The long-running metal band has released a new single from their upcoming album Eternal Hails. “Hate Cloak” is the first and only song to be released from the album ahead of its release date (June 25 via Peaceville). On Eternal Hails, the longer, doomier songs reflect drummer Fenriz’s love of doom, taking their time to make their point.
For Fenriz, what he and co-conspirator Nocturno Culto have concocted stretches back even further than discovering black metal, to the sounds of the ‘70s and the more freewheeling sounds of bands playing with more expansive themes. This didn’t just make the songs longer, it made them an entirely different beast from the ground up. Listen to “Hate Cloak” below:
“When I was a kid growing up with metal I kept looking for bands with long songs. Black Sabbath had many, and Celtic Frost’s ‘Dawn Of Meggido’ had a long song, so I put that on in the record store and discovered another dimension of metal. Candlemass’ ‘Epicus Doomicus Metallicus’ had only long songs, so I think I bought that without even listening, and it was one of my best buys ever – an eternal inspiration for my entire career,” says Culto.
He continues, “For us, it has become a bit logical, hard to explain, but you get to build up for a different kind of listening. A three-minute song is nothing we think of at the moment. We like it this way. For now.”
Darkthrone Eternal Hails track list:
1) His Master’s Voice
2)Hate Cloak
3)Wake of the Awakened
4)Voyage to a North Pole Adrift
5)Lost Arcane City of Uppakra