Artist: DARKTHRONE
Album: TOTAL DEATH RE-ISSUE (2CD)

Year: 1996/ 2011
Media type: CD

New 2-disc edition of ‘Total Death’ includes a commentary disc recorded late 2010, where both Fenriz and Nocturno individually discuss the recording period and memories, as their songs are heard back for the first time in many years.

‘Total Death’ was the sixth album from Norwegian black metal legends Darkthrone, and was originally released in 1996. After recording the previous 2 albums at Fenriz’s Necrohell portable home studio, the band reverted back to a traditional studio set-up for recording; this time it was Ancient Spectre Ruins, with the songs recorded in 2 sessions there in August and October 1995.

The song-writing on ‘Total Death’ was split equally between the 2 members, Fenriz and Nocturno Culto, with Nocturno supplying lyrics to his own songs, whilst Fenriz gave the honour to notable members of the Norwegian metal scene: Garm from Ulver, Ihsahn from Emperor, Carl-Michael Eide from Aura Noir/Ved Buens Ende and Satyr from Satyricon. The album delivers a classic dose of mid and up-tempo black metal, along with thrash, such as on the track ‘Blasphemer’.

Also included on this edition of ‘Total Death’ is the rare track ‘God of Disturbance and Friction’, which itself was recorded around the same period and subsequently included on a low-key compilation for the band’s label at the time, Moonfog Productions.

TRACKLIST CD 1:

1. Earths Last Picture
2. Blackwinged
3. Gather For Attack On The Pearly Gates
4. Black Victory Of Death
5. Majestic Desolate Eye
6. Blasphemer
7. Ravnajuv
8. The Serpents Harvest
Bonus Track
9. God Of Disturbance & Friction

TRACKLIST CD 2:

As above (tracks 1-8) including track by track album commentary by Fenriz and Nocturno Culto