I'm not impressed. The album sounds ok, but only a few songs have moments that don't sound like generic forgettable Immortal and I sections. Nothing really new with the songwriting or the guitar work. Abbath's vocals are decent enough I guess, but sounded way better on All Shall Fall. All Shall Fall is basically what I've been comparing this album to because obviously Abbath hasn't released anything else for the last 7 years. This album has more variety but All Shall Fall was the better album overall. I've had this album for about two weeks now and I've pretty much forgotten about it. Hopefully 7 years from now he does something a little better.

The only really good things I can say about the album would be that King's bass parts are pretty good actually and for a few days this album got me thoroughly back into Immortal, I, and Demonaz, but I'd rank this album near the bottom of those combined discographies.

Decent songs: Root Of The Mountain, Count The Dead

"Root of the Mountain" is a juicy morsel of Black n Roll. Love it.

I'd like to think that this album is a pretty great example, at least in my book, of what not to do when starting a solo career: repeat what you've already been doing and not distance yourself from that with a new style that redefines you as a solo artist. Abbath, take an example from the likes of Ihsahn, Devin Townsend, and Von Meilenwald, please.

I don't think that necessarily applies to Abbath as much as the others. There are a fuck ton of people invested in him and Immortal's sound, and I'm sure many people would argue that Immortal's sound is his own, so no redefining is really required I don't think. I don't think too many people are expecting Abbath to go avant-garde or drastically alter what he's been doing for decades, and I don't think it's fair to expect anyone to abandon a sound they spent years cultivating (even if they're doing fairly average renditions of it). Probably just better off referring to Lord_Regnier's post up there for a better explanation.

I've only heard bits and pieces of this. Tbh it sounded ok, not something I'm going to be investigating to any degree though.

I often agree with that vision, too Che. Why start a project sounding exactly the same of your previous band? *cough, Aevangelist cough*

But in this case he couldn't do anything else because of the lawsuit problems with the band and all, the band had to end. The only way he could keep doing what he knew was making a side-project.

I enjoyed this a lot more than I expected. I'd say it's more akin to later Bathory than black metal, much like the later Immortal albums, Demonaz, and I.

Rushed garbage. Maybe 4 songs that were decent but not memorable at all.
"I" was much better and very memorable. He needs to stop doing drugs, it is showing as the years go by.

Written by Lord_Regnier on 29.01.2016 at 02:01



I knew Abbath was the composer since he took over guitar duties after Daemonaz could not play anymore. And I knew Abbath could come up with very good riffs but still, I didn't expect this album to be that good.

I have no idea who wrote the lyrics but they are very close to Immortal's lyrics. Apart from the fact that it doesn't speak of Blashyrkh and Ravendark it is pretty much the same subject matter. I believe that Abbath most likely didn't write the lyrics himself alone but he was involved in the lyrical process.


As much as I like Horgh as a drummer (and I like him very much) and have respect for Daemonaz, I can hardly imagine how they could keep Immortal alive without Abbath. Horgh is a drummer and as much as a drummer can be great behind the kit, a drummer doesn't compose riffs or melody. And I don't know if Daemonaz can still compose music. I mean that even if he cannot play guitar live in a band, it is still possible that he could play enough to compose and record music. The physical effort is not the same, so perhaps he still can (but I have no idea).

However, if I think about it, it comes down to this:
-Who is/was the image of the band? Abbath
-Who wrote the music since "At The Heart Of Winter"? Abbath
-Who did the vocals? Abbath

I can't think of any man on the Metal scene who could replace Abbath. Oh, some guys are more talented but no guitar player sounds exactly like Abbath. He's not the best guitarist but his riffs have his own recognizable signature.
As for vocals, no other Black Metal vocalist sounds like Abbath. He's not the only one with a croaky voice, of course, but his tone and delivery is distinctive. You instantly know it is Abbath when you hear him.

I will be very happy if Immortal can survive and come up with something very good but the guy who will take Abbath's position will have big shoes to fill.
When a man leaves his mark in a band as much as Abbath did in Immortal, he almost becomes the band, with all due respect to the other band members.

Anyway, good luck to all of them.

Couldn't agree more with you.
I listened to this expecting something below average and I found myself enjoying it the rest of the day, "Endless" is a fucking killer track!

Written by Lord_Regnier on 29.01.2016 at 02:01

As much as I like Horgh as a drummer (and I like him very much) and have respect for Daemonaz, I can hardly imagine how they could keep Immortal alive without Abbath. Horgh is a drummer and as much as a drummer can be great behind the kit, a drummer doesn't compose riffs or melody. And I don't know if Daemonaz can still compose music. I mean that even if he cannot play guitar live in a band, it is still possible that he could play enough to compose and record music. The physical effort is not the same, so perhaps he still can (but I have no idea).

The Demonaz solo project was pretty good when it came out a few years ago so I'm not too worried about Immortal with him at the helm.

I was hoping that Abbath will be more in line with I than Immortal but ehh.

Written by [user id=126528] on 04.04.2016 at 15:04

I was hoping that Abbath will be more in line with I than Immortal but ehh.

I didn't. I don't like I at all. Imo, it's a crappy Motorhead-esque record. The fact that I never had any interest in Motorhead probably didn't help. To each his own.
I had respect for Lemmy and I think he had an interesting personality but I never liked Motorhead musically.

Enjoyed way more than the first time I listened it and no idea why.

Enjoyable thrashy black and roll. The Judas Priest cover is hilarious.

I liked release. dont really get the disapproval.
to war, ocean of wounds are quite nice to listen to.

Kevin Foley does a great job behind the kit on this release. Too bad he was left hung out to dry by everyone else.

Solid record. Sounds like good old Immortal old records but with a modern twist and Abbath solo things