Album review: Immortal “War Against All”
The music on this album is dark, cold, intense, sinister and epic. Immortal is once again Norwegian black metal at its best.
Norwegian black metal has a proud history of creating excellent music since the 1980s. Immortal has been part of the leading pack since its formation in 1991. The split with founding frontman Abbath in 2015 took its toll on the band, but they have bounced back. The new album is as good as anything they did back in the day. Demonaz, the band’s co-founder and now its sole official member, has proved the doubters wrong. This, the band’s tenth studio album, is a smashingly good Immortal album which reminds me a lot of the band’s early albums. Nostalgia? Yes, but this is also here and now. The excellent production has been handled by a couple of folks from the Enslaved camp and that is not a bad thing. The music on this album is dark, cold, intense, sinister and epic. Among the eight tracks are song titles such as “War Against All”, “No Sun”, “Return to Cold”, “Wargod” and “Thunders of Darkness” and that says it all. Love it. Immortal is not trying to reinvent the wheel in 2023. They just keep being Immortal – one of the best-ever black metal bands. And now they are back on form. It is an album that makes me proud of my own distant Norwegian heritage. Norway for the win!
Immortal’s “War Against All” will be released on 26th May via Nuclear Blast Records.
