| Transilvanian Hunger | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 17 February 1994 | |||
| Recorded | November–December 1993 | |||
| Studio | Necrohell Studios | |||
| Genre | Black metal | |||
| Length | 39:00 | |||
| Language | English, Norwegian | |||
| Label | Peaceville | |||
| Producer | Darkthrone | |||
| Darkthrone chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Sputnikmusic | [2] |
Transilvanian Hunger is the fourth studio album by Norwegian black metal band Darkthrone. It was released 17 February 1994 by Peaceville Records.
Transilvanian Hunger was the first Darkthrone album to be recorded as a duo (Nocturno Culto and Fenriz), which was a direct result of Zephyrous's departure from the band the previous year. [1]
Fenriz performed all instrumentation on the album, with Nocturno Culto adding vocals. As of 2024, this and Panzerfaust have been the only Darkthrone albums with this type of arrangement (although Fenriz also performs spoken word vocals on the Panzerfaust outro). [3] Transilvanian Hunger was recorded on a 4-track recorder set up in Fenriz's bedroom (dubbed "Necrohell Studios" by the band). Lyrics for four of the album's songs were written by the Norwegian black metal musician Varg Vikernes, who performed solo as Burzum.
The cover art was a black-and-white photograph of Fenriz with a candelabrum, which bore a likeness to the cover of Mayhem's 1993 live album Live in Leipzig . The back cover stated that "Darkthrone is for all the evil in man" and listed the slogan "True Norwegian Black Metal".
Originally, the back cover also bore the words "Norsk Arisk Black Metal" ("Norwegian Aryan black metal"). Due to negative feedback from many distributors, however, the phrase was removed. The band also intended to issue another controversial statement to mark the album's release: "We would like to state that Transilvanian Hunger stands beyond any criticism. If any man should attempt to criticize this LP, he should be thoroughly patronized for his obviously Jewish behavior". [4] In a press release, Peaceville Records issued both this statement and their own response, berating the sentiment but acknowledging that they could not censor their artists. [4] Darkthrone issued a formal apology at Peaceville's behest. They said they had used "Arisk" to mean "true" or "pure" and that "Jewish" was Norwegian youth slang for "idiotic". [5] Darkthrone included the following statement with their next album, Panzerfaust , the following year: "Darkthrone is certainly not a Nazi band nor a political band. Those of you who still might think so, you can lick Mother Mary's asshole in eternity". [4] More recently, Fenriz disowned these past statements, describing them as "disgusting". He admitted regret and noted that at the time, he was going through a phase of being "angry at several races". [6]
The ending of the track "As Flittermice as Satans Spys" contained a backmasked message. When the voice is played backwards, it utters the phrase: "In the name of God, let the churches burn". [5]
In 2003, the album was remastered and reissued by Peaceville, as well as being repackaged in a cardboard digipak. The fourth and final chapter of a four-part video interview (spanning the first four albums) with Fenriz and Nocturno Culto was also included as bonus material.
In 2017, Rolling Stone ranked Transilvanian Hunger as 85th on their list of 'The 100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time'. [7]
All lyrics are written by Fenriz (tracks 1–4) and Greifi Grishnackh (tracks 5–8); all music is composed by Fenriz
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Transilvanian Hunger" | 6:09 |
| 2. | "Over fjell og gjennom torner" ("Over Mountains and Through Thorns") | 2:29 |
| 3. | "Skald av Satans sol" ("Bard of Satan's Sun") | 4:28 |
| 4. | "Slottet i det fjerne" ("Castle in the Distance") | 4:45 |
| 5. | "Graven tåkeheimens saler" ("Halls of the Tomb of the Fog Kingdom") | 4:59 |
| 6. | "I en hall med flesk og mjød" ("In a Hall with Meat and Mead") | 5:12 |
| 7. | "As Flittermice as Satans Spys" | 5:55 |
| 8. | "En ås i dype skogen" ("A Hill in the Deep Forest") | 5:03 |
| Total length: | 39:00 | |
Darkthrone is a Norwegian black metal band from Kolbotn, Akershus. Formed in 1986 as a death metal band named Black Death, in 1991 Darkthrone embraced a black metal style influenced by Bathory and Celtic Frost and became one of the leading bands in the Norwegian black metal scene.
Gylve Fenris Nagell, known professionally as Fenriz, is a Norwegian musician, part-time music journalist and online radio host who is best known as being one half of the black metal duo Darkthrone, alongside Nocturno Culto. Although primarily a drummer and songwriter, he has also played bass and guitar and performed vocals for Darkthrone and several other metal bands. Fenriz is famed for his encyclopedic knowledge of metal music, his eager promotion of underground bands and the DIY ethic, and his rejection of the "showbiz side of the music industry". Fenriz was also the studio drummer for doom metal band Valhall, and has had several solo projects, including the folk black metal project Isengard and the dark ambient project Neptune Towers.
Soulside Journey is the first studio album by Norwegian black metal band Darkthrone. It was released 13 January 1991 by Peaceville Records. It is notable as the band's only death metal album, before they became an integral part of the Norwegian black metal scene.
A Blaze in the Northern Sky is the second studio album by Norwegian black metal band Darkthrone. It was recorded at Creative Studios in August 1991 and released on 26 February 1992 by Peaceville Records. Apart from earlier rehearsal recordings between March 1991 and the Norwegian summer holidays the record contained the band's first official black metal recordings and is considered a classic within the genre. It was the first album of what fans dub the "Unholy Trinity", the other albums being Under a Funeral Moon and Transilvanian Hunger. It was the last album to feature bassist Dag Nilsen. In 2020, the album was put on the National Library of Norway's permanent exhibition due to its significance to Norwegian culture and as a starting point for Norwegian black metal.
Under a Funeral Moon is the third studio album by the Norwegian black metal band Darkthrone. It was recorded in June 1992 and released on 15 February 1993 by Peaceville Records. Written and recorded to create a "pure black metal album", it is the second of what is dubbed the band's "Unholy Trinity", along with A Blaze in the Northern Sky and Transilvanian Hunger. Under a Funeral Moon was the last album on which guitarist Zephyrous performed; he left the band shortly after its release.
Panzerfaust is the fifth studio album by Norwegian black metal band Darkthrone, released in June 1995 by Moonfog Productions (Europe) and The End Records. The track "Quintessence" featured lyrics by Varg Vikernes, their second and final album to do so. As with the previous album Transilvanian Hunger, all instruments on Panzerfaust were recorded solely by Fenriz on a 4-track recorder set up in his bedroom ; with Nocturno Culto performing vocals on all songs except for the outro.
Total Death is the sixth studio album by Norwegian black metal band Darkthrone. It was recorded in August and October 1995 at Ancient Specter Ruins and released in 1996 by Moonfog Productions.
Ravishing Grimness is the seventh studio album by Norwegian black metal band Darkthrone. It was released 29 September 1999 by Moonfog Productions.
Plaguewielder is the eighth studio album by Norwegian black metal band Darkthrone. It was released 10 September 2001 by Moonfog Productions.
Hate Them is the ninth studio album by Norwegian black metal band, Darkthrone. It was released 10 March 2003 by Moonfog Productions. Like their subsequent release, Sardonic Wrath, the album had an electronic intro and outro created by Lars Sørensen from Red Harvest. The cover image was the work of Eric Syre from Thesyre, and incorporated images of the Sagrada Família Catholic church in Barcelona. In 2012, the album was reissued by Peaceville Records, including a bonus CD with audio commentary by the band.
Sardonic Wrath is the 10th studio album by the Norwegian black metal band Darkthrone. It was released 6 September 2004 by Moonfog Productions, and was the band's last album on that record label. It was also Darkthrone's last album recorded solely in the black metal style, with subsequent albums featuring stronger punk traits. However, Einar Sjursø observed in Terrorizer that "even if there is a certain punk attitude to the odd riff here and there" it is a case of "the diabolic duo [Fenriz and Nocturno Culto]...simply drawing more influences into the Darkthrone melting pot, turning them into crystalline Darkthrone riffs".
Ted Arvid Skjellum, also known by the stage name Nocturno Culto, is a Norwegian musician and school teacher best known as the vocalist, lead guitarist, and partial bassist of the influential black metal band Darkthrone. He has been with the band since 1988. He is also the vocalist of the band Sarke, and has a solo project called Gift of Gods. He currently works in Norway as a school teacher, and has a son and a daughter. He has also released a documentary film called The Misanthrope in which he deals with black metal music and life in Norway.
The Cult Is Alive is the 11th studio album by the Norwegian black metal band Darkthrone. It was released 27 February 2006 by Peaceville Records. This album represented a shift in the band's style, as they incorporated more punk and crust punk traits. Drummer Fenriz stated, "Call it black metal or evil rock, I don't care..."
Goatlord is a demo album by Norwegian band Darkthrone, released in 1996. The album was re-released by Peaceville Records in 2011, with a bonus track and new artwork approved by the band and a second disc containing commentary from Fenriz and Nocturno Culto.
F.O.A.D. is the 12th studio album by the Norwegian band Darkthrone. It was released 25 September 2007 by Peaceville Records. Special editions of the album contained a postcard, poster and T-shirt.
Frostland Tapes is a compilation album by the Norwegian black metal band, Darkthrone. It was released through Peaceville Records on 23 June 2008.
Dark Thrones and Black Flags is the 13th studio album by the Norwegian band Darkthrone. It was released 20 October 2008 by Peaceville Records. The music largely followed in the style of their previous album, F.O.A.D. Half of the lyrics and music were written by Nocturno Culto, while the other half were written by Fenriz.
Circle the Wagons is the fourteenth studio album by the Norwegian band Darkthrone. The album was released 5 April 2010 by Peaceville Records. Fenriz, the band's drummer, described the music as Darkthrone's "own brand of heavy metal/speed metal-punk", and declared it a further shift from their old black metal style. About half of the album was written by Fenriz and half by Nocturno Culto.
The Underground Resistance is the 15th studio album by Norwegian black metal band Darkthrone. It was released 25 February 2013 by Peaceville Records.
Arctic Thunder is the 16th studio album by Norwegian band Darkthrone. It was released 14 October 2016 by Peaceville Records. It was recorded from August to December 2015 at Necrohell II Studios. The first single from the album was "Tundra Leech".
