Black Metal veterans Darkthrone release their fourteenth album, "Circle The Wagons", reaffirming their status as true godfathers of the genre. Metal Chaos got the thoughts of Fenriz ahead of the albums release.

The bands new album “Circle The Wagons” has just been released, what has been the initial feed back? How do you describe the album in the context of your previous albums?

Well, it ends the trilogy of the Dennis Dread hand drawn covers, the DENNIS-TRILOGY. Apart from that we really don't view our albums since 2005 as albums, as we more or less hook up the studio when we have 2-3 songs ready in our heads and record them. So in that sense, these albums have been more or less collections of tracks, the evolvement or regression, haha, is more or less on a song by song basis. This one has NO black metal whatsoever, it's our own brand of Heavy Metal, to put it bluntly.

The band has established a new Necrohell for the recording of your last couple of albums, how does this differ from the more traditional studio environment and what is essential to create a creative environment for you?

Since 1988, we've recorded in all the typical and untypical ways a band can record, it seems. We did two more albums on portable studios (Transilvanian hunger and Panzerfaust) but this mini-studio is completely different, location is different, but as we've done the last four albums since 2005 this way, it's actually been the longest run we've had recording in the "same way" for a longer period of time. Nothing is essential to us, we record our songs no matter what the obstacle. We just need some beers after the recording is done, is all. And some killer metal to listen to. And then some dubstep.

Darkthrone have always been huge advocates of unpolished, raw production on all your albums. Given we live in an age of pro-tools which bands for you are destroying the old school sound of extreme metal?

Most overground bands. The overground is defined by the modern sound. The underground, as you all can check out on DARKTHRONE MYSPACE BAND OF THE WEEK BLOG, is alive and well with heaps of bands that use the old sound. And GHOST just signed to Rise Above, a huge advocate of the OLD production. Also ENFORCER lp is out on Earache, which gives a huge signal to the kids that OLD SOUND IS BACK TO STAY. For me, it never left but it looked bleak in '97.

the 90s fucked over the whole tradition and knowledge of THE ORIGINS of metal. I don't have to listen to crappy black metal, I listen to the great black metal still, lots of new bands playing it right, the old way. Here's a helpful list for you: GEHENNAH Sweden - METALUCIFER - BLIZZARD Germany - THE LORD WEIRD SLOUGH FEG - WOLF - ALPHA CENTAURI - METAL INQUISITOR - PORTRAIT - IN SOLITUDE - HELVETETS PORT - SPEED TRAP - ATLANTEAN KODEX - CHRISTIAN MISTRESS - DEMONS GATE - DOOMED BEAST - SONIC RITUAL - AURA NOIR - HARBINGER - ENFORCER - BLACKHOLICUS - NATUR - HIGH SPIRITS - WHIP STRIKER - NOIA Italy.

OLD - ARIA/APUR - TRENCH HELL - SHACKLES, ZÖLDÏER NOÏZ, NOIA, BUNKER 66, WASTELANDER, BLACK MAGIC ---------------------------------CRYSTAL VIPER - LONEWOLF - RÉSISTANCE - GHOST - SATINBLACK - IRON KOBRA - ARGUS -FUNERAL CIRCLE etc THE OLD BANDS, mainly 70s 80s that we may or may not be influenced by; MOTORHEAD, DIAMOND HEAD, HEAD HEAD HEAD (JUST KIDDING!), 1ST METAL CHURCH, AGENT STEEL 84-86, MANILLA ROAD, FINGERNAILS '88, FATES WARNING 2ND AND 3RD, ANTHRAX 83-85, ACCEPT up to '83, SAVAGE GRACE master of disguise, GRIFFIN protectors of the lair, ENGLISH DOGS, METALLICA 3 first, SATAN court in the act, JAGUAR power games, early SAXON, OZZY '80-'86, HELLOWEEN 2 first, IRON MAIDEN, TRÖJAN, BLACK SABBATH '70-'82, EXCITER heavy metal maniac, QUEENSRYCHE first EP and THE WARNING, GOTHAM CITY, WITCH CROSS, MERCYFUL FATE, THOR, HEAVY LOAD, ADX, HOLY TERROR, OVERKILL, TYRANT'S REIGN, BROCAS HELM, CIRITH UNGOL, ANGEL WITCH, WITCHFINDER GENERAL, CELTIC FROST, BATHORY, OSTROGOTH, TANK, SCORPIONS 70S, URIAH HEEP, RUSH, PENTAGRAM usa,BARON ROJO, TRUST, SAMSON, AC/DC, KISS, FLOTSAM AND JETSAM Doomsday for the Deceiver, OMEN '84-'86, DEAF/DEATH DEALER 1st, DEATHSIDE, ASTA KASK, PUKE

Lyrically the album has progressed from much of your earlier work, where do you draw your influences from?

Talking about lyrics kills the whole atmos, haha, but what is strange is that if a teenager sings about Satan, no one questions it. but when I share my experience with human beings in lyrics after 38 years on this planet, then I'm being questioned. How lame is that? We sing about a whole array of subjects, from traditional Satanic pride to explaining our lives as we go along. I can do what I want.

Both Necturno and you have made no secret of your love of all forms of metal and even more diverse genres, so how has your musical tastes have changed over the past 2 decades?

It just expanded, also discovering all the NWOBHM bands we missed out on in 79-85, and lots of electronic music forms have evolved since the 80s, which is mostly fantastic if one stays away from the cheesy shit. But no metal styles that was created after 93 has had anything to offer us. with us, the OLD ways are near.

When it comes time to writing Darkthrone material is there any formula as to how the songs get constructed, or is it a totally organic process?

I have no idea how Ted writes songs. I write mine both by getting song lines in my head and then making backings for it on guitar and bass (traditional songwriting) but I also shred out some riffs when I play guitar sometimes to actually make some rifforamas. We were always a riff band, but now I do a whole lotta songwriting too.

The album artwork is again provided by Dennis Dread, a real old school cover. What input to the process did you guys have and how pleased were you with the finished piece?

Thanks for asking. We are very much fans of LETTING THE ARTIST WORK IN PEACE so we are not hands-on at all. Just a few initial suggestions and then when we see the result we are as surprised as you all are. It's the same way record companies always treated us, FULL artistic freedom to do whatever we like. We can fend for ourselves, haha!

The name Darkthrone, along with the likes of Immortal and Burzum are synonymous with Black Metal, but is there such a thing as Black Metal in 2010?10?

This is the bands fourteenth album, could you have imagined 23 years ago that you guys would still be making music, and given the reverence your early albums are held do you ever feel expectation weighing heavy on your shoulders?

Haha, no we never looked back when we write music, head held high and gazing into the songs we are currently making is the way. By the way I reckon this is our 15th album, we count GOATLORD as a full album. We never excepted to have a name as big as POSSESSED, for instance. Very strange for us, and let's just say - in my next life I will be totally anonymous. "Celebrity" is a bitch! But let's also say - there's pros and cons about everything in life.

Your relationship with Nocturno Culto has been one of the most creative in extreme metal over the past 20 or so years. How do you guys creatively keep it together and what roles do you play in the band to balance one another?

I have nothing to offer this "extreme" metal scene, when I started in the global tape trading underground of the 80s it was no such term as extreme metal, even. I think we play moderate Metal with ugly vocals. We have kept it together by NOT touring, people must respect distance, but they don't. Too bad for them.

How do you think your perception of Black Metal and overall extreme music has changed since you guys released “Soulside Journey”? How do you think you have changed over the same period?

We've certainly returned to the style we played in late 88, but also way different, our tastes for the old way has broadened and expanded since then, we know heaps of more bands playing old styles for instance. My head is now in the fast heavy metal of 1979-1986, fast songs by DEAF/DEATH DEALER and GOTHAM CITY being where I want to be. I thank all the old speed metal gods on a daily basis!