UMUR
The Cult Is Alive is the 12th full-length studio album by Norwegian black metal act Darkthrone. The album was released in February 2006 by Peaceville Records.
The album marks a change in musical style as the band begin to incorporate punk influences in their black metal. The songs are raw and simple but very powerful. The production, which is filthy but not too lo-fi, enhances the raw atmosphere in the songs. The playing is organic but not sloppy. Songs like The Cult of Goliath and Atomic Coming ( which is dedicated to Piggy from Voivod, who died from colon cancer in 2005) treatens to rip your face off. Take out any track on The Cult Is Alive and they are sure to make you feel something similar. There is a slight problem here though. The songs sound too much the same and after a while it seems like Darkthrone are playing the same riff over and over again. I know this is supposed to be raw and simple, but still a bit of variation wouldn´t have hurt.
I´ve been pleasantly surprised by The Cult Is Alive and I find myself enjoying the album on occasion even though it does become a bit trivial along the way so I guess a 3 star rating is in order.