DARKTHRONE - Astral Fortress CD

With 20 studio albums that have spanned for over 30 years, it's safe to say that Darkthrone has been around the block in the metal community, especially when it comes to their genres changes over the years. Whether it be from death metal, raw black metal, blackened crust, or blackened heavy/doom metal, the duo has been able to succeed on all of these styles, and their latest album "Astral Fortress" is no exception.

While this album does balance a lot from Eternal Hails, in many ways, it feels like an improvement. The more blackened atmosphere feels more sincere and epic, the vocals have improved in terms of delivery, particularly with the backing vocals, and the lyrics are still as great as ever. Though not flawless, Astral Fortress is yet another excellent record of the long-standing band, and is one you should definitely check out.