A Blaze in the Northern Sky
A Blaze in the Northern Sky is the second album by the Norwegian black metal band, Darkthrone. It contains the band's first black metal recordings. The album was recorded in August 1991 and released in February 1992.
Recording and release
Darkthrone's first album, Soulside Journey, was more of a Swedish styled death metal release, and was released in January 1991. After recording Soulside Journey, the band began writing songs with more black metal traits. This yielded the instrumental demo Goatlord. Shortly after recording Goatlord, three of the bandmembers (Fenriz, Nocturno Culto and Zephyrous) decided to focus solely on black metal music.[1] Bassist Dag Nilsen disliked this change in direction and quit the band. However, he agreed to record his bass parts for the album as a session member.[1] A Blaze in the Northern Sky was recorded during August 1991 at Creative Studios in Kolbotn; the same studio where Mayhem recorded their influential Deathcrush EP.[1] In an interview, Fenriz said that the album was somewhat "rushed" as many of the songs feature "death metal guitar riffs" played in a "black metal style".[1]
Due to Darkthrone's sudden change from death metal to black metal, Peaceville Records was reluctant to release the album in its original form.[1] The band then threatened to release it through Deathlike Silence Productions, the record label owned by Øystein "Euronymous" Aarseth of Mayhem.[1] However, Peaceville eventually agreed to release the album as it was recorded.
The album was released by Peaceville on 26 February 1992. The first CD pressing was limited to 2000 copies and had a white disc. The person who appears on the front cover is Ivar Enger (Zephyrous), the band's rhythm guitarist. It was remastered and reissued by Peaceville in 2003, as well as being repackaged in a cardboard digipak. The second chapter of a four-part video interview (spanning the first four albums) between Fenriz and Nocturno Culto was also included as bonus material. A Blaze was reissued again through Peaceville in December 2009 as a double gatefold LP on 180 gram vinyl, limited to 2000 copies.
Track listing
1. |
"Kathaarian Life Code" |
10:39 |
2. |
"In the Shadow of the Horns" |
7:02 |
3. |
"Paragon Belial" |
5:25 |
4. |
"Where Cold Winds Blow" |
7:26 |
5. |
"A Blaze in the Northern Sky" |
4:58 |
6. |
"The Pagan Winter" |
6:35 |
Credits
References
- ^ a b c d e f Darkthrone video interview from: A Blaze In The Northern Sky (2003 reissue)
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Studio albums |
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EPs |
Under beskyttelse av mørke · Too Old, Too Cold · Forebyggende krig · NWOBHM
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Demos |
Land of Frost · A New Dimension · Thulcandra · Cromlech · Goatlord
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Compilations |
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Related articles |
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