This is where it all began folks. Taking their cue from the great Bathory, Immortal rose from the Nordic ice capped mountains in 1992 and delivered this crushing debut. Diabolical Full Moon Mysticism showed the world what Norwegian black metal was all about, and set Immortal up as leaders of the genre, a spot they would hold for nearly a decade. This is cold, brutal stuff, a very primitive and primal sounding recording that pales in comparison soundwise to later works like Sons of Northern Darkness, Blizzard Beasts, At the Heart of Winter, and Battles in the North, but it's still an exceptional work from a songwriting and performance standpoint. Songs like the epic "The Call of the Wintermoon" and "Cold Winds of Funeral Dust" are just classic Norwegian black metal, led by Abbath's evil vocals, Demonaz' crushing, razor sharp guitar riffs & gentle acoustic passages,and the relentless pounding from original drummer Armagedda, who quite frankly doesn't have the chops when compared to future drummer Horgh, but still does a decent job. Don't expect too many wild blast beats here, as the drum style is more of a traditional sounding metal beat throughout the album. Brutally heavy riffs permeate "Blacker Than Darkness" and "A Perfect Vision of the Rising Northland", two speedy tracks that have a lot in common with the work of both Bathory and Celtic Frost nearly a decade earlier. The latter song is especially cold and dark (an Immortal trademark), with Abbath's vocals especially venemous, and some clean spoken narrative voices and keyboards thrown in for added effect.
Imagine the look on many metalhead's faces in 1992 upon seeing this strange album on the racks, complete with odd garbed figures with face paint, breathing fire, and song titles about winter, darkness, and evil. KISS it certainly wasn't. Immortal, along with Emperor, would forever change the face of extreme metal. The birth of Norwegian Black Metal was upon us.
Track Listing
1. The Call Of The Wintermoon
2. Unholy Forces Of Evil
3. Cryptic Winterstorms
4. Cold Winds Of Funeral Dust
5. Blacker Than Darkness
6. A Perfect Vision Of The Rising Northland
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