Darkthrone- Transilvanian Hunger (1994)

Having been roomates with Gene Cesspool, for quite some time, I was introduced to, and became a metal fan over the years.  With there being many different genres within Metal as a whole, I was drawn to the dark evil side of Black Metal, relatively quickly.  Out of all the different Black Metal bands I have heard, Darkthrone quickly became my favorite.  Having started with a Death Metal sound, Darkthrone transitioned into a premier Black Metal sound, hailing from Norway.  Having been around since the beginnings of the Black Metal scene, and still releasing music, Darkthrone has established themselves as iconic figures.

Transilvanian Hunger is Darkthrone's 4th album. (They have 14 total, with the last release being in 2010!)  Currently, Darkthrone has strayed away from their Black Metal sound, and have progressed into their own style of metal/speed metal-punk sound, but this album is one of their true Black Metal releases.  With 8 track and nearly 40 minutes of true old school Black Metal, you won't get disappointed with this album.  Darkthrone has been one of my favorites because they aren't a melodic black metal band, they are true in your face dark black metal: guitars, drums, vocals; no keyboards or atmospheric sounds or silly singing interludes to try and make you think of evilness.  The other aspect about this album that is great, is that fact that the recording was done on analog equipment, over 17 years ago, so that dirty raw sound is affluent throughout the tracks.  I have a friend that I loaned this album to, and he didn't like it due to that reason, but then again he has a HIM album in his collection.  Either way you look at this, if you are a metal fan, black metal fan, punk fan or extreme music fan, this not only shows the roots and sounds of the genre but holds true to the underlining black metal sound.

If you like black metal, get this; if you like metal, then get this.  No matter how you come across it, find it, or seek it out, this is a great album to listen to and for archival purposes.

Official score- 4/5