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Well, damn. So, it's been nine long years since the last Immortal album. I wasn't expecting it anymore. With Abbath gone, there were a lot of questions as to whether this would be any good. Well, yes, yes it is. The album kicks off so hard that it immediately reminded me of their early material, that is raw, fast, pounding black metal that literally takes no prisoner. But, At the Heart of Winter and later Immortal lovers, fear not. The later-period Immortal is alive and well here and most of the songs are made from that mould.

Quite frankly, I find that this is very well in line with what Immortal have been doing for the past 20 years or so (still pissed at those nine silent years though), and I'm not sure I would have taken notice if I didn't know Abbath had left (no disrespect to the man, who has released some great solo stuff). This is one of those albums with no weak tracks and that just begs for repeat plays. Even though I'm more of a fan of Immortal's material starting with At the Heart of Winter, the inclusion of a bit of the more brutal earlier period somehow fits really well with everything else and, dare I say, sounds pretty fucking good.

You like Immortal? This is a safe bet, no question. If you don't, well, you suck and you're not reading this anyway, so there! ;)