Men grow old, no matter how true they are. When men grow old they tend to get nostalgic about those bands that influenced them the most when they were younger. That might just be the case with Darkthrone considering their fourteenth album, Dark Thrones & Black Flags, doesn’t represent this black metal band from Norway like we used to know them.

If you know the album F.O.A.D. you will agree with me that we have definitely lost the good old days with Transilvanian Hunger which is again confirmed by the release of Dark Thrones & Black Flags. The pure black metal that once was, is replaced by old school black and roll. It’s not that bad at all, to be honest, but I’m not quite sure if it lives up to the name Darkthrone. You see, that name activates certain expectations and unless you did appreciate F.O.A.D., you will feel your expectations were false.

When you take a look on the MySpace of these guys, you will find out nowadays they describe themselves as Speed/ Heavy/ Black/ Punk. Some things never change though. Nocturno Culto and Fenriz still know how to come up with energetic riffs and even though they are active for twenty years now, they seem to find the inspiration each and every time. The biggest difference from the old days is Darkthrone has transformed into a filthier, more black metal orientated Motörhead. Besides that, Fenriz is more present in a vocal manner, which adds up to the crummy sound.

The question about this all is how to judge this album. Is the music itself interesting enough or does the name Darkthrone unconsciously play a role in the perception of Dark Thrones & Black Flags? Of course it will never be possible to form an opinion about this album without taking the past work of Darkthrone into account, mostly because of the recognizable elements of this band. For instance, Norway In September is typically old Darkthrone. It’s for sure a love it or hate it album and although it takes some of my own nostalgia away, it most certainly works for me!