New Immortal

Quote :

Summary: a good rock album, a bad metal one.



This album is really good for what it is, but it's in a genre I don't really like. That is to say, it's no longer black metal; it's more like dark indie rock, maybe a little Nick Cave mixed in with your Sisters of Mercy with more punkish riffs.

The vocals are as raspy as ever, the tempo changes and transitions are still breakneck intense, and the melodic sense of an unfolding landscape is there, but in the small. It's both not bad and not good enough to be Immortal.

Immortal - All Shall Fall

Yeah... it's like a dark rock album. Not bad compared to Bullet for My Valentine, nothing at all when compared to Blizzard Beasts, Diabolical Fullmoon Mysticism, Pure Holocaust or even At the Heart of Winter (a good heavy metal album).

i haven't heard this one yet.... where did you find that review?

mc666 wrote:

where did you find that review?

http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-10472-Houston-Metal-Music-Examiner~y2009m9d26-Immortal--All-Shall-Fall


more of the reviewer

http://www.examiner.com/x-10472-Houston-Metal-Music-Examiner?showbio

damn, that sounds like it's pretty bad. their legacy would have been better preserved if that had just let Immortal die after Sons of Northern Darkness & continued with the "I" project for stuff so far away from what they are known for.

this one i'll have to download first.

This album is awesome!! Its still black metal and it's still Immortal. Whoever reviewed that really hasn't listened to the disc!

Lurideath wrote:

This album is awesome!! Its still black metal and it's still Immortal. Whoever reviewed that really hasn't listened to the disc!

really? sweet, i trust your opinion over some newspaper critic.

after reading some other things he wrote, he did kind of seem uninformed. he stated that Behemoth was a metalcore band.

I like the new Immortal a LOT. I've only heard it 3 times so far but its still just as good as Sons of Northern Darkness. Just a little faster and less thrashy than they used to be, but still amazing.

Yeah I wouldn't trust some newspaper writer either. To call Behemoth metalcore just shows his knowledge, which shows he's clueless. haha

You'll like it man! Its an awesome disc!

I saw IMMORTAL this summer and of course, we know they are the KISS from black metal, and not much to do with the old meaning of pure black metal, in attitude, lifestyle etc...,but still they gave a good show playing many of their classics. Still, i am not interesting in a new IMMORTAL album.

krokus wrote:

we know they are the KISS from black metal, and not much to do with the old meaning of pure black metal, in attitude, lifestyle etc.

who is "we"?

mc666 wrote:

krokus wrote:

we know they are the KISS from black metal, and not much to do with the old meaning of pure black metal, in attitude, lifestyle etc.

who is "we"?

We are everybody that knows what real black metal is about. Bands like IMMORTAL, SATYRICON, or DARKTHRONE are more a joke today then real followers of true black metal, in attitude, sound and lifestyle. I dont care, because i still like the records of DARKTHRONE and SATYRICON but they dont represent the second wave of black metal anymore in my opinion, and IMMORTAL, the way they move in concerts looks very much like KISS, just check out some of their photos. No darkness in it at all. I dont care but lets be honest, they dont have much to do with the old meaning of pure black metal, or SATAN

krokus wrote:

mc666 wrote:

krokus wrote:

we know they are the KISS from black metal, and not much to do with the old meaning of pure black metal, in attitude, lifestyle etc.

who is "we"?

We are everybody that knows what real black metal is about. Bands like IMMORTAL, SATYRICON, or DARKTHRONE are more a joke today then real followers of true black metal, in attitude, sound and lifestyle. I dont care, because i still like the records of DARKTHRONE and SATYRICON but they dont represent the second wave of black metal anymore in my opinion, and IMMORTAL, the way they move in concerts looks very much like KISS, just check out some of their photos. No darkness in it at all. I dont care but lets be honest, they dont have much to do with the old meaning of pure black metal, or SATAN

may be true. i guess i just never gave a crap about satan, Kiss, or the black metal label. i just like good music. to each their own though.

mc666 wrote:

krokus wrote:

mc666 wrote:

krokus wrote:

we know they are the KISS from black metal, and not much to do with the old meaning of pure black metal, in attitude, lifestyle etc.

who is "we"?

We are everybody that knows what real black metal is about. Bands like IMMORTAL, SATYRICON, or DARKTHRONE are more a joke today then real followers of true black metal, in attitude, sound and lifestyle. I dont care, because i still like the records of DARKTHRONE and SATYRICON but they dont represent the second wave of black metal anymore in my opinion, and IMMORTAL, the way they move in concerts looks very much like KISS, just check out some of their photos. No darkness in it at all. I dont care but lets be honest, they dont have much to do with the old meaning of pure black metal, or SATAN

may be true. i guess i just never gave a crap about satan, Kiss, or the black metal label. i just like good music. to each their own though.

I understand and respect your opinion. I agree, dont care about religion or philosophy of any band. Thats why i can listen to nsbm, or christian metal, or anything else, its the music that goes first. I agree.

I don't even have to hear this first to KNOW this is gonna SLAY!!!


IMMORTAL RULES!!!! They can do no wrong - and this new album shall soon by MINE!!!

I have this pre-ordered from Century Media. It ships out on the 29th. I'm looking forward to hearing this.

Lurideath wrote:

I like the new Immortal a LOT. I've only heard it 3 times so far but its still just as good as Sons of Northern Darkness. Just a little faster and less thrashy than they used to be, but still amazing.

Awesome!!! I cannot wait.

Whoever compared this to Bullet for My Valentine is purely out of their mind.

Yeah, somebody has their head up their poop-shoot.

I used to like them, not anymore...

Can't wait to get this!

I found this review a lot closer:

Quote :

Immortal – All Shall Fall
Released: September 25
Genre: Black metal
Label: Nuclear Blast

It is always problematic when an established, well-liked act returns from hiatus. Expectations are often enormous and very rarely does the band manage to produce an album on par with their earlier releases. Occasionally a band does manage to live up to these expectations and occasionally exceeds them, but such a feat is a rare sight indeed. So now, after 7 years since going out on a high note with “Sons of Northern Darkness”, where do Immortal stand?

Upon my initial listen, I began thinking along the lines of “they must have been woodshedding for years”, because “All Shall Fall” is packed with quality black metal riffs. From the opening riff of the opening song (which is also the title track), it’s quite clear that “All Shall Fall” is Immortal firing on all cylinders, burying us all in an avalanche of frostbitten metal.

During the course of it’s 40-minute running time, “All Shall Fall” is void of mid-tempo tracks until the closing “Unearthly Kingdom”, which is also the first time Immortal let a song truly stretch out. The first six tracks all range from 4-6 minutes in length, give or take a dozen seconds, and all of those six tracks are up-tempo affairs. Picking out favorites amongst the seven tracks is a tough task, as I dare say all of them are of a very high standard except perhaps “Unearthly Kingdom” which does a good job of closing out the album, but it’s just not as good as the preceeding six cuts.

The production of “All Shall Fall” is perhaps the album’s greatest strength, actual songs aside. Immortal’s latter albums all had good, fitting productions but they never quite hit the bull’s eye like “All Shall Fall” has done. It is seemingly raw, yet open enough to allow multiple layers and clarity for the respective instruments. The band has also embraced modern recording and production to achieve the punchy, thick wall of sound that is the standard of today’s metal albums. Where the production truly has succeeded however is in the details department. The small, subtle effects like the phaser in the mid-section of the title track and other small additions that on the surface make a very small contribution help push this album to new heights.

“All Shall Fall” is front-to-back one of the best albums we’ll hear all year, and one of the best comeback albums of all time as well. Immortal have done the musical equivalent of blowing their load and I wouldn’t be surprised if this album sorts out the issue with global warming, because it most certainly sounds like true, grim, frostbitten winter.

Rating: 9.5

http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/reviews/summaries/this_month_in_metal_augustseptember_2009.html

Conservationist wrote:

Quote :

Summary: a good rock album, a bad metal one.



This album is really good for what it is, but it's in a genre I don't really like. That is to say, it's no longer black metal; it's more like dark indie rock, maybe a little Nick Cave mixed in with your Sisters of Mercy with more punkish riffs.

The vocals are as raspy as ever, the tempo changes and transitions are still breakneck intense, and the melodic sense of an unfolding landscape is there, but in the small. It's both not bad and not good enough to be Immortal.

Immortal - All Shall Fall

Yeah... it's like a dark rock album. Not bad compared to Bullet for My Valentine, nothing at all when compared to Blizzard Beasts, Diabolical Fullmoon Mysticism, Pure Holocaust or even At the Heart of Winter (a good heavy metal album).

Indie rock? Dark rock? No longer black metal??
WTF?
How did you reach the conclusion this isn't black metal?
Of course the production is going to be better than early black metal, the whole premise for early black metal was sh*tty production with semi-repetitive blast beats.

If this new Immortal album had a moder day thrash equivalent, I'd rate it at Kreator - Enemy of God or Hordes of Chaos.

This album is by no means "punkish", nor is it boring and monotonous.

(Blizzard Fury!)
Immortal - Arctic Swarm (THIS SONG KICK A PLETHORA OF A$$!!)
Immortal - Mount North

(Mid Paced, Feel the Frostbite!)
Immortal - Unearthly Kingdom

(Black Metal Warriors Rise!)
Immortal - The Rise of Darkness

Granted these are the only tracks available to me at the moment, but by judging from the tempo of things now, this album IS black metal. It's well produced contemporary black metal.

On a further note:

WTH is up with this notion of "all modern stuff is crap every good band's best stuff is earlier and everything else just sucks now" kinda mentality? I've seen it happen to TONS of awesome bands.

mc666 wrote:

Lurideath wrote:

This album is awesome!! Its still black metal and it's still Immortal. Whoever reviewed that really hasn't listened to the disc!

really? sweet, i trust your opinion over some newspaper critic.

after reading some other things he wrote, he did kind of seem uninformed. he stated that Behemoth was a metalcore band.

Not only misinformed, he also comes off as someone who thinks he is the be-all end-all critic of metal citing his 'years' of listening to it as credibility.

Quote :

WTH is up with this notion of "all modern stuff is crap every good band's best stuff is earlier and everything else just sucks now" kinda mentality? I've seen it happen to TONS of awesome bands.

I agree 110% Well said.

That's kinda what happened with the new Metallica IMHO. That album is awesome! And it's just not good enough for older fans because ... it has some modern elements? Know what I mean?

Metallic Blaze wrote:

That's kinda what happened with the new Metallica IMHO. That album is awesome! And it's just not good enough for older fans because ... it has some modern elements? Know what I mean?

Exactly, I mean, Metallica being a beefy example. While we all can agree St. Anger was a flop, Death Magnetic is a good Metallica album! People get in their head, a particular perception of how a band should sound like. Everything else that doesn't sound like that causes conflict, especially if they move towards a subgenre of music that carries with it a negative stigma (e.g. metalcore, nu-metal, etc).

If a band sounds (exactly, or close to) the same as when they debuted then they probably won't be successful commercially and or musically as they don't progress or develop.

Many bands (Slayer, Exodus, Kreator, Megadeth, Immortal, etc) debut with the 'raw' talent and ideas and a level musicianship that reflects a new band. The production isn't the best, the songwriting isn't as developed.

As they all progressed, their sounds developed, production steadily got better as did songwritting and ideas (typically).

It's only natural to refine/re-define the style of riffing/soloing ,etc. Gotta keep it relatively fresh.

UPDATE: I'd buy that Immortal album from hearing Arctic Swarm ALONE!! OMG!!!!! That song is SO . . . FRAKKING. . .AWESOME!