"The Kings At Hold... On Their Thrones Immortal And Invincible... The Might Lives On" These are the words inscribed in the booklet of
Immortals last album
Son's Of Northern Darkness in the year of 2001. Its been eight long years but now the tyrants have seen fit to leave the confines of their Wintercoffins, descend from the mountains which they heart and unleash an unstoppable assault on our senses with the comeback album
All Shall Fall.
It's a brave title, suggesting that though
Immortal have been out of our sight (well ignoring some touring for the past year or two) they have not been growing weak and irrelevant but have been gauging the current crop of Black Metal legions and waiting for the precise moment with which to strike.
And strike they do with the towering title track issuing fourth forty minutes of ice cold fury. It's full of
Immortal's trademark strident staccato riffs which easily match the lyrics in their conquering spirit. Abbath's vocals have changed little in the intervening years and would we want them any other way? His cold croak of
"Allllll Shaaallllllll Fallllllllll" half way through the song will send shivers down your spine and also remind the listener of Mayhem's Atilla Csihar at his most atmospheric.
The album continues the relationship between
Immortal and producer Pete Tägtgren (also of Hypocrisy and Pain fame) who contributes a characteristically clean and clear sound to the album. It's similar in tone to the Sons Of Northern Darkness and
Heart Of Winter LP's with the more chaotic sound of their earlier work being pushed out in favour of methodical, structured dynamics.
Long term drummer Horgh contributes his usual swirling Blast-beats but again they are delivered in a disciplined fashion. And what of new boy Apollyon? Well the bass is in there all right but at many moments it's hard to pick out the individual patterns he is playing. Mind you this has been the way with the majority of
Immortal's recorded output and I don't think this is a band interested in fixing what aint broke.
Abbath's guitar playing while not being the most gaudy ever heard, is at points very impressive with tapped solo's and guitar wails being included in all the right places. There are even some instances on the record where extra effects (like horses galloping on
Hordes To War) are used to heighten atmosphere. Although there are some moments the slightly more straight forward approach is called for.
Indeed several songs in the album are very similar to the almost
Black 'n' Roll style that was on display in Abbath's side project
I. A song like
The Rise of Darkness is a fine example of this as there is a very Motorhead/early thrash vibe in the songs main riff. In saying this it goes through several tempo and mood changes which mark this as a song straight from the
Immortal cannon rather than any leftovers from past projects.
Immortal's former guitarist Demonaz is on hand once again to contribute the lyrics to the album (he was forced to stop playing with the band in the 90's due to a tendonitis injury). Abbath has said that he wouldn't have considered recording another
Immortal album without his long term writing partner as his distinctive lyrics have helped create
Immortal's personal mythology.
That's right folks, the often mocked but never really bettered lyrical threads about Ravens (just look at that front cover), grim winters, frost, snow, cold and of course the northern realms of mighty Blashyrkh are all woven throughout the albums seven tracks. It helps to create a very familiar, all encompassing atmosphere around the listening experience.
Another of the albums strongest tracks (both lyrically and musically) is the epic
Norden on Fire. In their later works the band has made no secret of their love of Quothorn's efforts with
Bathory and this song is testament to that bands Viking era material.
It's slow picked guitar beginning and grand, mid-paced main riff backed by Horgh's tight drumming are a joy to listen to and will delight many fans looking for another Solarfall or Mountains of Might
. The album ends on a massive high with the deadly combination of
Mount North and
Unearthly Kingdom. The former is a vicious, thrashing beast and one of the fastest songs on the album. It's chorus will have you joining in with Abbath as he cries out in subjugation to the mountainous region of his empire.
Unearthly Kingdom reigns in the pace and brings the chilling soundscapes and soaring riffs back to the fore. It contains all the tricks the band love to employ such as the slow clean section with the spoken vocals and is a more than worthy way to round of a victorious comeback
This is a record that despite only containing seven songs covers more ground than some do with twice as many. The band may not have reinvented the wheel or injected anything desperately new into their sound but then this is
Immortal. Not for them is earth shattering progress, their pursuit is of a more elemental, brutish end. But of course one with room for the flurries of melody informed by a traditional metal background.
So I invite you to enjoy the frost-bitten symphonies
All Shall Fall has to offer. And this time let's hope the Kings are here to stay!
Written by
Stuart Monday, November 16, 2009
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