Embrace me eternally in your daylight slumber...

(This review is dedicated to Quorthon who left for Valhalla. RIP)

1994 was maybe the most rewarding year for the black metal scene. Mayhem, Enslaved,
Gehenna, Marduk, all released their masterpieces. But Darkthrone had the final word. After 2 ground-
braking records Fenriz and Nocturno Culto decided to record their most primitive album. Thus
Transylvanian Hunger was born...
There is maybe not a more suitable word to describe this album than “entrancing”. From the
first classic riff of the same titled track to the evil closer, namely En As I Dype Skogen, the album is
pure frost and void. I don’t use any emotions to describe it for it has none. Where other black metal
recordings try to sound grim, angry, sad, or miserable, Darkthrone don’t give a shit about humanity and
its sentiments. They are beyond it. The album can be compared with a huge lifeless meteor approaching
steadily the earth, not caring about whatever it eradicates.
Be warned that this is not an easy record for beginners at black metal- neither a good point to
start with Darkthrone. Yet, if you devote to it the time it needs, it will reveal itself to be the coldest
diamond in the black metal world.
Musically, the album takes the evil riff-ology of “A blaze in the northern sky” combines it
with the misanthropic climate of “Under a funeral moon” and magnifies the result with droning
repetitive riffs and a distant production, creating the soundtrack of a world after the Apocalypse. The
songwriting is quite simple but effective making it a primitive monolith of epic proportions. The
vocals, with Nocturno Culto in maybe his best performance ever, have changed a bit from the grimness
of the 2 previous albums. Following the cold, outwordly climate of the record they have become a little
more distant and nostalgic. With one word they can be described as haunting. The bass is buried in the
mix, as in most traditional black metal releases, but exists and provides a steady backbone for the
music. Fenriz, sounding more monotonous than in the other releases, still is the most recognizable and
original drummer of the scene. The guitars by Nocturno use repetitive, tremolo-picked riffs in order to
create, through minimalism and a strange perception of melody (not in the normal sense), their vision
of total void.
The album is meant to be heard as a whole and no track really stands out among its brethren.
My personal preferences are the same-titled, “Graven Takeheimens Saler”, “Skald av Satans Sol”, and
“As Flittermice as Satans spys”(with a very evil sound on the guitar) but the others are also on the same
quality level. The lyrics are mostly in Norwegian, half written by Fenriz and half by Vikernes.
So, nothing more to say...If you are into black metal and do not have it, be self-mutilated and
run to the nearest record shop. If you are just starting to get into black get the 2 previous albums first
and then this one. Fucking essential.

By “The Wolf of Asa Bay”