Battles in the North is the third studio album by Norwegian black metal band Immortal. It was released on May 15, 1995 through Osmose Productions. It picks up where its predecessor, Pure Holocaust, left off, featuring extreme tempos, low-fidelity production, and lyrics about coldness or wintery landscapes. This is the first album where the concept of Blashyrkh becomes a central focus. It is the last album to feature Abbath on drums.
| Battles in the North | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | May 15, 1995 | |||
| Recorded | September 1994 | |||
| Studio | Grieg Hall, Bergen, Norway | |||
| Genre | Black metal | |||
| Length | 35:14 | |||
| Label | Osmose | |||
| Producer | Eirik Hundvin and Immortal | |||
| Immortal chronology | ||||
| ||||
Background
editThe songs "Cursed Realms of the Winterdemons" and "Circling Above in Time Before Time" reference The Underdark, a setting from Dungeons & Dragons.[citation needed]
Music videos were made for "Blashyrkh (Mighty Ravendark)" and "Grim and Frostbitten Kingdoms", the latter featuring Hellhammer on drums, who also became the band's touring drummer during this period.
Release
editThe album was issued in multiple formats, including the standard CD, a limited edition digipak, a limited edition digipak with embossed band logo and album title, cassette tape, a jewel case with slip cover, fold-out poster and bonus tracks taken from the Immortal EP (limited to 3000 copies), and a limited edition LP released under Osmose Productions (re-pressed six times over the years starting in 2005). The artwork on the limited slip cover CD is an original oil painting done by Jeroen van Valkenburg.
Reception
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal | 7/10[2] |
In 2009, IGN included Battles in the North in their "10 Great Black Metal Albums" list.[3]
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Battles in the North" | Demonaz | Abbath, Demonaz | 4:11 |
| 2. | "Grim and Frostbitten Kingdoms" | Demonaz | Abbath, Demonaz | 2:47 |
| 3. | "Descent Into Eminent Silence" | Demonaz | Abbath, Demonaz | 3:10 |
| 4. | "Throned by Blackstorms" | Demonaz | Abbath, Demonaz | 3:39 |
| 5. | "Moonrise Fields of Sorrow" | Demonaz | Abbath, Demonaz | 2:24 |
| 6. | "Cursed Realms of the Winterdemons" | Demonaz | Demonaz | 3:59 |
| 7. | "At the Stormy Gates of Mist" | Demonaz | Abbath, Demonaz | 3:00 |
| 8. | "Through the Halls of Eternity" | Demonaz | Abbath | 3:35 |
| 9. | "Circling Above in Time Before Time" | Abbath | Abbath | 3:55 |
| 10. | "Blashyrkh (Mighty Ravendark)" | Demonaz | Abbath, Demonaz | 4:34 |
| Total length: | 35:14 | |||
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 11. | "Diabolical Fullmoon Mysticism" | 0:42 |
| 12. | "Unholy Forces of Evil" | 4:28 |
| 13. | "The Cold Winds of Funeral Frost" | 3:40 |
| Total length: | 44:04 | |
Misprint
editOn some editions of this album, most notably on iTunes, many tracks are mislabelled. The songs play in the order shown above, but the song titles are given as follows:
- "Battles in the North"
- "At the Stormy Gates of Mist"
- "Through the Halls of Eternity"
- "Moonrise Fields of Sorrow"
- "Cursed Realms of the Winterdemons"
- "Throned by Blackstorms"
- "Grim and Frostbitten Kingdoms"
- "Descent into Eminent Silence"
- "Circling Above in Time Before Time"
- "Blashyrkh (Mighty Ravendark)"
Personnel
edit- Abbath – vocals, drums, bass guitar, production
- Demonaz – guitar, production
- Eirik Hundvin – production
References
edit- ^ Van der Pol, Marc. "Pure Holocaust review". Allmusic. Retrieved October 11, 2011.
- ^ Popoff, Martin (1 August 2007). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 3: The Nineties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 205. ISBN 978-1-894959-62-9.
- ^ Ramirez, Carlos (6 January 2009). "10 Great Black Metal Albums – IGN". ign.com. Retrieved 20 November 2012.