From death metal to black metal, from crust punk to classic thrash, what’s remarkable about Darkthrone is just how damn comfortable Nocturno and Fenriz are with whatever genre their band happens to be at the moment. And full-length number fifteen sums that attitude up in spades, an eighties throwback to heavy/speed metal with very little originality or what you’d call genuine brilliance, although it’s a lot of fun, and you can tell that Nocturno and Fenriz are enjoying themselves. The crust punk of previous albums is all but gone, the closest thing present the crunchy riffing of opener Dead Early, which is more like an early thrash track from the likes of Venom, all battering drums and bass rumbles.

From then on, the album is a real mixed bag, although it never fails to be catchy. The following opening acoustic strums of Valkyrie lead to epic doom pounding riffs, switching to galloping speed metal and clean singing soon after before returning to the doom. It contrasts drastically with the following ominous chugging of Lesser Men, something more akin to the rocking blackened metal of past Darkthrone outings. Surprisingly professional in sound for this band, it flows smoothly along, throwing multiple solos into the mix – for a band known for black metal, then blackened punk, it’s interesting that this sounds absolutely natural coming from Darkthrone.

The duo’s talent continues to shine forth as the album continues, The Ones You Left Behind showing off a more epic and melodic side to the band. Come Warfare, the Entire Doom is the weakest moment on the album, repeating the same riff just a little too much towards the end, yet is still a good, rocking track. You could level the same accusation of repetition at thirteen-minute finale Leave No Cross Unturned were it not so damn infectious, something like Mercyful Fate crossed with Motörhead. It just gallops along, getting dangerously close to a classic Darkthrone riff, keeping your attention throughout the running time with classic Celtic Frost-y tempo changes and breakdowns. Ultimately, Darkthrone’s output will be whatever its members please, whatever people say, but it is nice to enjoy what they produce, and The Underground Resistance is definitely enjoyable. There’s gas in the tank yet…