Immortal - Battles In The North review
| Band: | Immortal |
| Album: | Battles In The North |
| Release date: | 1995 |
01. Battles In The North
02. Grim And Frostbitten Kingdoms
03. Descent Into Eminent Silence
04. Throned By Blackstorms
05. Moonrise Fields Of Sorrow
06. Cursed Realms Of The Winterdemons
07. At The Stormy Gates Of Mist
08. Through The Halls Of Eternity
09. Circling Above In Time Before Time
10. Blashyrkh (Mighty Ravendark)
In 1993, the legendary band called Immortal released what is considered to be their sophomore work, Pure Holocaust. Two years later, they decided to go a little harsher, to produce a colder album: something on which we can bestow the term "grim and frostbitten". And in my books, these mighty Norsemen succeeded. Now after Erik "Grim" left the band, Abbath took the throne behind the drums (he still handled the bass, too), while Demonaz took over the duties of delivering some mighty guitar riffs, something Immortal is synonymous with.
The songwriting on this album is awesome. Demonaz slams us with riff after riff, each more atmospheric and catchy than the one preceding it. Those riffs are harsh, harsher than on Pure Holocaust, but still, they retain the melodic edge, and they go well with Abbath's drumming, which is just amazing and sounds very natural. And not only does Abbath succeed in creating some of the best blast-beats ever, but he also does great work with the slow parts. Great black metal drumming. The bass is buried deep beneath the other instruments, but since this is black metal, there isn't a big problem. Concerning the vocals, Abbath is as strong and mighty as ever, and in addition to handling the drums and bass, this king of northern darkness's vocals are more "croaky" than on Pure Holocaust, which is a good thing actually, and gives this album a slab of originality.
Overall, the instruments (and vocals) intertwine well with each other, creating an atmosphere not a lot of black metal artists have: an atmosphere of a devastating snow storm in the mountains of Norway. The mix is quite strange, with the drums and vocals getting a higher volume than the guitars, and although this adds to the stormy atmosphere, I still think this album could have used some better production, even by black metal standards. Not Damned In Black good production, but if they produced this album like, let's say, At The Heart Of Winter, it would have been loads better.
Battles In The North is a great album, not short of amazing tracks. The 10 songs are all amazing, but the ones that stand out are the title track, "Grim And Frostbitten Kingdoms", which has an oriental Demonaz solo that reminds us of Euronymous's solo on "Freezing Moon", "Cursed Realms Of The Winterdemons", "Cirlcling Above In Time Before Time" and "Blashyrkh". The others are all good; the only track that falls behind the others is "At The Stormy Gates Of Mist".
Battles In The North is an awesome record from the legendary Norse band called Immortal; it's an essential tr00 black metal record (better than Pure Holocaust IMO). If you're a fan of black metal, you should go ahead and grab this right now, for it will surely throw you in the midst of a tempest and destroy your mind with awesome riffs and brutal drumming. All hail Immortal, the mighty sons of northern darkness!!!
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 9 |
| Songwriting: | 10 |
| Originality: | 10 |
| Production: | 7 |
Written by BeastOfMetal456 | 18.09.2011
Guest review disclaimer:
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
Comments
Comments: 19
Visited by: 183 users
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| Lokaeda Account deleted |
Lokaeda
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"Now after Erik "Grim" left the band" nice way of defining his act  I disagree with some of your points (especially regarding the drums) though, yet I like this album  not better than Pure Holocaust, but definitely better than Blizzard Beasts
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BeastOfMetal456
Account deleted Written by Guest on 18.09.2011 at 01:35 The drumming sounds a little wrong at first, but it's just friggin' awesome. Like Baroness! 
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 @gent_-_orangePosts: 877 From: UK  |
Great review but you made one mistake, Contrary to popular belief Eric NEVER played drums on an Immortal studio album, Even though he is credited on Pure Holocaust it was Abbath who played drums their. Although I disagree when you say it should have better production, Because I think it would kill the atmosphere (IMO of course) Regardless you have done this great album justice. 
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BeastOfMetal456
Account deleted Written by @gent_-_orange on 18.09.2011 at 01:40 I know that, he just got on the album cover. But he was drummer for a while, wasn't he?
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| @gent_-_orange Posts: 877 From: UK |
Written by Guest on 18.09.2011 at 01:43 Yeah for live gigs, It was just the way you worded it "Now after Erik "Grim" left the band, Abbath took the throne behind the drums" It made me think you were saying that he played drums on the previous record. Also the album cover still sucks hard.
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 SusanSmeghead Posts: 6925 From: USA  |
Written by Guest on 18.09.2011 at 01:31 Narcissist much?
---- "A life all mine Is what I choose At the end of my days" --The Gathering "A Life All Mine" from Souvenirs
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| Iron Nostarion Maiden Whore Posts: 289 From: Jordan  |
Well written review there, Beast. I agree with most of the points.And by the way, I'm very surprised that you gave this 8.7, since you originally loathed it whenever I brought it up on shoutbox. xD But it's awesome to see that you opened your mind enough.
---- To their tombs the people are immured, There is their gold, treasure and wealth, The only condition is to ignore them, Those who feed on corruption and weave death
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| Aetherius Posts: 218 From: USA  |
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| Milena Learning To "X" Posts: 4389 From: Serbia  |
Nice job kiddo, keep it up
---- "There comes a time when you look into the mirror and you realize that what you see is all that you will ever be. And then you accept it. Or you kill yourself. Or you stop looking in mirrors."
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 Daniell_爱情_ Posts: 5401 From: Poland  |
I must say that the review itself is much better than this seminal, but totally overrated, chaotic assembly of clumsy songs with sloppy production and musicianship. Plus extremely cheesy, utterly ridiculous song titles showing total contempt towards the grammar of English and mocking the listener's taste. How wonderful that such a hopeless band later grew up to release such fantastic albums as "At the Heart of Winter", even though they never learned English properly
---- Now loving: Naglfar - I Am Vengeance Hour of Penance - Cast the First Stone Hate - Indestructible Pillar Depeche Mode - Going Backwards Flotsam & Jetsam - Forbidden Territories Immolation - When the Jackals Come Suffocation - Your Last Breaths
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| M C Vice Ex-polydactyl Posts: 2863 From: Australia  |
Written by Daniell on 19.09.2011 at 19:28 Hey, half the people on this site don't use english properly. I don't and I've been speaking it all me life! I havn't heard all the album, just Blashrykh and Grim And Frostbitten Kingdoms, both of which I really like. Are they the exeptions to the rest of the album (like Mountains of Might on Blizzard beasts) or do you think they're crap songs?
---- Mum - 21/10/1955 - 19/6/2015. R.I.P. "I'll fight you on one condition. That you lower your nipples." "I'll put whatever I want in your mouth!" Sharks 2016 Premiers
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| Daniell _爱情_ Posts: 5401 From: Poland |
Written by M C Vice on 20.09.2011 at 09:59 If a band wants to present their work to the general public, they should make sure that the work has no mistakes. How hard is it to ask someone to check lyrics and titles for grammar? I'm not a well-known band, but even I ask a native speaker of English to proof-read my reviews before I publish them. As for "Battles in the North", all the songs are more or less equal in quality, so if you liked 2 songs, there's a big chance you will love the whole album.
---- Now loving: Naglfar - I Am Vengeance Hour of Penance - Cast the First Stone Hate - Indestructible Pillar Depeche Mode - Going Backwards Flotsam & Jetsam - Forbidden Territories Immolation - When the Jackals Come Suffocation - Your Last Breaths
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| M C Vice Ex-polydactyl Posts: 2863 From: Australia |
Written by Daniell on 20.09.2011 at 10:40 Come on, half the fun with Immortal is their ridiculous and incoherent lyrics. Perhaps they do it on perpose?
---- Mum - 21/10/1955 - 19/6/2015. R.I.P. "I'll fight you on one condition. That you lower your nipples." "I'll put whatever I want in your mouth!" Sharks 2016 Premiers
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| BeastOfMetal456 Account deleted |
BeastOfMetal456
Account deleted Written by Susan on 18.09.2011 at 01:51 Actually, that's my humblest!
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| BeastOfMetal456 Account deleted |
BeastOfMetal456
Account deleted Written by Iron Nostarion on 18.09.2011 at 14:12 I'm open minded in many things, of course excluding the satanism subject. Written by Milena on 19.09.2011 at 11:06 Kiddo??  I'm a tr00 kvlt guitarist. Don't call me kiddo or beasty.
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| BeastOfMetal456 Account deleted |
BeastOfMetal456
Account deleted Written by Daniell on 19.09.2011 at 19:28 First, thanks a lot. I thought like you upon first contact with this album, but after quite several listens, everything changed. Besides could you point out to me some of the grammar mistakes? Written by M C Vice on 20.09.2011 at 09:59 No, not at all. In fact, there are some tracks better than Grim. The best tracks are mentioned in the review.
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| Bad English Masterchief Posts: 45532 From: Sweden  |
I think 1thba nd 2. Immortal album must eb re recordet whit better production, those are well garage BM albums when young guys ha sno money, this has decent mix, production , but I agree about coldness and how you describe This is only BM band what I wish Der Roz would wrote review, he would sue great metaphors
---- Life is to short for LOVE, there is many great things to do online !!! Stormtroopers of Death - ''Speak English or Die''  I better die, because I never will learn speek english, so I choose dieing
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| Lord_Regnier Posts: 1469 From: Canada  |
I like this album very much but it's not perfect. It suffers a bit from the same syndrome as "Reign In Blood": a bit too one-dimensional.
---- "Why would we fear death, when life is so much more frightening?"
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