Immortal: Sons of Northern Darkness (2LP) [NUCLEAR BLAST]

Why you'll love it

This 2LP set spreads the album over three sides with an etched fourth, on 180g vinyl in a gatefold jacket with printed lyrics. AllMusic called it a masterpiece and arguably one of the best black metal records ever made.

This edition

• 2LP set
• 180g vinyl
• Etched D-side
• Gatefold jacket
• Printed lyrics

About the album

Norwegian black metal has never been short of atmosphere, and Immortal always had more than their share, along with a sense of grandeur that leaned toward the epic. Sons of Northern Darkness was their first album for Nuclear Blast, recorded and mixed at Peter Tägtgren's Abyss Studios in Sweden in September 2001, with Tägtgren producing alongside Abbath and drummer Horgh.

Abbath sings, plays guitar and covers most of the bass, with Iscariah on the opening "One By One," a galloping blast that later turned up in Tony Hawk's Project 8. The title track and "Tyrants" march at a heavy, midtempo stride, "Demonium" and "Within The Dark Mind" pick up speed, and "In My Kingdom Cold" draws on H.P. Lovecraft's At the Mountains of Madness. "Antarctica" and "Beyond The North Waves" close the album on a long, frozen horizon. Demonaz, the band's co-founder, wrote the lyrics, and the gatefold prints them in full, battle cries and all.

It was Abbath's last turn on bass for the band, and the album remains the polished peak of their icy, riff-driven sound. Few records make a Toronto February sound mild, but this one manages it.

Also at Kops: more Immortal on vinyl · browse Metal

Tracklist

Listen

On Nuclear Blast (cat# NBR 28251), a reissue of the 2002 album.