IMMORTAL „Battles In The North”

Come forth demonized
Under the banner of
Blashyrkh we ride….

…and ride they do. The album opens with a mighty blow in the listener's face and never stops pummeling you into submission. The third release by the Doom Occulta brothers, Demonaz and Abbath is probably their most aggressive record to date. Incidentally the title it carries was supposed to be the title of their first release but that was changed before release to a more fitting title, I'm sure you will agree that this record fits the title of 'Battles In The North' better than the first release. The album is not quite as cold and dark as 'Pure Holocaust', it does however, more than make up for this in pure energy and aggression.

The sound is that of a rusty knife, granted it is not quite as rusty as Darkthrone but it is certainly no compromise but a conscious choice on the part of Immortal. Hyperspeed blastbeats underline the incessant and furious riffing and make sure that you know that Battles In The North are no skirmish but a full on frontal assault on anything standing in Blashyrkh's path. The production is slightly murky and the instruments often blend into a chaotic sound but this does not detract from the experience of the album. To many people this is the highlight of Immortal's back catalogue. Not in the least due to the pure aggression and hate seeping from every nook and cranny of the record. And certainly thanks to what is possibly Immortal's greatest single tune i.e. 'Blashyrkh (Mighty Ravendark)'. This particular tune cunningly manages to blend the mid-tempo Immortal sound with wonderfully atmospheric sections and in doing so creates a true anthem for the imaginary world of Blashyrkh.

I have said this about 'Diabolical Fullmoon Mysticism' and 'Pure Holocaust' and there is no way to work around this once again: Immortal manages to create an unparalleled atmosphere without reverting to the often cheesy gothic esthetic of later Black Metal acts. While we are on the subject of cheesy I do have to point out that this album is probably the highpoint of the band's shenanigans with weapons, makeup and spikes that we all love to hate. Just look through the artwork and some occasionally cheesy lyrics and what you will get is an earnest band whose sound and dedication is I dare say unmatched in the Black Metal scene up until this day. No thrills, no frills just an all out war in an imaginary realm.

If you are planning on expanding your metal collection I could not honestly recommend whether 'Pure Holocaust' or 'Battles In The North' would be the album to go for (if you were to buy only one). The first is cold and grim the latter is just aggressive and wicked. Being the spineless wimp that I am, I would seriously have to say: Get both!

note: 9/10