Review IMMORTAL ‘War Against All’

The new Immortal album can’t exactly be described as a quick fix, as it took five years before the band from Bergen, Norway shipped their new work ‘War Against All’ from the Norwegian fjords into the world.

Other than Northern Chaos God, the previous album, the new record is actually a kind of Demonaz solo record. The Immortal founding member wrote and recorded the album almost entirely on his own. However, there was support from Arve Isdal, who produced the album. Isdal has, as expected, done a great job, because what roars out of the speakers is well produced and contains quite a lot of power.

‘War Against All’ is the tenth Immortal album and it includes little surprises. It starts with the arrow-fast title track. Provided with a typical black metal blast beat Demonaz bludgeons its way through the song. There are also a few small traditional metal references to be found in the details, while the song in its entirety is immediately catchy.
With ‘Thunders of Darkness’ Immortal keeps the high tempo. A ferocious and merciless song has been created, with Demonaz barking his guts out.

Slower and with a stomping beat ‘Wargod’ continues the journey through the Norwegian worlds of black metal. The atmospherically held middle part is a pleasant break before the track falls back into its thundering basic pattern.

Also held in a moderate tempo is ‘No Sun’ which leads with a hypnotic basic setting to ‘Return to Cold’. The latter track blows the cold of a polar night in your face before an acoustic intro introduces ‘Nordlandihr’. Running over seven minutes, it is the longest song on the album and certainly one of the best and most layered moments on ‘War Against All’. Immortal have put an atmospheric and partly exceedingly melodic song on the record, which exudes the basic Nordic roots. The fact that this is an instrumental is significant, as it is the nuances and twists that set the song apart from brute stompers like the title track and the furious ‘Immortal’.

With ‘Blashyrkh My Throne’ the new Immortal record comes to an end. It is another throbbing song that waltzes along at medium speed and kicks in neither positively nor negatively in this regard.

Immortal have delivered with ‘War Against All’ a quite accomplished record. There is not much new to listen to which also means that Immortal remain true to the trademarks. Those who have liked the band so far will enjoy this album as well. There is no riff acrobatics delivered here, instead it is simple but efficient black metal that knows how to impress.