Photo by: Peaceville.com

Sometimes you just need music to thrash around to. Some songs just offer that kind of energy, enabling the listener to feel the adrenaline through their aural facilities. Darkthrone offers just such an escape. The Norwegian duo comes with a metal-punk combo in their album, Circle the Wagons. For the most part it works.

The music is plentiful, in both punk and metal genres. Many of the songs alternate between the dominant source of rhythm. The songs “These Treasures Will Never Befall” and “I am the Graves of the 80s,” are more closely related to punk, while the songs “Running for Borders” and “Stylized Corpse,” seem to offer a darker, metallic side to the band’s music.

Combining such technical genres requires a certain level of music quality, and the music here is no exception. Each tune is recorded clearly, and the talent of the band can be heard. A sense of crispness comes to mind. The drums sound clean, the bass isn’t overwhelming, and the vocals never seems scratchy. This, however, comes as a mixed blessing.

As is with much metal, some songs are much stronger without lyrics. Upon hearing the song “Circle the Wagons,” one is reminded of Yngwie Malmsteen–better without vocals. Other times, one may be reminded of Tenacious D, minus the charming lyrics to accompany the vocals.

This genuinely comes as a shame as even most of the music, the vocals accompany, still runs strong. Darkthrone is definitely a talented band. The dexterity of the guitarists is communicated by the speed in which they play, and the other instruments follow suit.

These matters aside, it may be worth it for a fan of metal-punk to check this music out. The music, however, should be heard with some reservations. The music sounds great, but the vocals don’t always seem to have their place. If you have nothing else to listen to, it is worth a shot.