Label : Nuclear Blast Records
Tracklist:
01. Northern Chaos
Gods
02. Into Battle Ride
03. Gates To
Blashyrkh
04. Grim And Dark
05. Called To Ice
06. Where Mountains
Rise
07. Blacker Of Worlds
08. Mighty Ravendark
This is the reborn of
Immortal !!! , with new start , with Immortal (Demonaz = Immortal , since Blizzard Beasts there are no Immortal) now the ridiculous things are
over.
Northern Chaos Gods is designed to reassure fans more than revolutionize
the black metal scene, but all the recent shifts and band drama result in one
of Immortal’s strongest outings to date. Demonaz
proves to be a capable leader….I consider Demonaz the true leader of Immortal, effectively injecting an old school aesthetic into the
band’s grim and frostbitten vision. It may be an intentionally derivative work
but fans of all things Immortal
should enjoy the trip.
Immortal releases his ninth album in the space of twenty-eight years, and this
time it's without Abbath ... but with Demonaz
the true leader of Immortal
So we find Demonaz (vocals, guitar), Horgh (drums) and it is Peter Tägtgren (Hypocrisy, Bread,
Bloodbath, Edge Of Sanity) who officiates on bass.
Remember that Peter
is the official producer of Immortal since
the album At The Heart Of Winter (1999) and he has offered this sound so
special, inherent in the band since then.
Abbath embodied a unique voice in the Black and he was the voice of Immortal and his departure, relieves me
because Abbath is not the true
leader Abbath change the true style,
Abbath has erected the real Immortal.
Demonaz's song seems more striking to me than
Abbath's, it is in any case black vocals pure juice, also an unstoppable
efficiency. Then the band returns to a
black closer to that of 90's.and it's
perfect.
It will be added that
the sound is always in the tradition of the previous ones, perhaps less polite,
however, in this case totally in phase with the style.
Finally, and no album
of Immortal without that obviously,
the riffs identifiable between a thousand are still there and we always have Demonaz keys, Demonaz riffs are back
If the band relies a
lot on speed (we start very strong with Northern
Chaos Gods, which plunges us into a distant past, without concession, that
of a Battles In The North, Into Battle Ride), an important place
and an unstoppable efficiency. (Mighty
Ravendark, imposing title, grandiose, with more than nine minutes on the
clock).
In addition, a few
more atmospheric forays, well adapted to the dark universe of the band, are
invited (within Gates To Blashyrkh, Mighty Ravendark, the beginning of Where Mountains Rise tracks to pay
attention).
Precisely, these
three compositions perfectly embody the dark and frigid aspects of the
Norwegian formation, it emerges a form of greatness that catches the senses,
inevitably.
What is appreciable
(and ultimately corresponds to the Immortal spirit) is that on this album the
combo does not bet on the all speed or the all mid, which is the strength of Northern Chaos Gods is the diversity
which emerges with, especially, here the presence of particularly catchy riffs
(the mid tempo part of Grim And Dark)
or there, the communicative dynamism of Called
To Ice and Blacker Of Worlds.
But anyway, in terms
of tempo and rhythm, we cannot but notice the Horgh job of Horgh
behind his barrels!
I can consider that
this vintage 2018 embodies a new beginning that marks the same time a return
with fanfare of Immortal.
Dark, intense,
aggressive, exciting, Northern Chaos
Gods deserves a lot of laudatory qualifiers. If we add the sound, just
perfect because fully adapted to the band's music, it seems clear to me that
Immortal is coming back to claim a place of choice in Black Metal ... you know
what it is remains to be done!
