". Kerrang!. Retrieved 20 July 2019.
April 11, 2024
blaze, northern, second, studio, album, norwegian, black, metal, band, darkthrone, recorded, creative, studios, august, 1991, released, february, 1992, peaceville, records, apart, from, earlier, rehearsal, recordings, between, march, 1991, norwegian, summer, h. A Blaze in the Northern Sky is the second studio album by Norwegian black metal band Darkthrone It was recorded at Creative Studios in August 1991 1 and released on 26 February 1992 by Peaceville Records Apart from earlier rehearsal recordings between March 1991 and the Norwegian summer holidays later released as a demo compilation in 2016 the record contained the band s first official black metal recordings 2 and is considered a classic within the genre 3 It was the first album of what fans dub the Unholy Trinity the other albums being Under a Funeral Moon and Transilvanian Hunger 4 5 It was the last album to feature bassist Dag Nilsen In 2020 the album was put on the National Library of Norway s permanent exhibition due to its significance to Norwegian culture and as a starting point for Norwegian black metal 6 A Blaze in the Northern SkyStudio album by DarkthroneReleased26 February 1992RecordedAugust 1991StudioCreative Studios in Kolbotn NorwayGenreBlack metalLength42 02LabelPeacevilleProducerDarkthroneDarkthrone chronologySoulside Journey 1991 A Blaze in the Northern Sky 1992 Under a Funeral Moon 1993 Contents 1 Background 2 Release 2 1 Critical reception 3 Track listing 4 Personnel 4 1 Darkthrone 4 2 Additional musicians 4 3 Production 5 ReferencesBackground editDarkthrone s first album 1991 s Soulside Journey was a Swedish styled death metal release After recording Soulside Journey the band began writing songs with more black metal traits This yielded the instrumental demo Goatlord After recording Goatlord three of the band members Fenriz Nocturno Culto and Zephyrous decided that they wanted to focus on making black metal music Bassist Nilsen disliked this shift in direction and quit the band However he agreed to record his bass parts for the album as a session member A Blaze in the Northern Sky was recorded during August 1991 at Creative Studios in Kolbotn the same studio where Mayhem recorded their influential Deathcrush EP In an interview Fenriz said that the album was somewhat rushed and that many of the songs have death metal guitar riffs played in a black metal style 7 Due to Darkthrone s sudden change from death metal to black metal Peaceville was unwilling to release the album as it was The shocked record label had expected that the band would continue recording death metal in the vein of Soulside Journey Peaceville agreed to release the album only if they were able to remix it stating that the sound was too weak The band then threatened to release it through Deathlike Silence Productions the record label owned by Oystein Euronymous Aarseth of Mayhem to whom the album is dedicated 7 However Peaceville eventually agreed to release the album as it was recorded Release editThe album was released by Peaceville on 26 February 1992 The first CD pressing was limited to 2 000 copies and had a white disc citation needed The front cover featured Ivar Enger Zephyrous the band s rhythm guitarist It was remastered and reissued by Peaceville in 2003 as well as being repackaged in a cardboard digipak The second chapter of a four part video interview spanning the first four albums with Fenriz and Nocturno was also included A Blaze was reissued again by Peaceville in December 2009 as a double gatefold LP on 180 gram vinyl limited to 2 000 copies Critical reception edit Professional ratingsReview scoresSourceRatingAllMusic nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 2 Pitchfork9 2 10 8 Sputnikmusic nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 9 In his retrospective review of the album Eduardo Rivadavia from AllMusic gave A Blaze 5 out of 5 stars calling it a classic whose almost indefensibly lo fi standards would reinvigorate an entire strain of black metal 2 Valefor from Metal Reviews wrote that it would come to epitomize True Black Metal raw production simple riffs no color on their album covers just pure frozen evil 10 Channing Freeman of Sputnikmusic called the album triumphant with a balanced blend of frozen production and guttural screams and a sense of community 9 In 2009 IGN included A Blaze in the Northern Sky in their 10 Great Black Metal Albums list 11 while a 2007 article in Decibel magazine called it the first truly blackened death metal album 12 Kerrang called it a dark watershed for the black metal genre and the song In the Shadow of the Horns as seven minutes of defiant lo fi production frostbitten purpose and blunt force simplicity 13 Track listing editAll lyrics are written by Fenriz all music is composed by DarkthroneNo TitleLength1 Kathaarian Life Code 10 392 In the Shadow of the Horns 7 013 Paragon Belial 5 244 Where Cold Winds Blow 7 265 A Blaze in the Northern Sky 4 576 The Pagan Winter 6 35Total length 42 02Personnel editDarkthrone edit Nocturno Culto lead guitar vocals Zephyrous rhythm guitar Fenriz drums backing vocalsAdditional musicians edit Dag Nilsen bass guitarProduction edit Dave Pybus album cover designReferences edit Darkthrone A Blaze in the Northern Sky CD cover Archived 11 July 2012 at the Wayback Machine a b c Rivadavia Eduardo A Blaze in the Northern Sky Darkthrone AllMusic Retrieved 11 August 2012 Fenriz 16 November 2020 The album that defined early Norwegian black metal Interview with Fenriz with English subtitles Videotape in English and Norwegian Nasjonalbiblioteket Retrieved 24 March 2022 via YouTube Eduardo Rivadavia Under a Funeral Moon Darkthrone James Montague Darkthrone The Cult Is Alive A Blaze in the Northern Sky Ted Skjellum and Harald Fossberg in Norwegian Nasjonalbiblioteket 10 November 2020 Retrieved 12 January 2023 a b A Blaze in the Northern Sky video interview 2003 Sodomsky Sam 22 September 2019 Darkthrone A Blaze in the Northern Sky Pitchfork Retrieved 12 November 2019 a b Freeman Channing 18 January 2013 Album Review Darkthrone A Blaze in the Northern Sky Sputnikmusic Retrieved 22 January 2013 Valefor Darkthrone A Blaze in the Northern Sky Retrieved 4 October 2012 Ramirez Carlos 6 January 2009 10 Great Black Metal Albums IGN ign com Retrieved 12 September 2012 Darkthrone A Blaze in the Northern Sky Decibel Magazine 18 March 2007 Retrieved 27 March 2018 The 50 Most Evil Songs Ever Kerrang Retrieved 20 July 2019 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title A Blaze in the Northern Sky amp oldid 1169826078, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
