First of all, let me pay my obeisance to my friend Nikhil, who introduced me to post-Soulside Journey Darkthrone, the True Black-Metal Warriors. (For those not in the know, Darkthrone refuses to acknowledge the releases prior to "A Blaze in the Northern Sky"). Those of you who have already heard Darkthrone would exactly understand the coldness, the grimness and the aura of evil that they manage to weave around their music. For those who are yet to hear Darkthrone, try as I might, words become ridiculously superfluous in trying to describe the harsh-cold vibe, which this band generates. How can I describe the deeply "moving" waves of soundscape, the rawness of sound, the "primitivity" of their music? It is an experience worth undergoing; that’s all I can assure. Plaguewielder is the latest release from the veteran Norwegian (where else?) Black Metal Warriors. All those purists who have hung their head in sorrow that the word "black metal" has lost all meaning and purpose can look up to this blast from the past: Black Metal in its purest, rawest, coldest form, without the atmospheric embellishments, without the cunt vocals, without any trace of that nauseating word "melody". I agree that this may not be their most creative or, for that matter, even their best effort (My personal favourite will always be Transilvanian Hunger). Yet, Kudos to them for preserving all that harsh-cold aggression all these years, refusing to compromise, refusing to yield to the lure of money, refusing to see the light, reassuring themselves in the darkest confines of the world. Fenriz and Nocturno Culto, reportedly, don’t depend on music for their livelihood, which helps them stay away from any kind of commercialism and thus keep their music "un-adulterated". In terms of song structure and formula, it is highly reminiscent of "A Blaze..", right from the eerie chant at the beginning of the album to the way the album proceeds (even the number of songs are the same). Anybody who knows about Darkthrone knows he can bank on rock solid, traditional, Bathory / Celtic Frost riff-based structures. For the first time, though, a Darkthrone album boasts of good production and clear sound. I hate to admit it, but this actually smoothens the music and makes it less "raw". Mostly, the music has been written by Nocturno Culto while Lyrics have generally been penned by Fenriz. The songs tend to go back and forth between a slow riff and a blasting frenzy. The strongest examples for this would probably be the two consecutive songs – Command and I, Voidhanger. The former has a fast beginning and continues to be so till close to the end, when it suddenly becomes very slow. On the other hand , the latter is very slow for a long time; But, just when you begin to seem tired, the pace becomes unbelievably fast and wild. Fenriz has given some of the best drumming in his career on this album. The two best songs on this record are probably the opener, ‘Weakling Avenger’, and the closer, ‘Wreak’. Both have that amazingly haunting and cold vibe typical to Darkthrone. To sum up, this is the essential Darkthrone. Though they have "refined" (do I loathe that word) their music to changing times a bit, not an iota of the coldness and grimness has been compromised. This album is not meant for people seeking bliss in the "melodic" and "enjoyable" vein of music. But those who are desperately looking for that good old Black Metal, in its most primal and cold form, have a reason to start their pagan celebrations.