Before Darkthrone stood tall and proud as one of the influential icons of black metal, they were a young and sloppy death metal act. 1992’s A Blaze In The Northern Sky would put the band on the map, but just a year prior, they were shilling out overcooked death with Soulside Journey . A curiosity in the extensive catalog of Darkthrone, Soulside Journey was a debut unlike anything the band would ever attempt again.

The pull of Swedish death metal stalwarts like Entombed and Dismember were strong on Darkthrone during their initial years together. There are hints of their black metal future in some of the riffs, but it’s mostly mid-to-fast tempo death metal. Most of the songs sound identical to one another, though the ambitious closer “The Watchtower” and rousing title track are lost highlights in Darkthrone lore.

Though still searching for the right sound, Darkthrone did have the cold atmosphere down pat. Keyboards and chanting rouse “Neptune Towers,” as well as the instrumentals “Accumulation of Generalization” and “Eon.” The latter was taken from a previous demo, and both are straightforward in design. Having this many instrumentals turns into a negative, as they serve little purpose besides extra padding.

Unlike every album from Transilvanian Hunger on, Fenriz and Nocturno Culto were joined by guitarist Ivar Enger and bassist Dag Nilsen. It’s weird to see four people playing together on a Darkthrone album, but this proved that Fenriz and Culto knew how to play well with others.

Not only was this a full lineup, but Culto used his real name, Ted Skjellum, and Fenriz used an Americanized name (the goofy Hank Amarillo).

The next few albums would emphasize the tremolo guitars and heavy-footed drums, but this debut makes Nilsen’s bass a priority. His work is very dynamic, as he unleashes a few killer solos on “Sempiternal Sepulchrality” and “The Watchtower.” The bass outdoes the guitars, which are uninventive; a few leads break up the relative mundanity. Culto’s vocals were still in their infant stage, though he belts out some chilling screams that are a prelude to what he unleashed on A Blaze In The Northern Sky.

Though Darkthrone made its name in black metal, they would later go on to experiment with everything from punk to black ‘n’ roll. In that sense, it’s not surprising that they would try death metal at some point in their career. Soulside Journey is a transitional album, as the band spent years working on their sound before this album’s release.

The album is a fine debut, but one that isn’t indicative of where Darkthrone’s career would travel. For showing a side to Darkthrone that few may know about, Soulside Journey gets the nod for this week’s Retro Recommendation.

“Cromlech” Video