Immortal
Blizzard Beasts
[Osmose]
"So, this is what they sound like with a human drummer, eh?"
A cynical look at Immortal, for sure, but one which I'm sure
we've all employed at one stage or another. Its not like
"Battles In The North" was the fastest album of all time (the
intro was fast though) though...the drums just didn't sound
real in a lot of the songs (IMNSVFHO anyway).
Enter Horgh, Immortal's new drummer. By black metal standards, he's a big of a square-peg-in-a-round hole. Much more death metal in style, and it shines through on this new CD. In fact, the whole album is more death metal than ever before. The Brothers Doom Occulta have taken to (pre and) "Altars.."-era Morbid Angel in a big way, in particular, Trey Azagthoth's chicken-squawk riffing.
If Horgh was as good as Pete Sandoval, Immortal could've just about pulled off the black metal coup of the decade, but he's not. Fluent as constipation really, very rigid...and it kind of drags the band down a bit...Fast, yes, but not fluent.
Take the first bona-fide song, "Nebular Raven's Winter" (good to see their grip on the English language hasn't gotten any tighter). The whole feel of the song reeks of "Immortal Rites" by Morbid Angel. If you're a big MA fan like myself, then yes, you'll love this CD. I do...and herein lies my dilemma. I've always shied away from Immortal's new style (i.e. "Pure Holocaust" and "Battles In The North"), but I loved the Bathory worshipping they did "Diabolical Fullmoon Mysticism". What do I do now? They've made an album which leaks all over the previous two discs, but in essence, its just a death metal album!...and when compared to bands like Morbid Angel, Vader etc, it is a WEAK death metal album.... Oh the joys of reviewing these CDs.
Anyway, it IS a good CD, and no doubt, all you Immortal groupies out there will force yourselves to love it, for fear of the Un-True Police. And if you DO happen to like it, do yourselves a favour, and go and buy Morbid Angel's first two Earache discs, "Altars Of Madness", and "Blessed Are The Sick", as well as their repressed demo-album, "Abominations Of Desolation"...blacker than half the so-called "black metal" bands we hear nowadays...
RATING : 8 out of 10
© 1998 brett
Enter Horgh, Immortal's new drummer. By black metal standards, he's a big of a square-peg-in-a-round hole. Much more death metal in style, and it shines through on this new CD. In fact, the whole album is more death metal than ever before. The Brothers Doom Occulta have taken to (pre and) "Altars.."-era Morbid Angel in a big way, in particular, Trey Azagthoth's chicken-squawk riffing.
If Horgh was as good as Pete Sandoval, Immortal could've just about pulled off the black metal coup of the decade, but he's not. Fluent as constipation really, very rigid...and it kind of drags the band down a bit...Fast, yes, but not fluent.
Take the first bona-fide song, "Nebular Raven's Winter" (good to see their grip on the English language hasn't gotten any tighter). The whole feel of the song reeks of "Immortal Rites" by Morbid Angel. If you're a big MA fan like myself, then yes, you'll love this CD. I do...and herein lies my dilemma. I've always shied away from Immortal's new style (i.e. "Pure Holocaust" and "Battles In The North"), but I loved the Bathory worshipping they did "Diabolical Fullmoon Mysticism". What do I do now? They've made an album which leaks all over the previous two discs, but in essence, its just a death metal album!...and when compared to bands like Morbid Angel, Vader etc, it is a WEAK death metal album.... Oh the joys of reviewing these CDs.
Anyway, it IS a good CD, and no doubt, all you Immortal groupies out there will force yourselves to love it, for fear of the Un-True Police. And if you DO happen to like it, do yourselves a favour, and go and buy Morbid Angel's first two Earache discs, "Altars Of Madness", and "Blessed Are The Sick", as well as their repressed demo-album, "Abominations Of Desolation"...blacker than half the so-called "black metal" bands we hear nowadays...
RATING : 8 out of 10
© 1998 brett