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1) Immortal is a black metal band from Bergen, Norway, founded in 1991 by frontman and guitarist Abbath Doom Occulta (Olve Eikemo) and guitarist Demonaz Doom Occulta (Harald Nævdal). The pair worked with various drummers (including Grim, Armagedda and Hellhammer), and were later joined by current drummer Horgh (Reidar Horghagen) in 1996.
In March 2015, long-serving member Abbath announced his departure from the group following a dispute with the other members of the band, and he went on to form a new band under his name called Abbath. It was initially reported that following Abbath's departure, the band would split up. However, In August 2015, Demonaz and Horgh said that the band would continue without Abbath. Demonaz would return to playing guitar with the band for the first time since 1997, and would also do vocals as well.
Immortal arose from two short-lived bands, Old Funeral and Amputation, which were formed by Abbath and others in 1988. Immortal's original lineup consisted of ex-members from both of these bands. Old Funeral was founded by Abbath and Tore (Tore Bratseth), then went through a string of guitarists (including Demonaz, Varg Vikernes and Jørn Inge Tunsberg) until disbanding in 1992. Abbath, Demonaz, and Jørn formed Amputation, which released two demos with Demonaz on guitar and vocals, Jørn on guitars, and Padden on drums, before disbanding in 1990.
Members of Old Funeral and Amputation formed Immortal in 1991, with Abbath on bass and lead vocals, Demonaz on guitar, and Armagedda on drums. The music on their early demo recordings was death metal, with lyrics influenced by Morbid Angel and Possessed. The band then became influenced by Euronymous and bands like Bathory and Celtic Frost. They released their self-titled EP in 1991, which saw a stylistic change to black metal. This was followed by their debut album Diabolical Fullmoon Mysticism in 1992. Immortal's early full-length releases were in traditional black metal style, but their most acclaimed album, At the Heart of Winter, marks the period when the band began to experiment with a complex fusion of black metal and German thrash metal, resulting in the sound of Immortal's later works.
In 1995, the band released two video clips directed by British artist David Palser, entitled Masters of Nebulah Frost, through Osmose Productions. They featured many bizarrely-shot images of frozen landscapes and vast forests with the band performing two songs from the album Battles in the North, "Grim and Frostbitten Kingdoms" and "Blashyrkh (Mighty Ravendark)", on a Norwegian mountainside. The video for "Grim and Frostbitten Kingdoms" features Mayhem drummer, Hellhammer (Jan Axel Blomberg). These clips have become the template for many other bands producing such works, similarly to how "The Call of the Wintermoon" is also highly influential.
The members of Immortal were involved in a legal battle with each other over the rights to the Immortal trademark. They were also due to submit a new album to the Nuclear Blast label, though little information regarding the album and its release had been disclosed. It is confirmed, however, by Abbath that the album had been completed with the aid of various musicians.
In March 2015, Abbath left Immortal as a result of this conflict and an inability to move forward. Abbath is to continue as a musician with a solo band under his name.
On 8 January 2018, the band posted Via Facebook an update on Immortal's upcoming 9th Full-length, stating "We have put a massive amount of energy into this, and wanted to deliver our absolutely best. It has been a pleasure to finish the studio process and most of all being stoked about the final result. Peter Tägtgren has done an outstanding job in producing and mixing it. We now look forward to have it released, and are excited to share our 9th full length with you all." the release date of the album is scheduled for sometime in 2018, releasing under Nuclear Blast Records. The album will feature original member Demonaz on vocals and for the first time in 20 years, he will also play guitar. Demonaz has been the main contributor for the bands lyricism since an injury he had suffered, prevented him from continuing to play guitar for the band since 1998. The last album which had featured Demonaz on Guitar was 1997 album Blizzard Beasts. This will be the first Immortal album to not feature Abbath in the lineup.
On 18 April 2018, the tracklisting and title of the new album was revealed to be Northern Chaos Gods and was given a release date of 6 July 2018.
Immortal's lyrics are based on an overall theme, a realm called "Blashyrkh", which is said to be "demon-and-battle-filled". The idea for Blashyrkh came about from Demonaz and Abbath's feelings of isolation living in Bergen. They created Blashyrkh to mirror those feelings, basing it on Norway, including "winter landscapes", "the woods, the mountains, the darkness, the fog", and "glacial valleys". When writing lyrics, the band Immortal's lyricist Demonaz often takes long walks in the Norwegian countryside near his hometown of Bergen for inspiration. Unlike many early black metal bands, Immortal does not have satanic-themed lyrics. However, on the band's first album, there were a few satanic references but without any lyrics attacking religion.
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2) A Dutch goth rock band from the late '80s, see e.g. their verified Spotify profile with several releases:
https://open.spotify.com/artist/2NLYWhkv6D3xLqxPc4bfoD
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3) There is also a rapper with the same name.
4) Immortal was a thrash metal band that would disband and go on to form Circle of Dust
Wrath From Above
Immortal Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Leading the charge into battle
Ravaging the lands
Shadows flow on the windrippled steps
Our black sparkling eyes
Celebrating death
The moon is setting on a grim world
Swallowing the sun
Shades gather on the thundra
Ascend from the gods
Who once walked the earth
Before the might of our wrath
Hear the mighty sound of damnation
Of dust all lands will lay in a savage of chaos
Before the menace
Strike you all by the blaze of glorious victories
Before batallions storm you all
Hear the mighty sound of damnation
Again from above gate we stride at hand
Leading the charge into battle
Ravaging the lands
Shadows flow on the windrippled steps
Our black sparkling eyes
Celebrating death
The opening lines of "Wrath From Above" by Immortal depicts the timeless image of a warlord leading his troops into battle. The singer speaks of striding "from above gate," an archaic term for a portal or entrance, and leading the charge into battle, "ravaging the lands." The next few lines elicit a sense of dark magic and power. As the shadows flow on the steps of wind-rippled mountains, the soldiers' "black sparkling eyes" celebrate death. The song seems to encapsulate the adrenaline, courage, and bloodlust of soldiers going to war.
The chorus of the song emphasizes the ferocity of the soldiers' wrath. They are not hesitant to strike with the force of damnation, and they leave nothing but chaos and dust in their wake. The verse that follows seems to allude to Norse mythology and the idea of gods once walking the earth. Here, the soldiers seem to be immortal beings capable of summoning powers beyond comprehension. The chorus repeats with an added emphasis on the word "all," suggesting that no one can escape their wrath. The final verse repeats the imagery from the opening, and the song ends with a sense of pummeling victory.
Line by Line Meaning
Again from above gate we stride at hand
We are ready for battle, entering through the gates with confidence.
Leading the charge into battle
We are the first ones to engage in battle, taking the lead.
Ravaging the lands
We are causing destruction and chaos across the territory we seek to conquer.
Shadows flow on the windrippled steps
The darkness of our presence looms large over the battlefield, as our movements are swift and powerful.
Our black sparkling eyes
Our eyes are filled with a fierce determination, even as we revel in the bloody chaos of war.
Celebrating death
We take pleasure in the death and destruction that we bring, as it symbolizes our prowess and dominance.
Again from beyond our realm we come forth
We are not of this world, but have entered this realm in order to destroy and conquer.
The moon is setting on a grim world
The world we are in is a dark and foreboding place, with only the moon to light our way.
Swallowing the sun
Our power is so great that even the sun is overshadowed and subdued by our presence.
Shades gather on the thundra
Even the landscape itself bears witness to our power, as the shadows of death gather over the frigid plain.
Ascend from the gods
Our prowess and power approaches that of the divine, and we rise to the pinnacle of mortal combat.
Who once walked the earth
We are not mere mortals, but are instead beings of immense power and strength.
Before the might of our wrath
No one can stand against us when we unleash our unbridled fury.
Hear the mighty sound of damnation
The destruction and chaos we bring is so great that it echoes with a terrible sound of damnation.
Of dust all lands will lay in a savage of chaos
We will leave nothing but ruins and dust in our wake, as we bring savage destruction to all who oppose us.
Before the menace
Our power is so great that we are seen as a menace to all who would stand against us.
Strike you all by the blaze of glorious victories
Our victories are so complete and total that they burn with a glorious fire.
Before batallions storm you all
We are not alone in our quest for domination, as entire battalions follow in our wake.
Again from above gate we stride at hand
Once again, we enter the battlefield with unbridled confidence and power.
Leading the charge into battle
We continue to lead the charge, full of ferocity and determination.
Ravaging the lands
We continue to destroy and conquer, leaving nothing but death and destruction in our wake.
Shadows flow on the windrippled steps
We remain shrouded in darkness and mystery, striking from the shadows.
Our black sparkling eyes
Our eyes continue to sparkle with a dark intensity, as we revel in the blood and carnage of battle.
Celebrating death
We continue to take pleasure in the death and destruction we bring, reveling in our own power and dominance.
Lyrics © THE ROYALTY NETWORK INC.
Written by: HARALD NAEVDAL, OLVE EIKEMO, REIDAR HORDHAGEN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind