Album Review: Darkthrone - Arctic Thunder

One of Norway's most revered exports, Darkthrone's music over the years has evolved through numerous extreme metal genres.

On Arctic Thunder there are occasional nods to old school, proto-metal influences, particularly on the urgent, elemental riffs of the title track. But no matter how many divergent strains of Darkthrone's past come together on Arctic Thunder, they've rarely sounded as inimitably Darkthronian as they do here. It may not be their boldest, or most extreme album, but as an overview of the different guises they've mastered, it could be their definitive one.