IMMORTAL
IMMORTAL “War Against All”
By Dr. Abner Mality
Every kingdom has its civil war, even Blashrykh. The civil war of IMMORTAL was a bloody one and Demonaz seems to be the sole survivor...or at least, the only one with a legitimate claim to the IMMORTAL name. When you look at the feuds between Demonaz, Abbath and Horgh, the title of this album takes on a whole new meaning.
In my opinion, Demonaz has kept the true spirit of IMMORTAL alive more than former compatriot ABBATH, whose last album was pretty thin beer. From the immediate freezing blast of the title track, it’s obvious this is an album fully in tradition of the band. Raw and instant in its impact, this hails back to the early IMMORTAL albums, before they became more epic and composed. “Thunder of Darkness” doubles down on that impression and is even more aggressive and bitter. One thing’s for sure and that’s that this is not overproduced or shined up at all. That’s very surprising coming from a modern Nuclear Blast album. “Wargod” is our first sign of the slower, marching side of IMMORTAL and it’s a dandy...barbaric to the max yet catchy and full of swagger. Full marks also to Demonaz’s croaking vocals…I might give ABBATH a slight edge in the vocal department, but it’s razor thin.
The album does become more epic in its second half, with that watery, jangly type of guitar sound prevalent on “Sons of Northern Darkness” popping up a lot more. “Return To Cold” and “Immortal” are perversely memorable, almost hummable yet full of the freezing steel of Ravendark. The lengthy instrumental “Nordlandir” is IMMORTAL at its most melodic, yet fits the album well. “Blashrykh My Throne” ends the album and sounds almost like an out-take from “Sons of Northern Darkness”.
The album is very compact and I actually wouldn’t have minded another song or two , but Demonaz has laid out a wise battle plan here, focusing on efficiency. “War Against All” sticks to the strengths of classic IMMORTAL and there’s no longer room for doubt the name belongs to Demonaz.