Darkthrone
F.O.A.D.
Tyrant Syndicate/Peaceville

This is the filthiest, most numbskulled black-thrash album I've heard in years and years and I absolutely mean that in the best way possible. Most bands progress and become more refined as the years go by, but Darkthrone retreats and regresses, always getting closer and closer to the pure black metal sounds of originators such as Venom and Bathory. I still love the sophistication of so-called BM elites such as Emperor, but Darkthrone does a much better job of personifying everything that metal should be about. This is music for the dejected and rejected, the kind of stuff that revels in being a no-class dirtball. The title track says it all: "Fuck off and die!" If you don't like it, it's because you're not supposed to.

It's also worth noting that the so-called unproduced recording on this still sounds thousands of times better than any other modern metal album. No lame triggered drums, no wall of over-compressed guitars, nothing but the purest essentials. Everything is crisp and well-balanced and guess what? Even the bass is loud and clear. Amazing!
- Avi Roig