Immortal - Diabolical Fullmoon Mysticism review
| Band: | Immortal |
| Album: | Diabolical Fullmoon Mysticism |
| Style: | Black metal |
| Release date: | 1992 |
| Guest review by: | Oaken |
01. [untitled]
02. The Call Of The Wintermoon
03. Unholy Forces Of Evil
04. Cryptic Winterstorms
05. Cold Winds Of Funeral Dust
06. Blacker Than Darkness
07. A Perfect Vision Of The Rising Northland
Since 1991, Immortal did a great job proving that they were amongst the best black metallers out there. Starting with their "frostbitten" formula and then exposing a thrashier side, they never failed to amaze us. Battles In The North, At The Heart Of Winter, and all of their grim efforts across the years were always satisfying, strong and at times mind boggling. Now, let us go back in time, and revisit the event that sparked this chain of awesomeness, the album that brought to birth one of the most noteworthy black metal acts on earth: Diabolical Fullmoon Mysticism.
Back in the year 1991, when many bands were still grasping the concept of black metal, Immortal were writing some solid black metal. Despite their young age, they succeed in delivering a mature-sounding work. Demonaz's riffing is very tight, and not usually breaking the evil-sounding tremolo rule. The chainsaw-like riffs are fast, angry and relentless. The low frequencies are very masterfully covered by Abbath's heavy bass lines. This is one of those old black metal albums where the bass keeps rumbling all the time. The drumming, on the other hand, is very typical for a black metal album, but Diabolical was released in 1991, so it is quite normal for the drumming to consist of nothing but constant blasting. On the top of the well-performed instrumentals come the vocals, which are less croaky than our usual Abbath vocals, but loads more scary and disturbing, especially that screech in "Unholy Forces Of Evil".
In overall, the instrumentation and the vocals blend well enough, creating some decent soundscapes. The atmosphere as a whole is sinister and punishing; it should be so when it is the result of furious riffing, hellish blasting and some out-of-this-world screams. However, this doesn't mean that the atmosphere lacks beauty, grandeur and majesty. Acoustic guitars are frequently used, and keyboards dominate near the end of "A Perfect Vision Of The Rising Northland", but what makes the experience of Diabolical unforgettable is the devilish guitar solos and leads here and there. It seems that Demonaz wrote some typical solos, changed some notes, twisted the overall sound and added some warped craze in order to create those solos of his. Mind blowing stuff.
Production-wise, Diabolical sticks to the tr00 kvlt raw recording type, which isn't a bad thing, as this is raw black metal, and the production contributes to the atmosphere in a great way. The tracks are all balanced and good. The standouts are the mighty "The Call Of The Wintermoon" and "Unholy Forces Of Evil".
Final verdict: This is an underrated raw black metal jewel, and it is often overlooked by the fans of the genre. If you like black metal, grab this as soon as possible. The evil, harsh atmosphere will undeniably be to your immense liking.
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 9 |
| Songwriting: | 9 |
| Originality: | 8 |
| Production: | 8 |
Written by Oaken | 18.04.2012
Guest review disclaimer:
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
Comments
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Comments: 32
Visited by: 170 users
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| X-Ray Rod Skandino Staff Posts: 18374  |
Written by [user id=109376] on 18.04.2012 at 22:55 There are a couple of blastbeats here and there (some parts of The Call Of The Wintermoon) but overall you are right, this album doesn't really have many blastbeats, sure as hell not enough to call it "constant blasting". Damn, sometimes it can be quite slow to black metal standards. Some other times it can be military influenced. Back to the album itself, I really like this album. I would say it's a tad underrated in their discography.
---- Written by BloodTears on 19.08.2011 at 18:29 Written by Milena on 20.06.2012 at 10:49
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| Troy Killjoy perfunctionist Staff Posts: 21306  |
This really isn't as raw or blastbeat-filled as you make it out to be, and even die-hard Immortal fans know this is by no means a gem.
---- "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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| X-Ray Rod Skandino Staff Posts: 18374 |
Written by Troy Killjoy on 18.04.2012 at 23:32 Well, personally I would give it something between 7,5 to even 8,0 if I'm in the mood. But not a gem by any means. Damn, if someone wants to make reviews to get some silly points at least make then half decent in terms of describing the music.
---- Written by BloodTears on 19.08.2011 at 18:29 Written by Milena on 20.06.2012 at 10:49
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| Daniell _爱情_ Elite Posts: 6101  |
Wow, talk about overrating shitty music... Have you even listened to this album? Even the musicianship is sloppy there. Not to mention boring songs and terrible production. Yes, terrible. It's not true and cult, it's shitty, because the band had no cash to finance anything better. This is the basic misconception about early black metal. People assume that the sound was intended, that the bands aimed to create such an atmosphere. No it wasn't and no they didn't... It was a simple result of lack of funds. You can also blame the producers, who didn't really know how to produce such music - no one had done it before. And it's hard to blame them to be honest. Why do people think that every early black metal album from the second wave is great? No it isn't, so why idolize crap? This review is a perfect example. To me, the cherry on top of all that is Immortal's terrible command of the English language. Song titles like "Cold Winds Of Funeral Dust" (this one is a gem!) are perfect examples of what's wrong with black metal lyrics. But they, they're really funny, which, at the end of the day, is the only positive thing about Immortal's shitty debut. Immortal's crusade against proper English didn't end with the release of their debut album. The next albums are even better in that department: Tragedies blows at horizon The Darkness that Embrace Me Storming Through Red Clouds and Holocaustwinds In our mystic visions blest and many, many more. Immortal's song titles never fail to cheer me up 
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| M C Vice ex-polydactyl Posts: 3407  |
Written by Daniell on 19.04.2012 at 10:32 The bad grammer is one of my favorite things about Immortal (I always wonder whether it's intentional or not). It shows that they're having fun and don't take themselves too seriously (It'sa bit hard to when you look like a Kiss reject). Don't forget Eternal Years On The Path To The Cemetary Gates and At The Stormy Gates Of Mist.
---- "I'm here to nunchuck and not wear helmets. And I'm all out of helmets." "I'll fight you on one condition. That you lower your nipples." " 'Tis a lie! Thy backside is whole and ungobbled, thou ungrateful whelp!"
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| Daniell _爱情_ Elite Posts: 6101 |
I'm pretty sure they were dead serious about their image and lyrics, at least in the first years of their career.
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| Oaken Hipster Posts: 1322  |
Written by [user id=109376] on 18.04.2012 at 22:55 I meant traditional black metal drumming... Well, I'm not a specialist on describing drums. Written by Troy Killjoy on 18.04.2012 at 23:32 I just wanted to point out that it is underrated. Written by X-Ray Rod on 19.04.2012 at 03:24 Your site won't be ruined if I did a mistake in describing the drums. If there was a chance that I would continue reviewing, then your nice "encouragement" has totally ended it. Maybe you still fail to realize that this is still my fifth review. Written by Daniell on 19.04.2012 at 10:32 You think this just because you hate the album? Because you have a different opinion? Do you say that reviews suck if they don't "go" with your preferences? And yes, I have listened to this. You can't review an album without listening to it.
---- In that case, man is only air as well.
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| Oaken Hipster Posts: 1322 |
Written by [user id=109376] on 19.04.2012 at 16:11 It's not about agreeing/not agreeing. It's about "not being able to make them half decent in terms of describing the music".
---- In that case, man is only air as well.
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| Troy Killjoy perfunctionist Staff Posts: 21306 |
People are probably "flaming" your review because you clearly stated you're only writing these to get 100 community points because you want a title. And this review leads the reader away from what the album actually sounds like. Maybe if your intentions were a little more honest - as in you wanted to review because you like writing or because you wanted to shed light on some lesser known albums or whatever - people would be more willing to provide constructive criticism as opposed to just criticism.
---- "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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| Oaken Hipster Posts: 1322 |
Written by Troy Killjoy on 19.04.2012 at 16:17 In all honesty, I didn't write this for the community points only, but I'm not really familiar with the standards of "kvlt" black metal.
---- In that case, man is only air as well.
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| Oaken Hipster Posts: 1322 |
Written by [user id=109376] on 19.04.2012 at 16:18 I want free points, but I want to write reviews as well. After all, it's really fun, and quite useful to the site.
---- In that case, man is only air as well.
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| !J.O.O.E.! Account deleted |
!J.O.O.E.!
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If Daniel had his own way this and every other album ever made would probably sound like it was produced by Sony The production and sloppy-ish musicianship suits the era perfectly and to be honest I've heard hundreds of albums far worse produced than this. Who gives a flying fuck about lyrics and song titles anyway. Talk about not seeing the woods for the trees, or in this case extremely grimm and kvlt, frostbitten forest  Decent album.
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| Troy Killjoy perfunctionist Staff Posts: 21306 |
Written by Oaken on 19.04.2012 at 16:20 Be that as it may, you clearly stated you were only going to write reviews until you got your points... so it's only natural for those of us who know that to target this review in the same way ponderer's review of Enslaved was targeted: as something written for selfish purposes. He wanted attention, you want a title. As for "kvlt" black metal (can't wait till that term dies), maybe you should familiarize yourself with it a little more and come back with a review of something you're able to describe better. That's about as constructive as I can be in this situation.
---- "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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| Oaken Hipster Posts: 1322 |
Written by Troy Killjoy on 19.04.2012 at 16:25 
---- In that case, man is only air as well.
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| Daniell _爱情_ Elite Posts: 6101 |
Written by [user id=4365] on 19.04.2012 at 16:22 I know you're not really serious here, but I will give a serious answer  A black metal album that has unclear production that I like a lot, really a lot, is Emperor's "In the Nightside Eclipse". The production fits, and seems, at least to these ears, to be mostly the result of a conscious decision to make it the way it is. Other albums that I'd put in the same category: Satyricon's "Nemesis Divina", Mayhem's "Ordo Ad Chao" (I know, different time period), or Enslaved's "Frost", to mention just a few. "Diabolical Fullmooon Shitticism" doesn't fit into this category. Written by [user id=4365] on 19.04.2012 at 16:22 How does incompetence grow to be a value? If they can't fucking play their instruments, they should learn them first, then record music and try to sell it to people. I'm 179 cm high, I weigh 89 kilos, and I don't try to be a ballerina, if you know what I mean. Written by [user id=4365] on 19.04.2012 at 16:22 So have I, but it's no excuse at all. Written by [user id=4365] on 19.04.2012 at 16:22 I do, at least about song titles.
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| !J.O.O.E.! Account deleted |
!J.O.O.E.!
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Saying that they're incompetent is a total exaggeration, one that befits your well publicised issues with production values  and also one that suggests that the entire album is an incoherent mess that doesn't have any semblance of unity, which anyone with ears can see that it does. Occasional slip ups don't destroy an album if you ask me. The production is akin to a good Darkthrone album which is not only very listenable but extremely indicative of the atmosphere of the era. Then again you feel the same about Det Som Engang Var which I think is a great album through and through. Both are totally different kinds of record to Emperor's melodic and synth-treated affair.By your exaggeration punk music shouldn't be allowed to exist Btw there's nothing that unusual about Ordo Ad Chao's production. It's the bassy nature of the instruments that give it its sound, not the production itself ;]
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| Troy Killjoy perfunctionist Staff Posts: 21306 |
Written by [user id=4365] on 19.04.2012 at 16:58 That's what I think makes this era of black metal so special. It was very DIY, don't give a fuck about doing anything properly, make evil-sounding music and have a good time.
---- "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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| !J.O.O.E.! Account deleted |
!J.O.O.E.!
Account deleted Written by Troy Killjoy on 19.04.2012 at 17:01 Yep, it might be a total cliche these days but back then I can only assume it worked.
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| !J.O.O.E.! Account deleted |
!J.O.O.E.!
Account deleted Quote: Can't believe I actually said that
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| X-Ray Rod Skandino Staff Posts: 18374 |
Written by Oaken on 19.04.2012 at 16:28 Troy explained my reasons to my comments beter than I could. You said out loud that you are writing for points on another thread. Don't think people will take you too seriously after that. Also "fail to see this is my fifth review" isn't an excuse tbh. Doesn't take too much to know what's blastbeats and what's not. I do believe you review this album because you really like it. But if you thought everyone will still take you seriously after just a few days saying that you will write some reviews for some points.... Then you are mistaken.
---- Written by BloodTears on 19.08.2011 at 18:29 Written by Milena on 20.06.2012 at 10:49
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| Troy Killjoy perfunctionist Staff Posts: 21306 |
Written by X-Ray Rod on 19.04.2012 at 21:51 Also also, fifth review with this account.
---- "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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| X-Ray Rod Skandino Staff Posts: 18374 |
Written by Daniell on 19.04.2012 at 10:32 Heh, While I think the rating was too high, I feel you are exaggerating the production to make it sound way worse than it is. Like Joe said above, this is not particularly different from a good Darkthrone classic. "not only very listenable but extremely indicative of the atmosphere of the era" like he well said. Shit sometimes even the bass can be listened without any problem.
---- Written by BloodTears on 19.08.2011 at 18:29 Written by Milena on 20.06.2012 at 10:49
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| M C Vice ex-polydactyl Posts: 3407 |
Written by Daniell on 19.04.2012 at 16:50 Sounds like Satan blew out his O ring (ruptured his arsehole for those who don't get o-ring).
---- "I'm here to nunchuck and not wear helmets. And I'm all out of helmets." "I'll fight you on one condition. That you lower your nipples." " 'Tis a lie! Thy backside is whole and ungobbled, thou ungrateful whelp!"
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| M C Vice ex-polydactyl Posts: 3407 |
Written by Troy Killjoy on 19.04.2012 at 17:01 I've always thought there were a lot of similatities between the 70s English punk scene and the 90s Norweigian black metal scene. DIY is one of them.
---- "I'm here to nunchuck and not wear helmets. And I'm all out of helmets." "I'll fight you on one condition. That you lower your nipples." " 'Tis a lie! Thy backside is whole and ungobbled, thou ungrateful whelp!"
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| Bad English Tage Westerlund Posts: 62015  |
Great review and formula of this band is that band lyrics are well nature, winter, grimness, its not evil,its not as Gorgoroth or 1314 has. Musically its still archaic old school ''demo'' era BM, but why this band is my fav and I think best BM band, from Norway defenely, are lyrics about what I see and feel everyday here.
---- I stand whit Ukraine and Israel. They have right to defend own citizens. Stormtroopers of Death - "Speak English or Die"  I better die, because I never will learn speek english, so I choose dieing
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| Răzvan Posts: 40  |
As much as I love black metal over all, I'll never learn to love production of "raw" black metal albums. Most early BM albums and plenty afterwards sound like dog shite, thin and muffled being the prime qualities. That was true for me when I was listening to them on cheap headphones and it's even more so today when I prefer a little more quality in the things I play music on. Maybe some albums were recorded like that on purpose, maybe others were simply recorded on cheap/old equipment because that's what was available or because the band didn't know any better. It doesn't really matter to me, it has sounded and will always sound bad to me. Besides, there are plenty of examples of albums, particularly later on, that showed you can do great black metal without sounding like you recorded on a gramophone record circa 1930. Edit: I wrote this in reaction to the 8 this album was given by the reviewer in the production department, as well as the "tr00 kvlt raw recording type" remark in the review.
---- My subjectivity is better than yours.
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