The 10th studio album from Norway’s most unmistakable black metal entity is the second since the departure of co-founder Abbath in 2015 and the first with Demonaz as the last man standing, after the departure of drummer Horgh. 2018’s Northern Chaos Gods offered convincing proof that Immortal remain committed to delivering the kind of thrilling, riff-powered black metal that can evolve with the times without losing its connection to the elemental spirits of its notorious second wave. Given the turbulence between Demonaz and his former bandmates, it’s easy to see the title as both a standard-issue Thunder-god metaphor and a personal manifesto. Regardless, Immortal’s latest is an unremittingly brutal campaign with an absolutely ruthless sense of conviction.
Thunders Of Darkness, Blashyrkh My Throne and the title track erupt with raging blastbeats, taut riffage and Demonaz’s icy shriek, recalling Immortal at their most primal – all speed, precision and fury. Other tracks, like No Sun, Return To Cold and Wargod ratchet the tempo down, letting the grinding, distorted riffs take centre stage alongside a vacuum-tight rhythm section that unleashes more groove than a Norwegian black metal album has a right to wield. The album’s undoubted peak is the emotionally wrought, seven-minute instrumental Norlandihr, whose shimmering melody builds to a crystalline solo that glides over a raging rhythm beneath. Every tankard in Valhalla will be raised high.
Immortal aren’t going to range too far outside of the margins when it comes to the black metal blueprint, but that’s not to say the album is rote. War Against All boasts riffs as catchy as anything the band has ever released, and there’s plenty of depth across the tracks. Immortal might now be a one-man band – with help from Gaahls Wyrd’s Kevin Kvåle and Enslaved’s Ice Dale – but Demonaz clearly intends on making a stand for the ages.
