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Three years after ‘Total Death’, Darkthrone’s seventh studio album finds them firmly entrenched in the post-Celtic Frost sound that they first experimented with on ‘Panzerfaust’. The production is raw, but is near crystalline when compared to the early works of this band. The album begins with a series of whip cracks, before lurching into the opener, ‘Lifeless’. This track establishes the vibe of the album, with a mix of slower, Sabbath-referencing riffs and up-tempo parts, which have a reckless, lawless feel to them. ‘The Beast’ is arguably the best track on the album. It contains a relentless drumbeat, and some of the catchiest riffs Darkthrone have ever written. Significantly, it also Fenriz’s only songwriting credit on the album (although the lyrics were the only lyrics on the album not written by him). Strangely, on older Darkthrone albums, this track would easily have been the weakest. All of the other songs on this album use the same basic tools as these two tracks, and as a result, most of the songs are alternately slow and atmospheric, or fast and catchy. This means catchy in Darkthrone’s black, thrashy way as opposed to any visions of becoming Cradle Of Filth. No song could be referred as significantly weaker or worse yet, filler. There is a greater reliance on more traditional metal riffs and structure, although on closing track ‘To The Death (Under The King)’; more traces of the old school of black metal rise to the surface. ‘Ravishing Grimness’ is a good album which will mostly appeal to hardcore Darkthrone fans who can accept that change is unavoidable.
| Tracklist |
| 1. Lifeless |
| 2. The Beast |
| 3. Claws Of Time |
| 4. Across The vacuum |
| 5. Ravishing Grimness |
| 6. To The Death (Under The King) |
: 37.38
| Buy other Darkthrone albums |
