Norwegian black metal legends Darkthrone are back. The duo have announced they will release their 19th studio album Eternal Hails on June 25 via Peaceville Records. It’ll mark the band’s first album since 2019’s Old Star.
The duo took to their Instagram account to warn followers to “expect the unexpected” from the album. Deciding to up sticks from their own Necrohell II studio, Eternal Hails marks the first album since 2004 to be recorded in a different location. But despite the change in studio, drummer Fenriz reassures fans there is no change in their DNA: “No matter what happens we will still sound like us, it seems!”
The album consists of five new songs all exceeding seven minutes. Explaining their decision opting for longer songs, lead singer and guitar player Nocturno Culto said: “When I was a kid growing up with metal, I kept looking for bands with long songs. Black Sabbath had many, and Celtic Frost’s Dawn Of Meggido had a long song, so I put that on in the record store and discovered another dimension of metal.”
Citing his main inspiration for this move, Culto continued “Candlemass, Epicus Doomicus Meatllicus had only long songs, so I think I bought that without even listening, and it was one of my best buys ever – an eternal inspiration for my entire career.
“For us it has become a bit logical, hard to explain, but you get to build up for a different kind of listening. A three-minute song is nothing we think of at the moment. We like it this way. For now.”
Eternal Hails will be released on Peaceville on 25 June. Pre-orders are available now.
Eternal Hails track listing
1. His Master's Voice
2. Hate Cloak
3. Wake of the Awakened
4. Voyage to a North Pole Adrift
5. Lost Arcane City of Uppakra