Darkthrone

With the vocals recorded so upfront as to blot out the actual music behind them on some cuts, Panzerfaust may take a little getting used to. It's too bad, as "Triumphant Gleam" and "The Hordes of Nebula" both feature Darkthrone's best riffs since A Blaze In the Northern Sky. Particularly "Hordes," which lurches in super slo-mo, well representing the band at their most characteristically experimental. Darkthrone's fifth album, Panzerfaust marked a departure from previous label Peaceville (a seminal concern in the Norwegian scene) and a switch to Moonfog Productions.