1/1/2024 0 Comments Immortal northern chaos godsThen again, tracks such as "Gates to Blashyrkh," with its brute and sometimes choppy riffing, "Called to Ice," which sounds almost like a forgotten leftover from the At the Heart of Winter writing sessions, or the epic "Where Mountains Rise" (another obvious nod to Immortal’s most successful period) represent the more atmospheric, slightly more restrained side of the band, relying on a more measured pace and boasting some well-crafted solos as well as the majestic guitar leads many have come to identify Immortal with. The sheer vehemence and velocity on display in those two songs, as well as on similar cuts like "Grim and Dark" or "Blacker of Worlds," is actually rather spectacular and a much welcome breath of fresh, or rather ice-cold, air. The first two tracks, "Northern Chaos Gods" and "Into Battle Ride," vehemently remind the listener of the good ol’ days of Pure Holocaust or Battles in the North, featuring ultra-fast blast beats and frantic tremolo-picked riffing that leaves absolutely no doubt that Demonaz’ arms are back to full strength and able to withstand the fall of t…, uh, the wear and tear that comes with playing in a black-metal band. On the other hand, there’s no denying that Northern Chaos Gods has a rougher edge, a more chaotic and diabolical vibe than previous albums. Also returning are the thrash-tinged riffs the band increasingly began to incorporate since around the turn of the millennium. Secondly, while clearly having a more old-school vibe than its predecessors beginning with At the Heart of Winter, Northern Chaos Gods retains enough of the more melodic, epic elements that made said album such an immense success and enticed the band to go even further in the same direction on releases such as Sons of Northern Darkness or All Shall Fall. Firstly, Immortal never strayed far enough from their roots to really be able to fully return to them. Make no mistake: Northern Chaos Gods is not a typical "back to the roots" affair. Not only did it not hurt the overall quality of the music it may even be argued that his absence has been conducive to Immortal being able to recapture the true essence of their sound. Oddly enough, even though Abbath had arguably become the public face of the band, particularly during the many years when Demonaz was physically unfit to perform with the band, his presence is hardly missed at all. The result of that renewed collaboration was 2018’s Northern Chaos Gods, the first Immortal album to not feature founding member and original vocalist Abbath. Following extensive rehab, Demonaz was again able to play guitar on a level required for a band of Immortal’s style and stature, wasting no time in reuniting with drummer Horgh in order to continue Immortal as a two-piece. Starting out as one of the early representatives of the Norwegian scene, they quickly developed into one of the most well-known acts from the so-called second wave of black metal and, around the time of their celebrated fifth full-length album At the Heart of Winter, even made the jump into a sort of semi-stardom before mostly resting on their laurels with three rather ho-hum studio records released in the 2000s and ultimately splitting up for good due to artistic and personal tensions within the band.įounding member Abbath went on to form his own band under the self-referential Abbath moniker, long-time drummer Horgh shifted his attention toward other projects and original guitarist and lyricist Demonaz underwent arm surgery to conquer a severe case of tendinitis that had plagued and prevented him from professionally playing guitar since the second half of the 1990s. Immortal is a name that, regardless of what metal subgenres one might happen to prefer, rings familiar with almost anyone with at least a passing interest in the world of heavy metal.
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