''The Underground Resistance'' is the 15th studio album by Norwegian

black metal Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, a shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, raw (lo-fi) recording, unconventional song structures, and an emp ...

band Darkthrone. It was released 25 February 2013 by

Peaceville Records Peaceville Records is a British independent heavy metal record label. The label was founded by Paul "Hammy" Halmshaw (of the bands Instigators and Civilised Society) in Dewsbury, England in 1987, who was also a one-time drummer of Sore Throat. ...

Production

The album was recorded from spring 2010 through summer 2012 at Necrohell II Studios.Darkthrone - ''The Underground Resistance
Peaceville.com. Retrieved 26 February 2013.

Style

On ''The Underground Resistance'', the band largely abandoned the

crust punk Crust punk (also known as crust or stenchcore) is a form of music influenced by English punk rock and extreme metal. The style, which evolved in the early 1980s in England, often has songs with dark and pessimistic lyrics that linger on politic ...

elements found on their previous four albums. The music on the album has been described as "classic metal" incorporating '80s

speed metal Speed metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that originated in the late 1970s from new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM) roots.K. Kahn-Harris, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'' (Berg Publishers, 2007), , p. 31. It ...

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...

, doom metal and "a dose of

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

". ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

'' critic Dean Brown called it "a lengthy jaunt which touches upon the grandiose vocal gymnastics of

King Diamond Kim Bendix Petersen (born 14 June 1956), better known by his stage name King Diamond, is a Danish rock musician. As a vocalist, he is known for his powerful and wide-ranging countertenor singing voice, in particular his far-reaching falsetto ...

galloping upon hellbound '80s-inspired

riffs, before descending into the Crypts of Rays with a spiteful Celtic Frost groove". Kyle Ward of Sputnikmusic described it as Darkthrone's "most 'metal' album", while James Zalucky of ''Metal Injection'' wrote, "If I had to give you an example of 'true metal', it would be Darkthrone's ''The Underground Resistance''".

Critical reception

The album received positive reviews, with reviewers noting how much "fun"

Fenriz Gylve Fenris Nagell (born Leif Nagell; 28 November 1971), known professionally as Fenriz, is a Norwegian musician, part-time music journalist and online radio host (with the show "Radio Fenriz")

and

Nocturno Culto Ted Skjellum (born 4 March 1972), also known by the stage name Nocturno Culto, is a Norwegian musician best known as the vocalist, lead guitarist, and partial bassist (shared with Fenriz) of the influential black metal band Darkthrone. He has bee ...

appeared to have as they continued to pay homage to classic metal bands. Both ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...

'' and ''PopMatters'' observed that the album possessed a youthful energy that belied the age of the band members.

About.com Dotdash Meredith (formerly About.com) is an American digital media company based in New York City. The company publishes online articles and videos about various subjects across categories including health, home, food, finance, tech, beauty, ...

noted that the album continued to move the band away from the crust punk influence most strongly heard on '' The Cult Is Alive'' and towards

NWOBHM The new wave of British heavy metal (commonly abbreviated as NWOBHM) was a nationwide musical movement that started in England in the mid-1970s and achieved international attention by the early 1980s. Journalist Geoff Barton coined the term ...

and

power metal Power metal is a subgenre of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional heavy metal with speed metal, often within symphonic context. Generally, power metal is characterized by a faster, lighter, and more uplifting sound, in contra ...

as driving influences.

Track listing

Credits

– vocals, electric guitar, bass guitar *

– drums, vocals, electric guitar on track 2, bass guitar on track 4 *Mastered by Jack Control at Enormous Door, USA *Cover artwork by Jim Fitzpatrick

Charts

References

External links

Darkthrone - "Leave No Cross Unturned" (edit)
at

SoundCloud SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming s ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Underground Resistance Darkthrone albums 2013 albums Peaceville Records albums