Darkthrone - Pre-Historic Metal (2026)

As one of the most anticipated releases of 2026, today we have Darkthrone and their latest effort “Pre-Historic Metal”. Continuing their path in unleashing crafty and uncomplicated releases, this album delivers eight tracks of the band’s crunchy Black/Doom/Heavy Metal of late. In the same vein of their last couple of albums, the band’s sound is compact and pays homage to old-school Black/Death/Heavy/Doom Metal with a wide variety of engaging riffs and tempo changes.

Opening with the crunchy riffs of “They Found One of My Graves”, Fenriz and Nocturno Culto showcase that they will continue to de-construct the BM genre and infuse additional elements to keep unleashing crafty and enjoyable songs. The is something quite primal and raw of songs like the album title track, “Siberian Thaw”, and “Deeply Rooted” that have that Norwegian BM vibe, but with some Mercyful Fate/Celtic Frost-esque influences.

Aside from the cringe-worthy front cover, this release has some interesting tracks with superbly crafty guitar work like “The Dry Wells of Hell” and its clean Isengard-esque vocals, or the more atmospheric and expansive instrumental “So I Marched To The Sunken Empire”. However, the bread and butter of the band’s current core sound has to be perfectly encapsulated in “Eat Eat Eat Your Pride” and its ripping guitarwork.

Closing with the sinister guitars and eerie vocals of “Eon 4”, Darkthorne reminds us that they are a seminal band in the genre and while they don’t have to overly repeat themselves, they are a force to be reckoned with. Yes, there are plenty of similarities to previous releases, but there is also enough magic here to give the tracks, and the release, its own identity and make it a worthy addition to their very illustrious career.

Rating: 88/100