Immortal
| Immortal | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| General information | |
| Genre (s) | Death Metal (until 1991) , Extreme Metal , Heavy Metal |
| founding | 1990 |
| Website | http://www.immortalofficial.com/ |
| Founding members | |
| Olve "Abbath" Eikemo (until 2014) | |
| Harald "Demonaz" Nævdal (until 1997) | |
guitar |
Jørn Inge Tunsberg (until 1991) |
| Armagedda (until 1992) | |
| Current occupation | |
Vocals, guitar |
Harald "Demonaz" Nævdal |
Drums |
Reidar "Horgh" Horghagen (since 1996) |
| former members | |
Drums |
Kolgrim (1992) |
Drums |
Erik "Grim" Brødreskift (1993–1994) († 1999) |
Drums |
Jan Axel "Hellhammer" Blomberg (1995, 1999) |
bass |
Ronny "Ares" Hovland (1998) |
bass |
Stian "Iscariah" Smørholm (1999–2002) |
bass |
Yngve "Saroth" Liljebäck (2002–2003) |
bass |
Ole Jørgen "Apollyon" Moe (2006-?) |
Immortal ( English for ' immortal ') is a Norwegian metal band that was founded as a death metal band and is one of the most famous groups in Norwegian black metal of the early 1990s. The band members sometimes avoided the term "Black Metal" because the band is not based on Satanism , as is common in Black Metal, and the musicians point out in interviews that they are not Satanists. Instead, style names such as " Holocaust Metal" and "Dark Fantasy Metal" were used.
Band history
founding
The band was founded in 1990 in Bergen by bassist and vocalist Abbath Doom Occulta (Olve Eikemo) from Old Funeral and guitarists Demonaz Doom Occulta (Harald Nævdal) and Jørn Inge Tunsberg as well as drummer Armagedda, who previously played in the death metal band Amputation had played. The band recorded two demos that were assigned to Death Metal and influenced by Possessed and Morbid Angel . After the second demo Suffocate , for which the Mayhem and Morbid singer Dead had drawn the cover, the band left Tunsberg, who later founded the band Hades , and turned to black metal , influenced by Venom , Bathory and Mayhem; Abbath had been a fan of these bands for a long time after an interview with Rock Hard in 2009, but had to convince Demonaz first; Demonaz named Celtic Frost and Bathory as inspiration in Guitar World 2007 . Metalion from Slayer Magazine points to the influence of Mayhem guitarist Øystein "Euronymous" Aarseth , who moved the band to change. “Even if you don't want to admit it, it's the truth. […] The entire Norwegian scene is building on Euronymous and his legacy. ”After the change in style, the band released their first EP Immortal . The later re-release of the EP along with those of other bands on True Kings of Norway is viewed by the band as a bootleg as it was released without their knowledge.
Diabolical Fullmoon Mysticism , Pure Holocaust and Battles in the North
Little by little , Immortal gained popularity in the underground scene, and their first bathory-heavy album Diabolical Fullmoon Mysticism on the French label Osmose Productions received consistently good reviews; A music video was shot for the song The Call of the Wintermoon , which the band subsequently assesses as a mistake. Unlike usual in Black Metal, the lyrics of Immortal are not based on Satanism, but deal with an imaginary kingdom called Blashyrkh, which appears on the debut for the first time in the song Blacker than Darkness . In addition, the text “all depicts unholy visions from the dark side of the imagination. You can always see these things. You just have to open the doors behind which they are. You can see a lot in a figurative sense, but we know exactly what we want to express with it. ”At the time when the technically more advanced second work Pure Holocaust was being mixed, Erik“ Grim ”Brødreskift joined the band; he was shown on the cover, but was not involved in it himself. The name of the album has no Nazi reference. The lyrics are mostly about mountains, ice deserts, battles and gloom, like on the other albums. Abbath pointed out that the band was not political and Demonaz described democracy as the best system for the band, although politics was not important to the band. After the band became friends with Euronymous and Varg Vikernes and the former had supported them, Vikernes' murder of Euronymous came as a shock to the band. After the events of 1993, Abbath visibly distanced himself from Vikernes and his statements; When asked by Guitar World magazine about Vikernes, he replied: "Fuck Varg!" Grim played drums on the subsequent Fuck Christ Tour and the Sons of Northern Darkness Tour, but was then released from the group. Pure Holocaust and the successor Battles in the North are considered milestones of traditional Black Metal and were recorded by Abbath and Demonaz single-handedly, the former playing the drums and making numerous mistakes in Battles in the North .
Blizzard Beasts and At the Heart of Winter
Apart from Abbath and Demonaz, the line-up was extremely unstable until 1996 when drummer Horgh (Reidar Horghagen) joined the band to record Blizzard Beasts . Demonaz, responsible for all of the band's lyrics, suffered an incurable tendinitis in 1997 , which made it impossible for him to continue playing the guitar. But he continued to write the lyrics and took care of the band's management. The bass player Abbath was forced to take over the guitar. After these line-up changes, the band resumed work and released At the Heart of Winter in 1999 . This album is for the most part a lot slower, more melodic and varied than its aggressiveness and speed predecessors, a "departure from thoroughbred frenzy to more compact and complex compositions" with many influences from Morbid Angel and from classic heavy metal , the main riff of the title track a tribute to AC / DC's Hells Bells ; in the eyes of some fans it represents the artistic high point of the band. On the following, again somewhat heavier album Damned in Black , the newly added bassist Iscariah could be heard for the first time. The 2002 album Sons of Northern Darkness can be seen as the combination of style elements from At the Heart of Winter and Damned in Black with influences from Motörhead and Thrash Metal and marked the band's commercial high point. The guns in the pictures to promote the album were designed and manufactured by the band and friends. Because of the décor, the theatrics and Abbath's open pants in the pictures, the band was increasingly perceived as ridiculous and criticized:
“They used to be really horny, angry looking Northmen standing in the snow. And today? Total joke figures with decorative, exaggerated clubs and axes. With corpsepaint and a grin on his face. With broken pants with the sack hanging out in the middle of the crotch. This is so embarrassing! They're kidding themselves. "
Damned in Black and Sons of Northern Darkness
In 2000 Immortal signed a contract with the German label Nuclear Blast , which in large parts of the metal scene is considered a commercial label and therefore unsuitable for Black Metal. Nevertheless, the band was largely spared from accusations of commercialism within the scene. After Iscariah left in 2003, Saroth came to Immortal as his successor and played a few live appearances with the band. a. at the Inferno Festival, of which there are also live recordings. In summer 2003 the band broke up. Horgh now plays for Hypocrisy . Abbath joined 2005 Armagedda, the Enslaved guitar-player Arve Isdal and former Gorgoroth -Bassisten TC King about the project I together. In early April 2006 they finally signed a contract with Nuclear Blast. The debut album Between Two Worlds was released on November 3, 2006.
An interview in the May 2006 issue of Rock-Hard magazine gave rise to rumors of a reunification. Eikemo compared Immortal to "cold and frost", which would also keep coming back. These rumors were confirmed when the band was announced for the Wacken Open Air 2007 more than a year before the festival . A new studio album has also been announced. The line-up of Immortal 2006 consists of Abbath and Horgh as well as Apollyon from Aura Noir on bass as a new member. The news that a recovered Demonaz would take over the guitar again turned out to be a rumor. Demonaz remains with the band as the author of the lyrics. The reunion was confirmed on June 6, 2006 and the appearance as headliner at the Wacken Open Air 2007 on July 12, 2006 on their official homepage. On April 6, 2007, the band played their first concert after the reunion as headlining the sold out Inferno Festival in Oslo .
All Shall Fall and Northern Chaos Gods
The eighth album All Shall Fall was released in autumn 2009. It contains riffs that were originally written for Abbath's side project I, and influences from the older Immortal albums. On August 3rd, 2009 Immortal was confirmed as one of the first bands for the Wacken Open Air 2010. On August 6, 2010, the band released The Seventh Date of Blashyrkh, their first live CD and DVD with the full concert from Wacken Open Air 2007.
At the end of 2014, a legal dispute broke out between the band members over the rights to the Immortal brand. Abbath tried to secure the sole trademark rights to the logo and band name. According to Abbath, the former guitarist and later lyricist Demonaz and drummer Horgh left the band. In March 2015, Abbath announced that he was putting Immortal on hold and releasing future material with a new cast under the Abbath name.
At the beginning of December 2015, Demonaz and Horgh spoke up. They made it clear that the conflict wasn't about anyone leaving the band, as Abbath claims. It was all about his personal problems. Abbath skipped rehearsals and has been ruining the band's progress for a very long time. Abbath denies these allegations. In November 2015 Abbath's trademark application was rejected by the Norwegian patent office. In 2018 the remaining band members Demonaz and Horgh will produce a new Immortal album and publish it via Nuclear Blast. Immortal's ninth studio album Northern Chaos Gods was released on July 6, 2018 via Nuclear Blast Records, with Demonaz doing the vocals as well as the guitar.
Blashyrkh
Blashyrkh is a fictional kingdom that is often featured in the band's lyrics. As singer and guitarist Abbath says, this frozen kingdom was created by his hatred and that of his band member Demonaz. It is ruled by a giant raven god named "Mighty Ravendark". On the album Battles in the North , in the eponymous song, he is referred to as the "oath of frost who sits on the raven throne" and as the "rightful king of the highest halls".
Blashyrkh is forever covered with cold, snow and winter, as one learns from the album At the Heart of Winter :
“Blashyrkh mighty be your name victorious a kingdom we made
With strength and pride all the way you are at the heart of winter
[…]
The statue watches the kingdom your giant wings make all beneath
I'm staring forth the raventhrone I know I ' m at the heart of winter ”
Discography
Studio albums
| year | Title music label |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, music label , placements, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 DE
|
 AT
|
 CH
|
 US
|
 NO
|
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| 1992 | Diabolical Fullmoon Mysticism Osmose Productions |
- | - | - | - | - |
First published: July 1, 1992
|
| 1993 |
Pure Holocaust Osmose Productions |
- | - | - | - | - |
First published: November 1, 1993
|
| 1995 | Battles in the North Osmose Productions |
- | - | - | - | - |
First published: May 15, 1995
|
| 1997 | Blizzard Beasts Osmose Productions |
- | - | - | - | - |
First published: March 20, 1997
|
| 1999 | At the Heart of Winter Osmose Productions |
- | - | - | - | - |
First published: February 22, 1999
|
| 2000 | Damned in Black Osmose Productions |
DE95 (1 week) DE |
- | - | - | - |
First published: April 27, 2000
|
| 2002 | Sons of Northern Darkness Nuclear Blast |
DE58 (1 week) DE |
- | - | - | - |
First published: February 4, 2002
|
| 2009 | All Shall Fall Nuclear Blast |
DE33 (2 weeks) DE |
AT52 (1 week) AT |
CH45 (1 week) CH |
US162 (1 week) US |
NO21 (3 weeks) NO |
First published: September 25, 2009
|
| 2018 | Northern Chaos Gods Nuclear Blast |
DE2 (3 weeks) DE |
AT17 (2 weeks) AT |
CH9 (2 weeks) CH |
- |
NO16 (1 week) NO |
First published: July 6, 2018
|
Live albums
| year | Title music label |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, music label , placements, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
DE
|
AT
|
CH
|
US
|
NO
|
|||
| 2010 | The Seventh Date of Blashyrkh Nuclear Blast |
DE60 (1 week) DE |
AT74 (1 week) AT |
- | - | - |
First published: August 6, 2010
|
Demos and EPs
Sampler contributions
- 1998: To Walk the Infernal Fields on Darkthrone Holy Darkthrone - Eight Norwegian Bands Paying Tribute
- 2001: From the Dark Past on Originators of the Northern Darkness - A Tribute to Mayhem
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c MEMBERS ( Memento from August 20, 2001 in the Internet Archive ).
- ↑ a b Lars Jamne: Interview With Demonaz. In: Oskorei Magazine # 1. Retrieved January 8, 2010 .
- ↑ a b c d Markus Eck: The solemn triumph of hatred .
- ↑ Immortal biography at metal-reviews.com
- ↑ Varg Vikernes: A review of M. Moynihan & D. Søderlind's "Lords Of Chaos: The Bloody Rise Of The Satanic Metal Underground" (New Edition). June 28, 2004, accessed February 15, 2010 .
- ↑ documentation Det svarte alvor , 1994, Director: Gunnar Grøndahl.
- ↑ a b BIOGRAPHY - 90-92 ( Memento from August 20, 2001 in the Internet Archive ).
- ↑ a b c d Brad Angle: Immortal: The Brothers Grim. In: Guitar World . 2007, accessed January 8, 2010 .
- ↑ Michael Moynihan , Didrik Søderlind: Lords of Chaos . Satanic Metal: The Bloody Rise from the Underground. Extended and revised edition 2005. 6th edition. ProMedia GmbH, Zeltingen-Rachtig 2005, ISBN 3-936878-00-5 , p. 57 .
- ^ Ferdi: Immortal. 2002, accessed March 25, 2010 .
- ↑ Swen Goethe: Interview With Abbath. February 15, 1999, accessed January 8, 2010 .
- ^ J. Bennett: Immortal. Archived from the original on September 14, 2009 ; accessed on January 8, 2010 (English).
- ↑ Costa Stoios: Immortal ( Memento from June 19, 2009 in the Internet Archive ). In: Tales of the Macabre , No. 1, winter 1993.
- ↑ a b c Brad Angle: Immortal: The Brothers Grim. In: Guitar World . 2007, accessed January 8, 2010 .
- ^ A b Mike von Hobart: Ruthless Reviews »TOP 10 WORST BLACK METAL RECORDS OF ALL TIME. January 13, 2007, accessed January 8, 2010 .
- ↑ a b Troll: IMMORTAL INTERVIEW - METALKINGS.COM. Retrieved January 8, 2010 .
- ^ Brad Angle: Immortal: The Brothers Grim. In: Guitar World . 2007, accessed January 8, 2010 .
- ^ Metal Interviews Archive I. (No longer available online.) Formerly in the original ; Retrieved January 8, 2010 . ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Mike von Hobart: Ruthless Reviews »TOP 10 MOST RIDICULOUS BLACK METAL PICS OF ALL TIME. June 9, 2007, accessed January 8, 2010 .
- ↑ Mike von Hobart: Ruthless Reviews “THE OTHER TOP 10 MOST RIDICULOUS BLACK METAL PICS OF ALL TIME. June 27, 2007, accessed January 8, 2010 .
- ↑ Brandon Stosuy: Interview with Varg Vikernes (March 10, 2010), by Brandon Stosuy. March 10, 2010, accessed April 12, 2010 .
- ↑ Jan Jaedike: Virus humanity . In: Rock Hard . No. 272 , January 2010, p. 34 .
- ^ IMMORTAL - The Seventh Date Of Blashyrkh (Retrieved August 10, 2010).
- ↑ ABBATH: I Thought DEMONAZ And HORGH Quit IMMORTAL. In: blabbermouth.net . December 13, 2014, accessed December 5, 2015 .
- ↑ ABBATH Puts IMMORTAL To Rest, Launches New Band. In: blabbermouth.net . March 26, 2015, accessed December 5, 2015 .
- ↑ IMMORTAL Members Claim ABBATH's 'Personal Problems' Ruined Band's Progress. In: blabbermouth.net . December 3, 2015, accessed December 5, 2015 .
Web links
- Official website (English)
- Immortal at Allmusic (English)
- Immortal on MusicBrainz (English)
- Immortal band profile at Nuclear Blast
- Chart sources: DE / AT / CH / US / NO