DARKTHRONE’S FENRIZ: THE METALSUCKS INTERVIEW
When one thinks of black metal OGs Darkthrone, most likely, the image of a gangly guy with a candelabra comes to mind, and with it, black metal’s trappings and faults. But, like true originators, the band molded the style they helped create to their liking, moving from the raw mist of tremolo picking on Transylvanian Hunger to the (relatively more) refined old school black metal on 2004’s Sardonic Wrath to the anthemic and (dare I say) kinda fun blackened crust punk of their excellent last two releases, F.O.A.D and Dark Thrones and Black Flags. Despite being an integral part of one of the most important movements in metal’s history 20 years ago, Darkthrone are still putting out some of their best work right now, still raw and confrontational and, most importantly, still not giving a fuck about what people want them to play. Punk rock has always lurked underneath the band’s best material, but its attitude of individuality is what fuels Darkthrone and sets them apart from most of their frosty peers.
Part of the band’s artistic growth could most likely be due to its distillation to its core: Guitarist/vocalist Nocturno Culto and drummer/lyricist/occasional vocalist Fenriz have been the band‘s sole members for quite a while. The latter member has become a celebrity in his own right in the metal world through assembling the occasional compilation (his latest, Trapped Under Vice II, a collection of obscure trad metal and prog, is pretty fucking great) and generally coming across as a funny dude with a broad knowledge of metal by way of entertaining interviews. One of those interviews was recently with MetalSucks via email, where Fenriz discussed his band’s future (new album in February!), his approach to vocal work both in Darkthrone and his long gestating doom metal side project Fenriz’ Red Planet, his thoughts on production, and how “true” black metal was just black metal back when they started.
[Editor's note: English is not Fenriz's first language, but in the hopes of maintaining as much of what he wanted to say the way he wanted to say it, we did very little editing to his e-mail responses. In other words, we sometimes sacrificed proper grammar for the sake of keeping the interview interesting.]
