AltScene

Immortal

Over the last eleven years, Immortal have slowly – but not always quietly – established themselves as a leading act in black metal. With the recent passing of the last emperor, the black metal world is like a snake with no head, a writhing mass of coiled muscle wasting away under the weight of its own grimness. It’s time for the true successor to step forward and seize the abdicated throne. And I promise you this, true believers, it won’t be a gaggle of major label limeys in Halloween costumes sporting bad dye jobs and fake blood.

Immortal’s conquest began in 1991. Abbath (ex-Old Funeral) and Demonaz (ex-Amputation) came together with the singular desire to create icy, uncompromising black metal. Their modus operandi was simple: spikes, corpsepaint and music caustic enough to sear the ears of their enemies. An undeniable love for Bathory, Venom and Slayer peppered their early work, as is evident on their debut release, Diabolical Fullmoon Mysticism. Abbath handled bass in the old days with Demonaz on guitar. The drummer slot took on nearly Spinal Tap proportions as the throne had a constantly rotating roster including Armagedda, Grim (ex-Borknagar) and Hellhammer (Mayhem). At times Abbath himself even sat behind the kit, as on Pure Holocaust and Battles in the North.

Despite being essentially a two-piece, Immortal created an indelible niche for themselves by writing frosty, fast and catchy songs laden with fantasy-tinged lyrics about a mystical, icy place known only as Blashyrk. With Hellhammer on drums, the band embarked on their first big European tour with Morbid Angel in 1995. The tour only served to raise their status. After 1997’s Blizzard Beasts, which saw the addition of the titan known simply as Horge, Demonaz experienced severe nerve damage in his hand that prevented him from further playing guitar. Abbath changed to guitar, and the band found a temporary bass player in Ares from Aeternus. Demonaz stayed active with the band writing all the lyrics and serving as the band’s manager. In 1999, the band returned stronger than before and clearly established the definitive Immortal sound with At the Heart of Winter and its follow-up Damned in Black. Rounded out by new bassist Iscariah, Immortal stood above the others, as the records received incredible press worldwide. U.S. audiences even got a small taste of the band live, as they did a week of dates with fellow Norwegians Satyricon.

Damned in Black finished the band’s deal with Osmose Productions. The band signed with Nuclear Blast Records for the world and will see proper distribution in the U.S. for the first time with their seventh release Sons of Northern Darkness. Once again recorded at Abyss Studios and produced by Peter Tägtgren (Hypocrisy), who also produced the last two, SOND continues in the great Immortal tradition of thick riffs, pounding drums, grim-throated vocals and an undeniable hook of melody that ties it all together. And as the black metal throne now stands vacant, Immortal stake their claim with a prophecy-fulfilling lyric from "In My Kingdom Cold": "At the mountains of madness/Unending grimness this kingdom is mine."

PEOPLE WHO LIKE IMMORTAL

nindarkhalo

Warwickshire
United Kingdom

Jun 22, 2025 00:27

Nocturnal Sleazef**ker

Texas
United States

Jun 22, 2025 00:12

Reinhard

QLD
Australia

Jun 22, 2025 00:10

Vargr80

New York
United States

Jun 21, 2025 23:53

Ranger Pariah

Idaho
United States

Jun 21, 2025 23:51

Cobra

Nomadic
Norway

Jun 21, 2025 22:51

XxOrenxX

Arizona
United States

Jun 21, 2025 22:29

CosmicHorror

California
United States

Jun 21, 2025 22:25

𖤐 ᛘᚢᚿᚱᛆᛪ 𖤐

Tennessee
United States

Jun 21, 2025 22:01

Aussie Metalhead

Sydney
Australia

Jun 21, 2025 21:46

Musta Valkoinen

Dorset
United Kingdom

Jun 21, 2025 21:44

⸸🔥Misanthropic⛧Soul🔥⸸

Quepos
Costa Rica

Jun 21, 2025 21:28

aNdRoMatH

Georgia
United States

Jun 21, 2025 19:29

VictorianDemon

California
United States

Jun 21, 2025 18:13

Another Rock 'n' Roll Suicide

Washington D.C
United States

Jun 21, 2025 18:10

Trunkssy

Somerset
United Kingdom

Jun 21, 2025 16:58

SJG

Derbyshire
United Kingdom

Jun 21, 2025 16:52

Wispyghoul

Sydney
Australia

Jun 21, 2025 16:09

𝕽𝖔𝖘𝖊

Hampshire
United Kingdom

Jun 21, 2025 13:41

Hvergelmir

Midtjylland
Denmark

Jun 21, 2025 12:56

goth guitarist

East Riding of Yorkshire
United Kingdom

Jun 21, 2025 10:00

Aop1975

West Sussex
United Kingdom

Jun 21, 2025 09:10

Elddop Emily

Texas
United States

Jun 21, 2025 03:53

phrozenspite

New Hampshire
United States

Jun 21, 2025 00:28

Thelema666

Cumbria
United Kingdom

Jun 20, 2025 21:53

alex1926

London
United Kingdom

Jun 20, 2025 20:48

Bloodmoon

Bristol
United Kingdom

Jun 19, 2025 20:44

Samcro85

West Sussex
United Kingdom

Jun 19, 2025 20:23

NutTraces (Alex)

Derbyshire
United Kingdom

Jun 19, 2025 19:45

Varg

Zagreb
Croatia

Jun 19, 2025 12:52

Immolation666

Cleveland
United Kingdom

Jun 19, 2025 00:05

One More Red Nightmare 666

Herefordshire
United Kingdom

Jun 18, 2025 21:10

Oleg

Krakow
Poland

Jun 18, 2025 17:13

gerard-27

Greater Manchester
United Kingdom

Jun 18, 2025 09:50

Kafka1000

Nuremberg
Germany

Jun 18, 2025 09:14

Bleak.n.Blurry

Kent
United Kingdom

Jun 18, 2025 00:10

DragonGod

Texas
United States

Jun 17, 2025 16:25

DecadenceWithin

New York
United States

Jun 17, 2025 16:05

Krissy

Devon
United Kingdom

Jun 17, 2025 13:40

MrCarnage

Warwickshire
United Kingdom

Jun 17, 2025 05:19

razisan

Pennsylvania
United States

Jun 16, 2025 19:22

MakeMetalBlackAgain

Washington
United States

Jun 16, 2025 03:18

Tom_Corpse

California
United States

Jun 16, 2025 00:41

HardnHeavy3140

NSW
Australia

Jun 15, 2025 15:13

Behlial88

Nottinghamshire
United Kingdom

Jun 15, 2025 07:14

Evil_Troll_Master

Kentucky
United States

Jun 14, 2025 01:32

NikkiSixx66

California
United States

Jun 13, 2025 19:31

Meowstopheles

California
United States

Jun 12, 2025 21:26

GOOD LUCK

California
United States

Jun 12, 2025 08:26

Jim_Jamalam

Northamptonshire
United Kingdom

Jun 11, 2025 04:02

Johnny Rocker

Gothenburg
Sweden

Jun 10, 2025 19:47

MetalDrummer88

Nevada
United States

Jun 10, 2025 02:19

Wintermoonhobbit

Idaho
United States

Jun 8, 2025 22:42

Breebreescree

Greater Manchester
United Kingdom

Jun 5, 2025 15:34

r3fuse

Ontario
Canada

Jun 4, 2025 01:45

KingPaimon666

Vilnius
Lithuania

Jun 1, 2025 21:14

Aeylyeaelle

Antwerp
Belgium

Jun 1, 2025 17:19

Flackodia

Nordrhein-Westfalen
Germany

May 29, 2025 15:39

h8makingnames

Virginia
United States

May 27, 2025 20:03

GoodDieYoung89

West Midlands
United Kingdom

May 27, 2025 09:24

brokenwings

Cape Town
South Africa

May 25, 2025 19:22

Born

Noord Holland
Netherlands

May 24, 2025 21:01

SILENT_NW

Illinois
United States

May 22, 2025 19:39

Lavinia

London
United Kingdom

May 21, 2025 23:43

LUGZ

Lancashire
United Kingdom

May 21, 2025 02:16

Cr0w47

California
United States

May 16, 2025 08:41

Big sam

London
United Kingdom

May 15, 2025 21:35

HorrorJunkie66

Pennsylvania
United States

May 15, 2025 19:40

GoblinsGrin

Texas
United States

May 15, 2025 09:45

TheDankDarkKnight

East Sussex
United Kingdom

May 13, 2025 00:55

Razz Von Doom

Missouri
United States

May 9, 2025 00:04

PentaGrimM_666

London
United Kingdom

May 8, 2025 20:27

Valhallan75

Kansas
United States

May 8, 2025 05:02

rickster

Idaho
United States

May 5, 2025 03:18

Azrael

Caserta
Italy

May 2, 2025 01:06

HackSore

Greater Manchester
United Kingdom

Apr 29, 2025 19:00

DarkEdgelord

Virginia
United States

Apr 17, 2025 23:36

RunaWulfa

gld
Netherlands

Apr 14, 2025 13:21

TATED N PIERCED BIKERSKIN

Florida
United States

Apr 14, 2025 02:50

slashhrr

Tennessee
United States

Apr 2, 2025 05:15