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Immortal: All Shall Fall

Beware those who fear the darkness and the rising mist, for after a substantial break since the year 2002 and their last menacing release Sons Of Northern Darkness, one of black metal's finest, Norway's Immortal, have risen yet again. Unleashing more evil upon our souls, Immortal are letting loose once more, dispersing their wicked musical horror show. But with a name like Immortal, is it any real surprise these sinister looking musicians with their black and white makeup known as corpse paint, and dressed in battle ready metal attire, have once again returned from the dark?

Immortal take you on a journey with All Shall Fall, bringing all sorts of images to mind as you dim the lights and crank it up. Drummer Horgh's extreme playing conjures up a raging storm as he propels Immortal's music forward with a fierce enthusiasm; his kit endures a rapid hammering on the opener and title track "All Shall Fall" which tells of a mighty dark battle. There are many positives about this album; it's the most fun I've had listening to a black metal band in ages. All Shall Fall is not all about frantic speed, with its share of fine slower moments that also really hook you in. I must mention the epic closer "Unearthly Kingdom", such a kick ass powerful song as is "The Rise Of Darkness"... actually they all are.

Immortal are back, and All Shall Fall is an exhilarating and rather catchy metal release that's easy to digest, sure to please the hordes of black metal followers.


Track List:
1.All Shall Fall
2.The Rise Of Darkness
3.Hordes To War
4.Norden On Fire
5.Arctic Swarm
6.Mount North
7.Unearthly Kingdom

Added: October 7th 2009
Reviewer: Scott Jessup
Score:
Related Link: Band Website
Hits: 3751
Language: english

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» SoT Staff Roundtable Reviews:

Immortal: All Shall Fall
Posted by Pete Pardo, SoT Staff Writer on 2009-10-07 18:06:28
My Score:

The 'Sons of Northern Darkness' return after a 7 year recording break to unleash All Shall Fall on the world, another splendid collection of Norwegian melodic black metal that brings elements together from their long & storied career. While much of Immortal's earlier output fits in right alongside the raw & primal acts that made up the scene in the early 90's, such as Mayhem, Emperor, Gorgoroth, Marduk, Darkthrone, Dissection, and and Dark Funeral, they quickly evolved into a different beast altogether, able to conjure up images of the cold, snowy forests and mountains of Norway with well crafted, punishing guitar riffs, jackhammer blast beats, and wicked, howling vocal shrieks. Classic albums such as Battles of the North, At the Heart of Winter, Blizzard Beasts, and of course Sons of Northern Darkness, still to this day remain many black metal fans' favorites in the genre. Well, it's safe to say that most will certainly add All Shall Fall to that list.

Less reliant on speed than some of the band's earlier output (keeping in line with their more recent releases, as well as Abbath's 'I' project), All Shall Fall is a very varied and textured album, mixing up the punishing riffs and relentless blasts nicely so they don't batter you over the heard on a constant basis, instead the speed is used when needed and complements the arrangements rather than taking them over. For the most part, these are all epic, lengthy tracks, with majestic, frosty tremelo picked riffs from Abbath setting the tone for acrobatic drum work from Horgh and Apollyon's rumbling bass grooves. "The Rise of Darkness" is a great example of the majestic tone that many of these tunes have-sure, this might not be as brutal as a 1349 or Dark Funeral release, but where Immortal lack in the brutality department they more than make up for it in power and class. The killer titles track and the rampaging "Hordes To War", the latter seeing Abbath at his most venemous vocally speaking, are both headbanging numbers that throw every facet of extreme metal at the listener, and the crushing "Norden on Fire" is a more straightforward, driving piece, as torrents of frozen riffs from Abbath create an almost non-stop sheet of chilling ice walls in which Horgh then has to blast through. The band lurches into the complex "Arctic Swarm" with ferocious might, and "Mount North" is trademark Immortal from start to finish, full of ferocity but with just the right amount of atmosphere, again bringing to mind a long, harrowing journey through the dense, frozen woods and mountains of Norway. The epic closing track "Unearthly Kingdom" takes things one step further, as the band takes the listener through an agonizing death march dripping with atmosphere, Abbath's croaks almost torturous in their delivery and the deep, dark riffs quite ponderous in their nature until the mid-way point in the song when things kick into high gear.

Pretty impressive stuff here from a band that's about as legendary as it gets in this genre. While many black metal 'purists' who crave the raw, maniacal, and unpolished sounds of the late 80's/early 90's, All Shall Fall will signal this as anything but classic sounding black metal, if you've evolved from those primal (and often times quite Satanic) days, just like Immortal has, chances are you'll really dig this quite a bit.

Sure to be one of 2009's best!


» Reader Comments:

Immortal: All Shall Fall
Posted by ??? on 2009-10-07 22:49:19
My Score:

Immortal are following in and around the footsteps of Bathory. His influence is the most profound in the Immortal sound. Whether it be past or present. They share in common a tendency to broaden their scope into something more epic while retaining their crucial elements that pulled them into this form of music in the 1st place. More specifically, they carry their nationalistic tendencies towards newer and greater musical precipices without going to far as to alienate their previously existing connections (see 1349). If they play it to safe they are either to old or developmentally stunted as musicians/artists.

This cd is my favorite from the band hands down. It is all there along with everything else they have learned. Especially, in terms of song structure and organization. Amazing!!




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