A Blaze In The Northern Sky

A Blaze in the Northern Sky is the second album by the Norwegian black metal band, Darkthrone. It was released in February 1992 and contains the band’s first black metal recordings.

Due to Darkthrone’s sudden change from death metal to black metal, Peaceville Records was reluctant to release the album in its original form. The band then threatened to release it through Deathlike Silence Productions, the record label owned by Øystein “Euronymous” Aarseth. However, Peaceville eventually agreed to release the album as it was recorded. In an interview, Fenriz said that the album was somewhat “rushed” as many of the songs feature “death metal guitar riffs” simply played in a “black metal style”.

After recording his parts for the album, as a session member, bassist Dag Nilsen left Darkthrone. The person who appears on the front cover is Ivar Enger (Zephyrous), the band’s rhythm guitarist.

The album was remastered and reissued by Peaceville in 2003, as well as being repackaged in a cardboard digipak. The second chapter of a four-part video interview (spanning the first four albums) between Fenriz and Nocturno Culto was also included as bonus material.

Line-up:
Nocturno Culto - Vocals, Lead Guitars
Zephyrous - Rhythm Guitars
Dag Nilsen - Bass (Session)
Fenriz - Drums