DARKTHRONE — A New Dimension (review)

DARKTHRONE — A New Dimension album cover Demo · 1988 · Death Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
2/5 ·
J-Man
Not too long after the release of their debut demo, Darkthrone released another cassette demo in the form of a short, ten-minute long release entitled A New Dimension. While both are undoubtedly marred by terrible productions, there are a few notable differences between the band's first two efforts, especially the fact that this demo is entirely instrumental. With the problematic vocal effects found on Land of Frost now gone, it seems like Darkthrone has finally honed in on a few key issues with their debut, resulting in a demo that is a huge improvement over the previous one. A New Dimension is severely flawed and only recommended to die-hard Darkthrone fanatics, but this shows much more promise than their entirely dispensable effort from earlier in 1988.

Apart from the 47 introductory piece, this demo consists of only one instrumental track. There are plenty of solid riffs found throughout “Snowfall”, and it seems like the band have improved their songwriting skills quite a bit over the previous few months. The transitions between sections are rather disjointed, but there are enough good ideas here to keep boredom from ever settling in. My biggest gripe with A New Dimension is ultimately the terrible production, which (if you're listening through headphones) tends to drift from one side to the other without any rhyme or reason. Though I would say the production here is a slight improvement over Land of Frost, it's still far from competent.

A New Dimension isn't a particularly captivating listening experience, but it's a decent little curio that fans of Darkthrone may find mildly interesting. Though they still had quite a bit of work to do, it's clear that these guys were headed down the right path. Those interested in how Darkthrone progressed in the earliest portion of their career may want to lend an ear to this short demo, but keep in mind that this is virtually disposable for everyone else. I'd say 2 stars seems pretty fair.
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Metal Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

MMA TOP 5 Metal ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
Master of Puppets Thrash Metal
METALLICA
Buy this album from our partners
Paranoid Heavy Metal
BLACK SABBATH
Buy this album from our partners
Moving Pictures Hard Rock
RUSH
Buy this album from our partners
Powerslave NWoBHM
IRON MAIDEN
Buy this album from our partners
Rising Heavy Metal
RAINBOW
Buy this album from our partners

New Metal Artists

New Metal Releases

Hin helga kvöl Atmospheric Sludge Metal
SÓLSTAFIR
Buy this album from MMA partners
The Cycles of Suffering Black Metal
BURIAL OATH
Buy this album from MMA partners
The Suns of Perdition - Chapter IV: To Shadow Zion Black Metal
PANZERFAUST
Buy this album from MMA partners
Facilis Descensus Averno Death Metal
SAEVUS FINIS
Buy this album from MMA partners
Merciless Crossover Thrash
BODY COUNT
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

DAWN OF REVENGE - Sanctuary [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 5 days ago
DAWN OF REVENGE - Farewell [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 5 days ago
DAWN OF REVENGE - Curtain of Death - [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 5 days ago
DAWN OF REVENGE - Vengeance [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 5 days ago
DAWN OF REVENGE - I Need You [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 5 days ago
More videos

New MMA Metal Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Metal News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed