Even by Immortal’s lofty standards, Northern Chaos Gods has a startlingly refined sense of purpose. Given that the band themselves have stated that the goal was to make the ultimate album both for themselves and fans, expectations were high, especially in the wake of Abbath’s departure and the return to active duty of Demonaz (for the first time since Blizzard Beasts). However, from the first raging notes of the title track, it is clear that Immortal have succeeded, for Northern Chaos Gods is a deliriously icy, stunningly heavy body of work that more than compensates the seven-year wait fans have had to endure.
Opening with the title track, Immortal plunge the listener into an ice bath without warning. There is no cinematic preamble to blunt the force of their attack, just the relentless battering of Horgh’s drums and Demonaz’s searing guitar. With the legendary Peter Tagtgren standing in on bass, the line-up is complete and Immortal simply set about unleashing a sonic snow-storm that will leave doubters with jaws agape. What an opening! In just over four minutes, Immortal lay down a sonic gauntlet that few would dare to pick up and it’s nothing short of a revelatory moment for fans and newcomers alike. Proving that the ferocity of the opening track is no fluke, the aptly-titled Into battle ride is an icy trek with martial underpinnings, the band allowing imperious melodies to flourish within the searing blizzard of guitar and cracked vocals. Despite the untrammelled rage of the opening tracks, it is the grandiose Gates to Blashyrkh that serves as an early highlight because it allows a vital contrast into proceedings. Still brutal, it nonetheless has an imperious edge that is only emphasised by the exceptional musicianship the band demonstrate (particularly Horgh, whose drum performance here is nothing short of monumental). The first half of the album grinds to its frozen conclusion with Grim and dark, a five-minute hurricane of pure black metal menace.
The second half opens with the unstoppable Called to ice, an evocative track that sees the band honing melodies amidst the sheet metal guitar. With an eerie title conjuring images of dark peaks wreathed in mist, Where mountains rise opens on a quieter note, the rippling guitar serving as a preface to the gruelling avalanche set to follow. The contrast is a powerful one and the moment of calm very much accentuated the storm, Horgh once again proving himself indispensable behind the kit, his tumultuous performance very much the heart beat of the band. Following on from the potent groove of where mountains rise, the blast-beat-laden Blacker of worlds is an assault on the senses that leaves the listener bruised and battered, not least thanks to Peter’s bowel-loosening bass which, at suitable volume, seems to emanate form the very core of the earth. And then it happens. The band unleash the 9-minute epic, Mighty Ravendark, and it’s suddenly clear that the rest of the album, as phenomenal as it is, has been leading to this darkly cinematic trip across the frozen wastelands the band call home. A truly grand summation of Immortal’s visceral strength and rare compositional ability, Mighty Ravendark is a black metal masterclass that closes the album on so elegant a high that bands will be travelling in its wake for some time to come.
With Abbath absent following a well-publicised and draining dispute with the other band members, Immortal could be forgiven for thinking they had something to prove in spite (or perhaps because of) their remarkable back catalogue. Demonaz’s return to the guitar, however, coupled with the desire to create an album that truly serves the long-term fans of the band has provided Immortal with a devastating sense of purpose and the result is Northern Chaos Gods, an eight-track journey across the frozen north that is brutal, beautiful and evocative in equal measure. With a crystal-clear production courtesy of Peter Tagtgren and music that seems to summon the icy winds of the North, Northern Chaos Gods is everything for which Immortal fans could possibly have hoped. Truly exceptional. 9
