There's a word for people who don't like DARKTHRONE: jerks. To clarify, that doesn't mean those who don't have a taste for their music. The description is leveled at those who don't like drummer/brainchild Fenriz's departure and criticism of Black Metal subculture or the band's deviation away from the style of music they helped pioneer. How can't you like these guys? They're the least pretentious, most tongue-in-cheek, good-time fellows there are - the album's mini-site has a ridiculous comic strip showing the band "making" the record. Their latest music reflects their attitudes; that they were disgusted by a sub-genre that, at times, can be accidentally morosely comedic and stringently devoted to rules where there should not be any isn't their fault.

Starting somewhere around 2006's "The Cult Is Alive", tipping into the next year's "Fuck Off And Die", they decided to sand away the Black Metal edges and dig even deeper into Thrash, Speed Metal and Punk, bringing along with them smiles on their faces. Even in their liner notes (who doesn't dig Fenriz's recommendations page in each one?) the air is lighter, but the music is no less channeled and quality. Make no mistake: DARKTHRONE have changed their colors but not lost a bit of their bite.

"Circle the Wagons", their 14th studio album, is the final part of a triptych that started with "F.O.A.D.", bled into 2008's "Dark Thrones And Black Flags" and found its way here. It's the least traditional of those three, and in some ways, the best. Fenriz claimed he and artistic mate Nocturno Culto dug back into the late '70s and early '80s Metal and Punk as an influence for this album, and it's apparent just from the feel of the songs. Anyone who grew up in or around that era surely will attest to this. "Circle" actually would sound most fitting on a cassette tape, to be honest, and could have ended up transported back two decades in that dreaded hot-tub time machine, and no one would have noticed anything out of place.

Where to start with the actual songs? There are melodically yowled lines no one should blush singing right back, such as on ultra-catchy opener "Those Treasures Will Never Befall You" and "Black Mountain Totem"; kooky rolled R's and fluid power Metal glory on aptly named "I Am The Grave Of the 80s" and the blustery title track; more menacing, punishing trips, such as on "Stylized Corpse"; and that promise to gnaw on some gutty, anthemic Punk? "I Am The Working Class" does just fine.

Tie DARKTHRONE to the Black Metal stand all you want, but it won't make Fenriz and Nocturno Culto any more compelled to testify on its behalf. They've been there, done that. They created, destroyed, then built back their own world, and at this point, it's clear they can and will survive in any environment. Long live DARKTHRONE, the only true Metal band left.