Darkthrone Share Brooding New Song, “Caravan of Broken Ghosts”
True Norwegian black metal pioneers Darkthrone will return with their new album, Astral Fortress, on October 28 via the legendary Peaceville label. Despite the fact that the album is due next week, we’re just hearing the first single, “Caravan of Broken Ghosts,” now and we’re happy to report that it rules. The eight-minute track shows the many sides of Darkthrone’s sound, from light acoustic guitars to pounding black metal and heavy doom.
Darkthrone drummer Fenriz points out that “Caravan” bears musical similarities to “Quintessence” from 1995’s Panzerfaust, but it’s just a coincidence.
“There is a revisit vibe of ‘Quintessence’ at first, which is a total coincidence as it is Ted’s [Ted ‘Nocturno Culto‘ Skjellum] song and I wrote ‘Q’. The song then explodes into fiercer metal, pounding and catching there as well, with clever riff shifts. And then the classic doom ending. Thank you, Ted.”
When Astral Fortress was announced, Darkthrone discussed their creative process, suggesting that their main influence at this point is themselves.
“As usual, Ted makes music by playing himself and riffs just come to me. I think since 2016’s Arctic Thunder, we have mostly been inspired by our own back catalogue. I can hear many of my riffs eventually sounding like a plethora of bands but this seldom seems to correlate with what others hear. As you’ll know by now I never talk about the lyrics or the inspiration behind them and I would never want any lyrics that I like of others to be explained to me but I will tell you this, it is darker than ever, it is seething with hell.”
You can listen to “Caravan of Broken Ghosts” via the Youtube link below. The new song will be on other streaming platforms tomorrow, October 20.
Astral Fortress track listing:
01. Caravan Of Broken Ghosts
02. Impeccable Caverns Of Satan
03. Stalagmite Necklace
04. The Sea Beneath The Seas Of The Sea
05. Kevorkian Times
06. Kolbotn, West Of The Vast Forests
07. Eon 2
