Immortal
At Heart Of Winter

The solar year 1998 was a time when black metal was experiencing a void—first the arrest of Varg Vikernes (Burzum), then Bard Faust's arrest (Emperor). Immortal, along with Burzum, Darkthrone, Emperor, etc., were making the best black metal ever. This album was recorded within a solar month, yet it feels like being in the middle of a storm of snow and ice, conveying many emotions and sensations for a genre like black metal that aimed to frighten and annihilate the listener.

The Bergen combo, however, does not forgo a melodic touch in this album. We are not dealing with the early Immortal of 'battles of north' or 'pure holocaust' who were allergic to melody; in fact, quite the opposite. Demonaz had to leave the band due to arm issues that prevented him from playing the guitar, but he maintained a fundamental role in the group by writing the lyrics. On drums, there's Horg, one of the best drummers in the black scene, alongside Hellhammer and Frost. The guitar is in the hands of Abbath—witness how divinely he played the drums on 'battles of north'.

Besides the lineup change, the band's sound also shifts, leaning more towards melody and especially much cleaner. Although the proposal is less raw and dirty, it is by no means commercial. Finally, the album artwork changes too, making the band's logo more readable. The album's theme is the cold of the north, the ice, as suggested by the album's title, a return to the Viking origins of the northern peoples, showing us how powerful the cold is. "At heart of winter" is a perfect orgy between a matrix of pure black metal and thrash and heavy influences with guitar and drums dominating the scene. We move to "solarfall", the shortest track on the platter about the cold north. Then we move to "the blow of horizon", the longest track on the album—in short, they are true Viking hymns.

It is impossible to analyze track by track: this is a work of art with no track inferior or superior to the others. The songwriting is excellent, even surpassing Darkthrone. "At heart of winter" is an album that should be part not only of blacksters but of all black metal enthusiasts—of everyone who appreciates music in general and metal. Unfortunately, Immortal will disband, and it will be one of the most tragic events of the third millennium, alongside the death of Dimebag Darrel, Chuck Schuldiner, and Quorthon, with this band always faithful to the black flame.