Admittedly, and for the second review this week, I thought of DARKTHRONE when I saw this band's name.  Who would have thought?  Thankfully, it was immediately comfortable when the album kicked off with "The Day After 'Trinity'".  These Canadians, now on their fourth album, have really managed to tap into a coveted True Metal status as they set out their exposition.  While it would not be a mistake to think of the band as Black Metal, they have a truly unique, organic tone.  It's a tone with different shades that gleam at different times in different amounts:  from glassy and smooth to goliath-huge and piercing high gain fury with endless sustain.

The second track, "Stalingrad, Massengrab" increased the excitability level volatilely so there is a purist depth underneath what these guys do.  It is easy to see they are concerned as much with how a note sounds before it becomes a riff as after.  The skillful approach each of these guys sets out with contributes forcefully to the end result, a menacingly heavy, battlefield of Metal.

This excellent tone is apparent on more than just the guitars.  Sure, tons of bands rent Bogners and Diezels to go in the studio and contribute to the excess number of bands that take themselves too seriously with an all-guitar approach.  The professional's touch is taken with every aspect of this record.  There are moments when the bass sounds terrifyingly lethal as it ranges up a scale over a guitar chord.  Other times, the band can start jamming on a more percussive riff and really grab one's attention.  Theirs is always a strange brew at work, a vibe maintained throughout borne of the pensively, misanthropically existential tone that dots the landscape of the cerebrally-centered message.

The final song, "The Men of No Man's Land," is startlingly heavy.  Gargantuan!  The song is haunting with its trance-like hypnotic effect.  One could point to some of NEUROSIS's best material to compare this heady, earthy, transcendental vibe to.  There is that repetitive, mantra-like quality to it, and ultimately, shows off the band's Doom skills.  The darkness, that neo-voodoo feeling still casts a shadow over everything.

Ultimately, after listening to this, one feels as if having just taken a very long trip.  PANZERFAUST created a monumental album of hypnotic Black Doom.  The best albums strike certain chords within.  What PANZERFAUSTZ strikes others as certainly interests me as well.  This album is a statement.  It is also a fulfillment as it cements the band in best of status for this year.  What a band!  What a weekend!  #Darkthrone