“Diabolical Fullmoon Mysticism” (Osmose Productions, 1992)
Ah, the sweetness of Immortal’s first full-length. Massive release, and probably their best, ever. Well, in my book at least. Immortal is a household name in terms of Black Metal and seen as playing a big role in the development of the genre as a whole. Honestly, I have never been drawn into the band as I have been by some of their countrymen, but that did not prevent me from dwelling into their first years as a band. “Diabolical Fullmoon Mysticism” is a beast of a record! A near perfect representation of what Black Metal was in the early 90ies, and still remains as a colossal representative of Norway’s finest export.
Harsher than most of the releases that followed, “Diabolical…” portraits a band “testing the waters” and developing skills. “The Call of the Wintermoon” is an impressive rendition of the genre at that time and age, just like the full release, as mentioned before. Immortal was always a band that lived within a sphere where a fusion of Black Metal and Traditional Heavy Metal was created. You get Bathory and Iron Maiden in the same room, and you get Immortal. Well… maybe not at this point in their creative career, but later on you will feel that aroma. One very interesting thing about the band, and about most bands at this time, was the fact that they had no fear of trying new things, risking it! The usage of acoustic guitars gives the aggressive, and cold melodies, a different approach. Although some tunes might sound repetitive - “Cold Winds of Funeral Dust” - the band crafts it in a way that it sounds powerful!
Immortal is not a fast band, not an overly aggressive band, not a chaotic band. Immortal had at this stage a well-aligned sound, a sound that had the melodic side, and the more traditional Black Metal sound, if I may - “Blacker than Darkness”. Overall, “Diabolical Fullmoon Mysticism” is an extremely positive example of how the genre evolved, of how the genre grew and how the band became what they are today. Production-wise, I find it to be perfect! To some, it might sound too harsh and muffled; to me, the opposite. I find it to be very well produced and allows all the instruments to be heard. One of the best produced Black Metal albums I have ever heard. Top Bloody Notch! “A Perfect Vision of the Northland” is an Immortal ending! This is how Immortal sounds, and it sounds superb.
“War Against All” & “Wargod” (Nuclear Blast, 2023)
Immortal were always one of those bands that never clicked. Yes, their first releases are actually impressive demonstrations of what Nordic Black Metal was about, but they decided to leave the harsher Black Metal sound and focus on more melodic atmospheres and structures. I stopped listening to Immortal after they released “At the Heart of Winter”, and only checked “Damned in Black” because a mate had it. Honestly, I find the band to be very uninteresting. Yes, this may harm people’s opinions, but I was never able to get into their post “At the Heart…” sound. “All Shall Fall” had some crazy melodic tunes, but they were not Black Metal enough, I reckon. Abbath’s love for all things Quorthon has been alive since day 1, and I respect that very much.
Fast forward to 2023 and Demonaz is still at it even after all these years. I have no interest in who kept the name of the band, and who did not, I simply focus on the music. We have, so far, 2 new tracks from Immortal’s upcoming release “War Against All”, due on March 23rd: “War Against All” and “Wargod”. These are straight-up Immortal tunes, no doubt about it. Very Heavy Metal, if I may, and Demonaz’s vocals taking it into the Black Metal plain. Immortal has had, for some years now, a very singular sound. Good, bad, no matter. The thing is that their music has very specific characteristics that make it identifiable.
“War Against All” has this very epic and enraging tempo. Very Immortal, I
would say. Not Epic Black Metal, but Immortal Black Metal… you know what I
mean. Not Viking, but Winter demons, that is the image I always pictured of
Immortal. Not a weak tune, but not an extremely aggressive one. This is clearly
Black Metal, but the Immortal type of Black Metal… majestic chorus, of course.
The drumming is very good all throughout the song! The chorus is, indeed,
addictive. The song ends strongly.
We then have “Wargod”. I feel like “Wargod” is, of the two, the slowest one, the more melodic and Bathory inspired one. Very much Quorthon like tune. I like it. Not a band tune, not a bad tune. Around halfway through the tune it turns. A melodic, soft change… then back to the Bathory like scheme. Interesting. This is like Heavy Black Metal eheheh in a way, this is Immortal. They were always a Black Metal band with a very clear, and present, Traditional Heavy Metal scent. That last minute IS Bathory, fuck! Is it possible that I will end up enjoying this album? Let’s see…
Nuclear Blast Official Bandcamp
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