Consistent black metal
There may never be another album that is more aptly named than this one. Immortal smash into 2018 with Northern Chaos Gods, a clear furthering of their black and power metal roots. Immortal has been releasing LPs since 1992s Diabolical Fullmoon Mysticism, and their aggression has not skipped a beat. Northern Chaos Gods closely matches Immortal’s previous works, both in style and track length.
Although the band does not deviate too much between LPs, there are still treasures to be found on each album. For anyone who has never listened to Immortal, take a mere passing glance at the band and it’s obvious that they hail from Norway and dabble in black metal. The face paint says it all. However, Immortal has been pioneering the black metal genre since they got their start in 1991. Even though much of their material may sound repetitive by some stretch, remember that everything they do perpetuates the origin of black metal, and Northern Chaos Gods is no exception.
The album begins with the title track, which clearly lines out what the listener is about to experience for the next 42 minutes. It’s powerful, it’s fast and it contains every facet of traditional black metal. This pattern continues from the title track towards much of the rest of the album, including the next song, “Into Battle Ride.”
It’s not really until “Gates to Blashyrkh” that the album slows down a tad. Immortal still moves forward with chugging power on this song, but the overall rhythm is separate from the first two songs. It’s a refreshing little break from copious snare hits and blast beats as it transitions to a groovier set of riffage.
Most of the songs on this LP are uniform with the first two, which is why the songs that do not follow that exact formula are the ones that stick out. The slow, meticulously dark build of “Where Mountains Rise” and the nine-minute epic “Mighty Ravendark” are primarily where the most unique portions take place on the entire work. These tracks both begin with dark and docile moods, but then transform overtime into emotion-fueled powerhouses. Surely if it wasn’t for these tracks, Northern Chaos Gods would just be any other black metal album.
The overall theme of this work is career consistency. Immortal have managed to keep a consistent black metal sound for their entire tenure in the music world, and that is an impressive feat. However, for anyone expecting anything new from Immortal, there are only really two songs on this album that satisfy that craving. Considering that the LP is only eight songs though, that may just have to be enough of unique styling. Northern Chaos Gods manages to retain Immortal’s old tricks but give listeners a peek at some new paths for the band to follow in future releases.
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