Like many of the other bands that were so instrumental in shaping the sound of black metal's second wave, the wildly influential
Darkthrone also walked away from the genre to explore other realms of heaviness. Now, 15 albums in, the band that helped to define a genre with a trio of stellar releases in the '90s returns with
The Underground Resistance, an album built from the sounds that influenced them so many years ago. Combining elements of doom, thrash, and speed metal, the album takes the Norwegian duo further away from the gnarly crust punk sounds they've been working in and toward the elemental building blocks that live at the heart of so much modern metal. Filled with galloping percussion, grinding riffs, and a sense of reckless abandon,
Darkthrone's reverence for the sounds spawned by the New Wave of British Heavy Metal comes through loud and clear (but more loud). This makes
The Underground Resistance an album that isn't just for fans of
Darkthrone, but for all those who dare to call themselves fans of heavy metal, and it's a celebration of the rawness and heaviness that has made the genre a cathartic touchstone for so many people.