Here it is - the 20th album from the mighty DARKTHRONE. Astral Fortress follows the trend that began on 2016's Arctic Thunder and continued through last year's awesome Eternal Hails of traditional heavy metal, hard rock, and prog being incorporated into the band's classic black metal sound. Despite the tongue-in-cheek cover art, this LP is much more warm and organic then you might expect from these legends if you're only familiar with their early 90's benchmarks. Nocturno Culto's voice can't reach the howling heights it once did on the classics from that era, but his ferocious bark - something like 60% Lemmy and 40% Tom Waits - perfectly suits the swaggering doom 'n' blues he's concocted here with longtime partner-in-crime Fenriz. It's really just thrilling to hear these two geniuses follow their muse without any fear, even if it alienates the "true" metal heads. We swear when the 10-minute epic "The Sea Beneath The Sea" splits open and changes tempo halfway through, you might think you're listening to STYX for a second. Don't let that scare you away - this record is an instant classic. RECOMMENDED!

Here it is - the 20th album from the mighty DARKTHRONE. Astral Fortress follows the trend that began on 2016's Arctic Thunder and continued through last year's awesome Eternal Hails of traditional heavy metal, hard rock, and prog being incorporated into the band's classic black metal sound. Despite the tongue-in-cheek cover art, this LP is much more warm and organic then you might expect from these legends if you're only familiar with their early 90's benchmarks. Nocturno Culto's voice can't reach the howling heights it once did on the classics from that era, but his ferocious bark - something like 60% Lemmy and 40% Tom Waits - perfectly suits the swaggering doom 'n' blues he's concocted here with longtime partner-in-crime Fenriz. It's really just thrilling to hear these two geniuses follow their muse without any fear, even if it alienates the "true" metal heads. We swear when the 10-minute epic "The Sea Beneath The Sea" splits open and changes tempo halfway through, you might think you're listening to STYX for a second. Don't let that scare you away - this record is an instant classic. RECOMMENDED!

Here it is - the 20th album from the mighty DARKTHRONE. Astral Fortress follows the trend that began on 2016's Arctic Thunder and continued through last year's awesome Eternal Hails of traditional heavy metal, hard rock, and prog being incorporated into the band's classic black metal sound. Despite the tongue-in-cheek cover art, this LP is much more warm and organic then you might expect from these legends if you're only familiar with their early 90's benchmarks. Nocturno Culto's voice can't reach the howling heights it once did on the classics from that era, but his ferocious bark - something like 60% Lemmy and 40% Tom Waits - perfectly suits the swaggering doom 'n' blues he's concocted here with longtime partner-in-crime Fenriz. It's really just thrilling to hear these two geniuses follow their muse without any fear, even if it alienates the "true" metal heads. We swear when the 10-minute epic "The Sea Beneath The Sea" splits open and changes tempo halfway through, you might think you're listening to STYX for a second. Don't let that scare you away - this record is an instant classic. RECOMMENDED!