At the Heart of Winter
marks the beginning of
Immortal
's second incarnation, paring the band down to the duo of
Abbath Doom Occulta
and
Horgh
after the departure of guitarist and founding member
Demonaz Doom Occulta
due to severe tendonitis in his arms. Thus,
Abbath
alone took over six-string and songwriting duties (although
Demonaz
still contributed his trademark fantastical war- and winter-themed lyrics), and
progressed beyond their blurry, hyperspeed, under-produced past into muscular
metal
maturity, melding frostbitten
Norwegian black metal
with the intricate riffing and tempo changes of
German thrash
. Which isn't to say the group abandoned blastbeats or
's throaty reptilian croak; within the lengthy, creatively arranged epics
"Withstand the Fall of Time,"
"Years of Silent Sorrow,"
"Tragedies Blows at Horizon"
lies a balance of battle-ready blitzkrieg and grandiose, anthemic melodies only hinted at in
's previous output (see
"Mountains of Might"
on the preceding album,
Blizzard Beasts
). The material lends breathing room to the drums, with skin-pounder
adding to the album's majestic feel with a diverse, organic performance.
also found
forging their relationship with head
Hypocrisy
honcho/producer
Peter Tagtgren
and his
Abyss Studios
, which gives the album a thick, weighty mix that complements the group's inspired songwriting. The result is a clarity and focus that few purveyors of the genre succeeded at finding, a painstakingly organized assemblage of
black metal
's base elements into a disciplined purity of
that prefers the power of the almighty riff instead of the occasionally overblown classical structuring of much-lauded stalwarts
Emperor
Cradle of Filth
or the strange experimentation that
Mayhem
Arcturus
would undertake.
should sway even
naysayers into the
camp, provided they can look past the bandmembers' gimmicky face paint and silly posturing in the CD booklet photos and embrace the majestic
within. ~ John Serba