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Sons of Northern Darkness (2002) Nuclear Blast HMM Rank: 
Immortal's latest offering has earned itself a spot on my top ten favorite black metal albums list, and has held its position for quite some time now. It is very awkward for me to give a five star rating to an album that can be described with words such as "cold" and "brutal", but while many bands that normally fall under that classification are devoid of melody and incapable of writing a memorable song, Immortal's brand of crushing black metal insanity definitely strays far from the pack. One of the very first things that caught me off guard was the crystal clear production. This allowed the incredible drum work to shine at its brightest, and all of the guitar intricacies could be heard through the typically cold and diminished chord oriented playing (which they sometimes give you a break from by adding a nice solo here and there). However, don't fall under the impression that they just slop together three or four evil sounding chords and drag them out into an eight minute bore-fest of a song. The riffs are well thought out, catchy, and sometimes carry a classic heavy/thrash metal feel throughout them. There are also plenty of time changes and alterations of different rhythm patterns, and they always manage to change things up at the right moment, making sure that there is never a dull moment to be heard. The album kicks off with "One by One", a quick paced, heavy opener that caught my attention right from the get-go and kept me interested throughout the rest of the CD. The breakdown in the middle will surely get the more active listeners to toss the horns into the air and bang their head frantically. Next comes the equally impressive title track, followed by the mid-paced, anthem-like "Tyrants" (another one of my favorites). The brutal, warp speed "Demonium" quickly gets you out of the mind set that the previous track put you in, and is followed up by a series of longer, more epic songs ("Within the Dark Mind" and "Beyond the North Waves" being notable mentions). Basically, every song on the album is a standout. Each track has its own feel and collection of riffs or beats that you will have playing in your head (and most likely be rocking out to), and each song is distinguishable from the last. After reading a fair amount of reviews and articles about Immortal, I never thought that I would like this album as much as I do. Despite the fact that there are only three musicians in the band (guitar/vocals, bass, and drums), the music they create is far from primitive. This album is very tight, well produced, heavy, dark, and surprisingly energetic. I know that may be a relatively uncommon adjective in the world of black metal, but some moments on this album just make you want to jump up and play air guitar (but the fear of your mom walking in on you quickly suppresses that urge and reduces it to a light foot tapping). Overall, this was a very pleasant and impressive surprise, and comes highly recommended to all fans of black metal. I almost let the cliche corpse paint scare me away. Don't make that mistake, you'll regret it.
Reviewed 02/01/2005
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