Darkthrone – The Underground Resistance (2013)

May 25, 2023

The Underground Resistance was something that I really disliked when it first came out, because I had an mp3 rip of this thing that had the tracks listed backwards, and the opening moments of “Leave No Cross Unturned” that had those King Diamond kinda worshipping vocals immediately had me checking the fuck out of there. Of course, in hindsight, this is hilarious as “Leave No Cross Unturned” is easily the best song on this entire thing, and arguably saves the album for me.

The “arse end” of this era of Darkthrone is not exactly awful, but it isn’t really my kind of metal. So this record, along with Circle The Wagons before it, is the closest I come to not really enjoying the music of Fenriz and Nocturno Culto. I don’t find any of these songs particularly exciting, despite several relistens in the run up to writing this to try and wring some sort of positive note from the entire thing (I even ordered a copy of it on CD but it never showed up in the mail and I got a refund from the seller – if that’s not a sign to stop then I don’t know what is).

This would get a solid 3 of out 5 if it wasn’t for the closing track, a song that is 13:49 long (is that intentional?). It’s a hell of a trip, and contains some of the best riffs and general moments of the entire album, and of the band’s entire career spent playing this particular style. The record is worth the price of admission alone for “Leave No Cross Unturned”. Otherwise, it has to be one of the weaker Darkthrone albums.