Darkthrone emerged from the depths of the Norwegian underground in 1987. They started out playing death metal and recorded a series of demos that showed clear influences from Celtic Frost, Metallica, Death, Poison (Ger), and Autopsy. These demos eventually caught the attention of Peaceville Records, who signed the band.
In early 1990, the band traveled to Stockholm to record their debut full-length, Soulside Journey, at Sunlight Studio, with assistance from Nicke Andersson of Entombed. Even though the studio was where all the Stockholm death metal bands were working, they deliberately avoided the buzzsaw guitar tone, which Fenriz later said was intentional.
After completing the album, the band immediately began writing new material, rehearsing constantly, and performing live. By the end of that year, Fenriz had rediscovered early Bathory, and Nocturno Culto and Zephyrous were independently reconsidering the band’s direction. All three arrived at the same conclusion: death metal no longer felt right. They decided to embrace a pure, old-school '80s black metal sound.
They already had studio time booked for what would become the Goatlord material, and the schedule created pressure. They didn't have time to write enough music to match their new direction and considered releasing an E.P. but ultimately reshaped portions of earlier material, playing death metal riffs in a black metal style, with Fenriz overwhelming some of the riffs with his drumming.
Bassist Dag Nilsen did not agree with the stylistic change and chose to leave the band, though he performed bass as a session member on A Blaze in the Northern Sky. Peaceville was shocked by the album and initially tried to intervene, but Darkthrone remained defiant, even suggesting it might be released through Euronymous’s Deathlike Silence Productions. Peaceville ultimately released the album in 1992. It was the first full-length black metal album from a Norwegian band and is often cited as the beginning of the second wave, even though bands like Master’s Hammer and Samael had released black metal albums just the previous year.
Later in 1991, Nocturno Culto moved away from Oslo, partially to escape the scene and out of misanthropy, followed shortly after by Zephyrous. Despite distance becoming a factor, the band maintained a “three-way dictatorship,” with each member writing his own songs and no one revising another’s material. They rehearsed and collaborated toward their follow-up, Under a Funeral Moon, recorded in summer 1992 at Creative Studios. As with previous releases, it would not appear until months later. By mid-1992, rehearsals stopped, and Darkthrone entered a period of inactivity.
During this time, the Helvete record shop closed, which was a bit of a blow to Fenriz. Members of the relatively small black metal scene in Oslo used this as a place to socialize among their own kind. In August 1993, Euronymous was murdered, sending shockwaves through the scene. Fenriz lost a friend, and soon after, Varg Vikernes went to prison, removing another connection. Chaos, arrests, and internal collapse defined the atmosphere, though Darkthrone had abstained from criminal activity. Fenriz found himself in a bleak mood.
With time and access to a four-track portable studio from members of Valhall, which he dubbed Necrohell, Fenriz began working on various projects, including Neptune Towers and resurrecting Isengard. Late in 1993, inspiration struck for what would become Transilvanian Hunger. He composed and recorded all the material himself on the four-track. It was not initially intended as a Darkthrone album, it was simply a creative impulse that had to be followed. Fenriz contacted Varg Vikernes for lyrics, providing him an outlet from prison, then sent the tape to Nocturno Culto and asked if he wanted to add vocals. The material resonated deeply with him. In January 1994, they brought the tape to a studio so the vocals could be added, since all four tracks on the recorder had already been used.
At the time, Zephyrous was still officially considered a member, but personal issues and a car accident combined with the band’s independent collaboration led to his gradual departure. Interviews in 1994 still referred to Darkthrone as a trio, as they were keeping his place open in hopes that he would return. For years, it was not publicly disclosed that Transilvanian Hunger had been created almost entirely by Fenriz, with Nocturno Culto only adding vocals afterward.
Within weeks of finishing Transilvanian Hunger, Fenriz continued working on Isengard material and the music that would become Darkthrone’s fifth album, Panzerfaust. Recorded again at Necrohell, it incorporated stronger influences from Hellhammer and Celtic Frost. Vocals were added at Fenriz’s home after bouncing tracks internally on the four-track to make room. He also revisited the shelved Goatlord rehearsal recordings from 1991, adding vocals to the raw material. During this period, he was involved with Dødheimsgard and Storm, an intense stretch of creativity.
By late 1995, Darkthrone returned to a proper studio to record Total Death, with two separate recording sessions reflected in the final mix. For the first time, Fenriz did not contribute lyrics; instead, various members of the Norwegian scene and Nocturno Culto provided them. Fenriz wrote music for four of the eight tracks, marking a clear step back after years of carrying nearly everything himself.
In April 1996, Darkthrone performed their first live show in years, and what would become their final one, in Oslo. The performance ended prematurely, as the band misinterpreted the audience’s silence as disapproval, only later realizing it was a form of respect. Later that year, the long-shelved Goatlord was finally released, closing the chapter that had begun in 1991. By the end of 1996, it seemed that Darkthrone had been laid to rest.