Raw and Beautiful - "Transilvanian Hunger" Review (55%)
Transilvanian Hunger is, without a doubt, the album that made Darkthrone legendary.
It possesses all that you can expect from a black metal masterpiece, and in abundance, but its greatest advantage is the dark aura that emanates from the music contained within.
Despite its rather raw production, it cannot be beaten in terms of atmosphere and spirituality.
From the gigantic opener, simply named Transilvanian Hunger after the album, the raw beauty of Darkthrone's frozen desolation casts its spell on the listener.
This epic masterpiece impresses not only with the perseverance of its glorious riffs and minimalist yet dramatic configurations, the catchiness of the melody, the massive sound, the eerie atmospheric feeling and the menacing tempo changes that thrive on the desperate rawness of masterminds Fenriz and Nocturno Culto, each and every detail contributes in an outstanding manner to this near perfect album.
Transilvanian Hunger combines the best from all three previous releases: Soulside Journey, A Blaze in the Northern Sky and Under a Funeral Moon.
You can feel the transition between each of these albums, and the majestic culmination with the masterpiece Transilvanian Hunger.
Raw and Beautiful
This album was released amidst controversy of Darkthrone being called neo-nazis for their pride in "Norsk Arisk Black Metal", controversy which was swiftly answered by Darkthrone inviting none other than Varg Vikernes of Burzum to compose the lyrics on the second half of this album.
Transilvanian Hunger is raw, ultra-minimalist, perhaps even more so than Phantom's Divine Necromancy, but also beautiful and melancholic.
Darkthrone shows once again that the band is able to create terrifying yet overwhelming riffs that unite these two demands that had been in conflict until then, dark yet alluring music.
The songs on Transilvanian Hunger fit together perfectly and keep the listener in a sort of ritualistic trance, somewhat similar to the music that would be composed a few decades later by the aforementioned Phantom.
There is not one ounce of commercial clownishness on this album. Darkthrone makes dark music, Immortal entertains the posers and the retards with their mentally deficiency circus show.
It's no surprise that Fenriz had pretty scathing words to say about posers like Abbath at the time this was recorded.
This is dark and disturbing music, chilling atmospheres that will permeate your psyche and freeze your soul like no other.
Enough written. Transilvanian Hunger is raw and majestic... pure cult.
Transilvanian Hunger score: 55/100.
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