IMMORTAL SONS OF NORTHERN DARKNESS
Nuclear Blast - 2002
By Rodrigo
With the retirement of Emperor, arguably the best black metal band ever, the throne has been left for a band to claim it. With Sons of Northern Darkness, Immortal may have done just that. Personally, I didnt start listening to Immortal until they released At the Heart of Winter and the only album by theirs that I own is Damned in Black. Basically, this album follows the musical path explored in these two previous albums. But the biggest difference is that the songwriting is more concise and focused and the sound is absolutely huge. The powerful drums, pounding bass, razor-sharp guitars have never sounded better. But despite this huge sound, one still gets the feeling of the coldness that black metal always seems to bring out. While they may not be as experimental as what other bands have done, this is what "traditional black metal" should sound like in this day in age.
Most of the songs stay in a deliberate mid-tempo pace and the best example of this is what will surely be considered a classic "Tyrants". The main riff and beat have that galloping sound but not as fast as Iron Maiden. Instead its more of a fast trot across the icy countryside. At 2:50 the song goes into a slower pace, where the guitar is slowly picked that ends at about 4 minutes where some intense riffing and drumming speed up the song and once again we go to the original tempo. The title track starts off with great drum work by Horgh and Abbath spits out a lovely cold and dark scream right before heading out into the first verse. Once again the pace is similar to the rest of the the album and right after the first chorus, the change of music and beat is fantastic. "Demonium" is the fastest song of the entire album and should please those who want to hear something a bit speedier. "In My Kingdom Cold" actually features some guitar melodies, not much but definitely enough to pay attention and distinguish the song from the rest of the others. Now I only wonder if this song is based on HP Lovecrafts "At the Mountain of Madness"? The reason I ponder this is because the song contains this same line, maybe its just coincidence. "One by One" is the album opener and has some of the best drum work of the entire album as well as being faster than the other songs but you can still hear that great galloping sound during the song.
I really have only scratched the surface of this album because frankly I dont want to spoil the fun of listening to this album for the first time. This squarely puts Immortal at or near the top of black metal. With their last three albums, Immortal are squarely in their creative peak and if it continues one can only wonder what the next great offering will be. Being on Nuclear Blast should definitely help the band gain more exposure because Osmose frankly didnt do anything for them. Do yourself a favor! If you havent already make sure you pick up Sons of Northern Darkness, one of the best releases of the year and one of the best black metal releases ever!
Nuclear Blast Website
Immortal Official Website
Nuclear Blast - 2002
By Rodrigo
With the retirement of Emperor, arguably the best black metal band ever, the throne has been left for a band to claim it. With Sons of Northern Darkness, Immortal may have done just that. Personally, I didnt start listening to Immortal until they released At the Heart of Winter and the only album by theirs that I own is Damned in Black. Basically, this album follows the musical path explored in these two previous albums. But the biggest difference is that the songwriting is more concise and focused and the sound is absolutely huge. The powerful drums, pounding bass, razor-sharp guitars have never sounded better. But despite this huge sound, one still gets the feeling of the coldness that black metal always seems to bring out. While they may not be as experimental as what other bands have done, this is what "traditional black metal" should sound like in this day in age.
Most of the songs stay in a deliberate mid-tempo pace and the best example of this is what will surely be considered a classic "Tyrants". The main riff and beat have that galloping sound but not as fast as Iron Maiden. Instead its more of a fast trot across the icy countryside. At 2:50 the song goes into a slower pace, where the guitar is slowly picked that ends at about 4 minutes where some intense riffing and drumming speed up the song and once again we go to the original tempo. The title track starts off with great drum work by Horgh and Abbath spits out a lovely cold and dark scream right before heading out into the first verse. Once again the pace is similar to the rest of the the album and right after the first chorus, the change of music and beat is fantastic. "Demonium" is the fastest song of the entire album and should please those who want to hear something a bit speedier. "In My Kingdom Cold" actually features some guitar melodies, not much but definitely enough to pay attention and distinguish the song from the rest of the others. Now I only wonder if this song is based on HP Lovecrafts "At the Mountain of Madness"? The reason I ponder this is because the song contains this same line, maybe its just coincidence. "One by One" is the album opener and has some of the best drum work of the entire album as well as being faster than the other songs but you can still hear that great galloping sound during the song.
I really have only scratched the surface of this album because frankly I dont want to spoil the fun of listening to this album for the first time. This squarely puts Immortal at or near the top of black metal. With their last three albums, Immortal are squarely in their creative peak and if it continues one can only wonder what the next great offering will be. Being on Nuclear Blast should definitely help the band gain more exposure because Osmose frankly didnt do anything for them. Do yourself a favor! If you havent already make sure you pick up Sons of Northern Darkness, one of the best releases of the year and one of the best black metal releases ever!
Nuclear Blast Website
Immortal Official Website
