Darkthrone – Hate Them (2003)

May 7, 2023

UGH. On Hate Them, Darkthrone seems to channel a bunch of Tom G Warrior droning riff energy (moreso than usual) into their perfected turn of the millenium sound (such as on Plaguewielder and Ravishing Grimness). One could argue however that Hate Them lives up to it’s name, and hits a bit harder than the previous albums in this style. The songs just seem all that more angrier, with songs like “Fucked Up And Ready To Die” (the first Darkthrone song I ever heard when I was a wee kid) and one of my favourite Darkthrone tracks actually, “Det svartner nå”. Also, closer “In Honour Of Thy Name” is absolutely frothing at the mouth with rabid bile.

Both Fenriz and Nocturno Culto are on top form here, and this is a fucking amazing place to start if the “middle period” of Darkthrone’s music seems a bit intimidating (there’s a lot of it).