Search - DarkThrone :: Under a Funeral Moon

With my Art I am the Fist in the Face of god

Phoust | London, England | 09/06/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you want to form a true black metal band then this is quite simply the unholy blue print for unsuccess. After Bathory's "Bathory" (1984), "The Return" (1985) and "Under the Sign of the Black Mark"(1987) there are no other albums that accurately represents what true black metal is meant to sound like, apart from other Darkthrone albums. Anyone immersed at the very extreme end of black metal will bear witness to the fact all true black metal strives to sound like this. So many people complain about the poor production, which I will admit for anyone approaching this for the first time from a more mainstream angle that it can at first be difficult to appreciate. This however is part of what makes it truly great. Some would say that this record is cold sounding, which is true. It is what would become known as the Necro sound. All the aesthetic principles of true black metal are present here from the buzzing sound of the guitar, the rattling sound of the "summoning", the satanic poetry to the black and white monochromatic artwork. This is a great introduction to best and most rewarding branch of black metal and the foundation upon which all other true black metal is built. Start here with Darkthrone and get the Bathory albums also, after that you're on your own because where this went does not appear on Amazon. Darkthrone were and are the most important band in the black metal underground in the nineties. Also check out "A Blaze in the Northern Sky" "Transylvanian Hunger" "Panzerfaust"."

Essential Darkthrone

Bill Lee | Florida | 12/12/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Under A Funeral Moon" is Darkthrone's third album and the one that really cemented their reputation as one of the leaders of the black metal genre. Their first album, "Soulside Journey" was a haze of standard Swedish-style death metal and their second, "A Blaze In The Northern Sky" was inventive, but too close to their idols Celtic Frost for comfort. With this album, however, Darkthrone presents something new, exciting, and terrifying all at once.



For the most part rejecting the standard root-fifth powerchord that fueled almost all metal up until that point, Darkthrone creates a hellish wash of a distorted harmonics that ensnares the listener and forces him to come to terms with the onslaught before him. "Under A Funeral Moon" delivers a series of punishing tracks like "Natassja In Eternal Sleep," "Unholy Black Metal," and the title track in addition to slower, percussion driven tracks like "To Walk The Infernal Fields" that really bring the Celtic Frost influence to the front without sounding generic or overly derivative.



The production on this album is notoriously lo-fi, but its anemic sound gives it a certain mystique and obscurity not readily found in the crystal clarity of albums released by bands such as Emperor during this timeframe. Although Darkthrone's follow-up "Transilvanian Hunger" is probably the superior album, it's an extremely close call. "Under A Funeral Moon" is essential listening; it's one of THE black metal albums to have if you're going to have any at all. Highly recommended for black metal fans (who should already have the album anyway) and those looking for a good introduction to what Second Wave black metal was all about."