ANDERS:

Face of the goat in the mirror
We've become a race of the cursed seed
I entered the soul of the snake
We are the blaze in the Northern sky

When that quote is said, all hell breaks lose! We are back in 1991 and the technical death metal band Darkthrone (formed in 1987 as Black Death) consisting of Hank Amarillo, Ted Skjellum, Ivar Enger og Dag Nielsen, suddenly changed their attitudes and worldview. They dropped the album "Goatlord" which they were working on, and started to record what later turned out to be "A Blaze In The Northern Sky". The 3 members in the band were suddenly known as Fenriz, Nocturno Culto and Zephyrous (Dag Nielsen did play session bass on the album, but then left Darkthrone) and they delivered the first real black metal album from Norway... The war had begun!

The first album of what later would be known as "the second wave of black metal", and the first black metal album of many from Darkthrone. A band who has kept their principles and ethics high, while others have taken another road and become something else. The roots in the black metal eras of Hellhammer/Celtic Frost and Bathory, was where the band found most of their inspiration. Even though they added more rawness, coldness and darkness to their music.

"A Blaze In The Northern Sky" kicks off, with one of the best Darkthrone tracks 'Kathaarian Life Code', 10 minutes of raw cold darkness, hypnotic riffing, an eerie atmosphere and screams from the grave. That is more or less the recipe through out the album. All the 6 tracks are strong and powerful, even though the first track, 'In The Shadow Of The Horn', the title track and 'The Pagan Winter' really stands out. The great hook in 'In The Shadow Of The Horns' and the powerful chorus. The darkness and repetitive and hypnotic riffing in 'A Blaze In The Northern Sky'. And last the darkness and killer riffing in 'The Pagan Winter'. A cold and atmospheric track, with no hope left, only darkness, being driven forth by simple riffs and the evilest of vocals.

The album has for sure stood the test of time and made a big impact on the black metal scene. Even though the 2 most influential or copied so to say albums from Darkthrone are "Under A Funeral Moon" and "Transylvanian Hunger". "A Blaze In The Northern Sky" still stands as a monument of the start of one of the strongest underground metal movements ever. And is still today one of the best black metal albums made, and together with a handful of other debut albums from the hordes of Norway, it will be very hard to top or just to get aligned with.

  Fenriz, Nocturno Culto and Zephyrous

TORDAH: I must say I'm not the biggest fan of black metal out there. Sure, there are some bands I enjoy but there are a lot more bands I don't enjoy. Darkthrone falls somewhere in between. "A Blaze In The Northern Sky" is one of those albums you hear being praised over and over again by black metal fans. The album is full of blast-beats, shrieking vocals and grinding guitars. The usual black metal stuff in other words. The production is quite bad but bearable. I would enjoy it a lot more if the production was better. The music is okay but I don't find it all that exciting. Maybe I expected too much from all the praise I've heard about it, I don't know. As it is now I find it to be a mediocre album.

FIZD: Good black metal is hard to define. I guess it's all about one's personal preference. Darkthrone never did anything for me. And neither does this album. Speaking from my own experience with the album, the musicianship is average. The fact that the production is not anywhere near fantastic also doesn't make me get into this album more. If you aren't into black metal, this will do nothing for you. However, if you are a big black metal head, you might want to check it out...it's highly praised by most black metal fanatics.

DEEK: Those that know me know that black metal has been one metal style that has been hit-or-miss with me. Either I like it (and if I do, I like it a lot), or I just hands down don't like it. Even though this is a classic, it doesn't change my opinion. This album falls in the latter category for me. It sounds good, there's a few sections here and there I did like, but it just never sparked anything for me and couldn't keep my attention. So, if you're picky about black metal the way I am, approach with the warning you may not like it. But if you are the opposite, being very open to black metal, I'd be surprised if you hadn't heard this already.

JOHELL: This will be stupid but true. I remember one thing about Darkthrone's "A Blaze In The Northern Sky" album. I played tennis that day. A bad tennis day, for a so called important match to get the team to some kind of promotion. I Lost the first set. Took out my walkman and listened to Darkthrone at the change over, a tape I got the evening before. The energy came back, maybe due their music haha, I won both remaining sets, agressively and fast. Wasn't worth much, my team lost but I played damn well. I got the illumination of the yellow tennis ball...sorry not so Metal.

Since then I have followed their music. I like them. Attitude and coldness emerged from this album. 

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Darkthrone website