Transilvanian Hunger was the band's first album to be recorded with just two members, Nocturno Culto and Fenriz, following the departure of Zephyrous. Fenriz performed all instrumentation on the album, with Nocturno Culto adding vocals. As of 2018, this and Panzerfaust have been the only Darkthrone albums with this arrangement. The album was recorded on a 4-track recorder set up in Fenriz's bedroom. Lyrics for four of the album's songs were written by the Norwegian black metal musician Varg Vikernes, who performed solo as Burzum.
Release
The cover art was a black-and-white photograph of Fenriz with a candelabrum, which bore a likeness to the cover of Mayhem's 1993 live albumLive in Leipzig. The back cover stated that "Darkthrone is for all the evil in man" and listed the slogan "True Norwegian Black Metal". Originally, the back cover also bore the words "Norsk Arisk Black Metal". Due to negative feedback from many distributors, however, the phrase was removed. The band also intended to issue another controversial statement to mark the album's release: "We would like to state that Transilvanian Hunger stands beyond any criticism. If any man should attempt to criticize this LP, he should be thoroughly patronized for his obviously Jewish behavior". In a press release, Peaceville Records issued both this statement and their own response, berating the sentiment but acknowledging that they could not censor their artists. Darkthrone issued a formal apology at Peaceville's behest. They said they had used "Arisk" to mean "true" or "pure" and that "Jewish" was Norwegian youth slang for "idiotic". Darkthrone included the following statement with their next album, Panzerfaust, the following year: "Darkthrone is certainly not a Nazi band nor a political band. Those of you who still might think so, you can lick Mother Mary's asshole in eternity". More recently, Fenriz disowned these past statements, describing them as "disgusting". He admitted regret and noted that at the time, he was going through a phase of being "angry at several races". The ending of the track "As Flittermice as Satans Spys" contained a backmasked message. When the voice is played backwards, it utters the phrase: "In the name of God, let the churches burn". In 2003, the album was remastered and reissued by Peaceville, as well as being repackaged in a cardboard digipak. The fourth and final chapter of a four-part video interview with Fenriz and Nocturno Culto was also included as bonus material.
Legacy
In 2017, Rolling Stone ranked Transilvanian Hunger as 85th on their list of 'The 100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time.'
