Pre-Historic Metal is Darkthrone's twenty-first studio album, released on May 8, 2026 via Peaceville Records. Arriving in a year marking the 40th anniversary of the band's initial formation under the name Black Death, the album sees the Norwegian duo of Fenriz and Nocturno Culto doubling down on their celebrated "old metal" ethos. Fenriz has described the title as symbolic of the band's entire approach: "Prehistoric is a loose term. I just think it's our vibe, our take on things, and it's more of a statement that we use an old style to create something new." The eight-track record was recorded at Chaka Khan Studios in Oslo and continues directly in the spirit of their 2024 effort It Beckons Us All, featuring an organic sound shaped by the spirit of 1970s and 1980s heavy metal.Sonically, the album is a dense, riff-driven odyssey through thrash, black, heavy, and doom metal, with influences ranging from Black Sabbath and Uriah Heep to Celtic Frost, Candlemass, and Trouble. As The Toilet Ov Hell's review notes, it is a notably guitar-centric and percussive record, with Fenriz's vocals appearing in their most prominent capacity since 2013, including King Diamond-inspired falsettos and high-pitched screaming. Tracks like "Siberian Thaw" and the instrumental "So I Marched to the Sunken Empire" incorporate subtle synthesizers for an eerie, ghostly texture that contrasts nicely with the record's otherwise punishing, distorted crunch, while the closing track "Eon 4" lands as a sludgy, unrelenting doom epic reminiscent of a grimy 1970s exploitation film soundtrack.
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