Darkthrone began in the late 80?s as a thrash/death metal act & progressed through technical death/doom metal experimentation to become legends of the black metal world & one of the original leading bands of the Norwegian scene, as well as inspiring a whole generation of metal bands. 'Plaguewielder' was the name of Darkthrone's ninth album & it was originally released in 2001. The album contained the trademark Darkthrone riffing in the black metal style, plus fast & mid-tempo tracks mixed with punk & heavy metal influences from the 80?s & beyond, plus a production which brought an extra clarity to the overall execution. This vinyl edition of 'Plaguewielder' features new cover artwork by Zbigniew M. Bielak, as selected by the band, which they feel better represents the band?s vision, as opposed to the image featured on the original Moonfog version of the album.