DARKTHRONE has released “Black Dawn Affiliation,” the only track to be released from It Beckons Us All, ahead of the new album launch on 26 April 2024.
Fenriz comments of the song’s creation: “Nocturno Culto sculpted ‘Black Dawn Affiliation’ and as much as I writhe in woe trying to describe riffs I did not make, we are certainly rocking hard and dark around a dungeon of slow KREATOR 1986-era riffs (think ‘Awakening Of The Gods’ or ‘Take Their Lives’ from the FLAG OF HATE 12”).
“The song is linearly constructed, which is bold for a single but we often write this way. One could say it is a two-pronged beast which after the intermission (filled with a choir of the damned that we sung ourselves, believe it or not: “Aaaaaa.”) continues with my favourite riff in the song since I first heard it appear early in the second part and it is there that I was given the reins to let the halls and chambers of stardust levitate with unearthly synth and a voice that still today, when writing this, strikes me as being influenced by the first rock album I heard back in 1973 – Morrison Hotel. Lyrics darker and more disturbed than ever solidify these halls now.”
Nocturno Culto adds: “It is not easy to describe the music you make, but for sure I will try…it´s heavy! Everything worked out as I hoped for this track. Some things are just forged in the studio, like as Fenriz´s excellent vocals at the end of the song; and the choir I wanted. Instead of just taking shortcuts, Fenriz and I recorded three vocal tracks each, and it was brilliantly mixed by Silje at Chaka Khan. There are many things one can say about riffs, but I make songs from a combination of a very methodical approach and happy accidents! And somewhere in the back of my head, it´s most likely there is something affecting a lot of my decisions on little details that shapes the riffing.”
With a legacy of audial treasures spanning more than 35 years, and a fountain of creativity ever flowing, DARKTHRONE returns in 2024 with an epic Metallic odyssey boasting classic riffs and vintage sounding Metal.
The seven track studio opus It Beckons Us All sees the longstanding duo of Fenriz and Nocturno Culto presenting an even more refined, challenging and diverse set of timeless anthems. The uncompromising trailblazers shift from the melodic to the sombre and atmospheric to blackened dirges emanating from DARKTHRONE’s unique riffing.
With an expansive catalogue consisting of a multitude of various genre classics, DARKTHRONE first arrived on the global stage with their atmospheric and technically accomplished Death Metal debut, Soulside Journey back in 1991, followed by the milestone in Black Metal that is A Blaze in the Northern Sky released the following year, after the intended second album Goatlord was essentially scrapped to make way for something more primitive, and paving the way for DARKTHRONE’s close association with the Black Metal genre over many years.
It Beckons Us All stands as one of the band’s most complete and vast works to date.
