Between Two Worlds

The rightly hailed side project of Immortal brethren Abbath and Demonaz offers something of a unique conundrum for any who encounter it and have any knowledge of the band’s history. Some might think this twist would revolve around the question of what was the point of making this a side project and not just a logical follow up to “Sons Of Northern Darkness”. However, a more interesting proposition would go along the lines of would diehard Immortal fans be okay with an album like this, particularly given the addition of Ice Dale for handling the lead duties normally tackled by Abbath. After all, in many respects this is a very atypical album in respect of Immortal’s history, though the same general sound of the past 2 or 3 albums perseveres on “Between Two Worlds” despite the different template employed here.

It might actually be a mistake to refer to this album as being a mere heavy/black metal hybrid, given that the lyrical subjects and overall sound is much more in line with the Viking era of Bathory, even more so than most who are overtly trying to emulate said sound. While the comparisons to Motorhead are not without some plausibility given the generally groovy tempo, mostly rock oriented drum beats and bluesy guitar solos, but one doesn’t normally associate towering, snow covered landscapes and ancient warfare with Lemmy’s brand of debauchery soaked rock and roll. The general drive of this album has much more to do with that of “Twilight Of The Gods” and “Blood On Ice”, though Abbath’s grim, toneless though intelligible ravings hearken back a few albums earlier in Quorthon’s body of work.

In spite of a generally laid back tempo and somewhat less frenzied riff set being employed for the foundation of this opus, this doesn’t lose any of the charm and appeal normally associated with Immortal. There are no blast beats to speak of, the production is much more clear and the guitars all but sing as opposed to scream out amidst the fuzz, but a looming sense of coldness and desperation endures from each verse to the next. In fact, apart from some moderately fast speed metal sections on “Battalions” and “Cursed We Are”, most of which not going too far beyond the measured madness of the average Exciter album, this could be compared to the lower to mid-tempo coasting of a doom album, though the atmosphere is a bit colder and lighter than something put out by Candlemass or Saint Vitus.

But for all the intricacies to consider amidst the stylistic devices employed here, the ultimate charm of this album is that it really brings home the goods in the songwriting department. Abbath and company have definitely developed a strong affinity with writing catchy, streamlined songs that can withstand a fair amount of repetition and lose the listener in the towering landscapes of medieval Norway. Be it the irresistibly memorable title song “Between Two Worlds, the ambitious epic “Far Beyond The Quiet”, or even just the straightforward rocking approach of “The Storm I Ride”, a common thread of heroic visions and picturesque mountains engulfs all who hear them. But the real goods comes in on “Mountains” and the bonus song “Shadow Realms” where the solemn quietness and longwinded songwriting heard on Bathory’s Viking era are perfectly repackaged into a darker, bleaker format.

Black metal is often conveyed as either propaganda or extreme entertainment, but a more accurate label would be the unity of a number of varying traditions, all of them centered around a dark, yet ironically beautiful sound. This is the sort of album that perfectly demonstrates the massive divide that exists between death metal and black metal, as even the melodic variant of the former doesn’t venture into this sort of a tradition based sound. There isn’t anything inherently morbid or morose about this music, and the implicit visuals of battles pertains much more to the heroics of warriors and their respective causes, as opposed to the horror and gore. “Between Two Worlds” is probably the most accessible offering by the Norwegian scene for anyone who doesn’t ordinarily like this music, and yet is traditionally based enough to appeal to most who do. One might say that while this project is between two very different musical worlds, it has offered up the best of both.

It may look kind of lame to award a hundred for the first album rewieved for the site, but actually this is the very reason I chose it to be the first one. I's only release to date is the definitive metal album for me and if I were to get exiled to a desert island with only one CD to put in a CD player, I would choose "Between Two Worlds" without hesitation.

I was very much into Immortal ever since I started listening to black metal. I always preferred their later style displayed on "At the Heart of Winter" and next albums to any other bands of the subgenre, excellent as they might be. Telling their own tale (both musically and lyrically, inventing Blashyrkh instead of subscribing to the generic satanic theme), they were my all-time favourite in the subgenre which I never could judge unambiguously. And on the other hand my all-time favourite subgenre of metal was the classical heavy. I have listened to enough music to perceive it as divided into disjoint streams; a rule confirmed by a few exceptions of bands whose experiments were interesting, but not groundbreaking for me. I thought I knew enough to say that nothing more can surprise me on a larger scale.

And then there came Abbath with his new brainchild to prove me wrong, song by song and all over down the album again. They took my two favourite vibes of metal, classical heavy and Immortal-ish black (let's not fool ourselves with the credits, I is just Immortal, hands down), and tuned them down to an unison. The fact that one can hear much of Bathory-style viking sound in this blend is another argument for the fact that metal music forms a continuum, rather than the discrete landscape I have pictured before.

The opening track "The Storm I Ride" is one of the fastest on the album, but shows off the general idea of the project. Rhythmic, heavy, maybe too happy-sounding, but that is forgivable given what still awaits. "Warriors" is much slower, march-like, closer to the average tempo and ambience of the whole release. And the third, title track is actually the weakest of all, repetitive with respect to the previous one, but still very enjoyable, and probably Abbath's vocal lines are the most demanding here.

What comes next is a literal hit-parade to the very end of the CD and "Battalions" is my favourite track. On the technical side it may be perceived as quite dull after a moment, but it's really fast, so it actually ends before one can actually get bored. The music together with the lyrics create an unique climate, empowering, evoking military associations, rather of charging units than marching ones due to the tempo. "Mountains" is a sudden change in style, immediately bringing to mind Immortal's "Antarctica", and due to lyrical content - all of the frostbitten legacy of Abbath's main project. Basically, if Abbath growled more here, it would fit really well on "All Shall Fall". It's slower than its predecessor, but equally epic, although in totally different way.

"Days of North Winds" is again more typical I. Slightly faster than "Mountains", again showcases this unexplainable synergy of black and heavy subgenres, and has quite cool guitar solos. "Far Beyond the Quiet" is slower again, the climate persists, and the lyrics add a great amount of massiveness. Also, the vocal lines are comparatively high pitched in parts of this piece. One doesn't even notice that this is the longest track on the album (save for the bonus material). And on "Cursed We Are" hell breaks loose, this is the fastest and heaviest piece, happy-sounding, but not quite as much as the opener. With ambience closer to "Battalions", it creates a similar hypnotic effect, but weaker due to the fact that the chorus is more distinct from the stanzas here.

The bonus pieces do not water the whole composition down, as it often happens. They are two long tracks (the two longest of all, if one counts "Shadowed Realms" together with its intro), both quite slow, and both different from any previous tracks. "Bridges of Fire" is slower, longer, maybe less epic of the two, and ends in a solo part lasting longer than a minute. Oddly enough, it's easy to imagine it being played unplugged as a ballad, and this fact itself puts and interesting facet on I's musical structure. "Shadowed Realms" begins with an unplugged intro, which is a good piece to show to unbelievers who accuse black metal musicians of narrow horizons and lack of creativity. Then the theme from the intro is picked up by electric guitars and is rendered into a quite heavy song that brings the CD to its glorious finale.

I am obviously no music technician, I can't tell if this album brings anything new to music, probably not, and frankly I don't care at all. I can only notice that Armagedda's drum lines are quite repetitive, maybe uninspired, but this is well masked by the bass and rhythm guitars and doesn't spoil anything. All in all, if you care for technique, you should take my opinion with a grain of salt, but if you listen to music for climate, and you equally like Immortal and classical heavy metal, then you'll love this album. Which even after 50 listens manages to send shivers down my spine.

Crossing black metal and heavy metal is no easy task. Ask Satyricon – sometimes you just end up dumbing it down to contain hooks that end up making it mediocre black n’ roll that doesn’t have the bite of extreme metal nor the power of heavy metal. I, a tribute band of sorts to Motörhead (not too far off with that) and other greats by Abbath’s fire team, does more justice than most – almost as much as the great bands its acknowledging. Lyrics, courtesy of good old Demonaz, carve only the most glorious of sculptures worth an epic tale apiece. Every track here has an anecdote backed by monolithic riffs, grandiose scopes, antique-like production, and a Lemmy / Popeye fusion singing by Abbath to lead the call into battle.

I’m behind in believing that almost anything King is involved in (for the writing process) becomes diluted and rather mundane (there exist exceptions). Thankfully, only Abbath handled songwriting duties, with some arrangement assistance by Ice Dale. Makes sense, because these songs are packed with Maiden-loving harmonies and are supported by battering riffs and some nasty artillery (drum) annihilation. Production provides ample boost to bass, which King handles well by strict rhythm backing; his shockwave grumbling acts like the very earth rattling from an oncoming onslaught. But alas, I’m still struck by the riffs and leads; merciless and honorable – proud to fulfill its duties. There’s a true sense of classic heavy metal where one is empowered by chivalrous solos and melodies; no fake metal with drops of black – we’re talking Motörhead-energized, Maiden-like driven, Manowar-styled epics.

Dale I find to be more than competent enough for the job of lead guitarist, as Abbath can get pretty sloppy. You feel the passion in the music being played as if it were performed for a final show(down). Within the first track alone, the band treats you with the sweetest harmonies; I say harmonies over melodies because melodies in some sense implies cheap hooks, whereas harmonies have a little more depth, lasting value, and keep you coming back for more. Abbath’s rhythm riffs lay the groundwork for a “bite and hold” sort of tactic, which reminds me more of the Greek phalanx style than the messy WW1 style. “Warriors” is a telling example: gallant riffs that crush with each stomp before letting Dale flank with cavalry that sounds so enduring and momentous, especially during the emblematic outro that would mark the finale to any battle.

We haven’t seen Armagedda behind the kit since Immortal’s Diabolical Fullmoon Mysticism - rarely do we see members return from the civilian world back up in arms after so long. I must say that he hasn’t lost his touch, either – gallops and stampedes with precision and consistency backed by very thick, dusty production. Honestly, this kit is the powerhouse of the album: cymbals like thin gongs in the wind, drums bass like explosions heard from miles away, and snares like troll war beats. His style is steady the entire time: 1, 2, 3, 4, crash, crash, crash, crash, boom, boom, boom, boom, hit, hit, hit, hit… and lots of other mid-paced beating. Adds to the overwhelming feeling and doesn’t really tire me – kind of intimidating, in a way. Later on is where we see him going into machine-gun like double bass speeds and some catchy-ass supporting beats that’ll get you headbanging like crazy.

Abbath’s vocals… I mean, if you can stand Lemmy’s vocals in Motörhead, then these are solid renditions into black (or as much as they’ll allow). If you’re used to Immortal, then there isn’t much of a change, either (less rasp to it). Abbath still groans like a toad, but not as hard or crude – much more power behind them like he’s competing against wind carrying the sounds of war. For some, they’ll still be incredibly annoyed, but it works well here with the Sons Of Northern Darkness similarities. Some songs give off undeniable Immortal vibes that’ll definitely bring out hints of Bathory’s Viking era material, especially “Mountains” and “Far Beyond The Quiet,” the latter being an ode in itself to Quorthon (and a deserving one at that).

With a line-up like this and the formula that comes of it, I wouldn’t mind hearing another album soon enough. If Armagedda can get off his ass, if Abbath can put down the camera, if King can get over controlling everything he’s attached to, and if Dale can stop trying to be the Nick Barker of guitarists, then we may very well be in for a second offering. For those looking for a bold hybrid of heavy and black metal, then this it’s hard to turn this one down.

With an album title as fitting as the worthy marriage of styles found within, I was the new project of Immortal members Abbath and Armagedda, with Demonaz contributing lyrics. Ice Dale of Enslaved joins on the drums, and T.C. King from Gorgoroth on the bass. Since the material is quite close to Immortal's output before the hiatus (in particular, At the Heart of Winter and Sons of Northern Darkness), you could almost just consider it an Immortal album. After all, it retains the heavy and thick guitar tone, the only difference here is that the band have inserted the influence of bare bones, raw heavy metal. I've likened the record in the past to a Thor meets Immortal, and the comparison remains for me: bombastic, driving guitar rhythms and always a hook.

Like a lot of other Norse works, this was not an album which immediately caught me. It took several subsequent playthroughs before its hooks really started to sink into my skin. Apparently, my initial reaction was outside the norm, as I garnered a positive reaction from many upon contact. In retrospect, it's not difficult to understand why. All the hugeness and nigh 'fantastical' majesty of Immortal's later work with an even more accessible vantage point, where the previous band was already poised on massive success (through not only their musical output, but their images becoming internet memes via a bunch of ironic fuckwits who actually thought the band were taking themselves that seriously). No, there has always been an aspect of 'fun' to what Immortal did, but tempered in the cold steel of their warlike, epic grandeur. Between Two Worlds renews this spirit for the 21st century, and I hope this is not the only album we'll hear out of the collaboration.

"The Storm I Ride" strikes out immediately with a mid-paced gallop, enormous guitar rhythms dancing across Abbath's gritty but recognizable vocal rasp. There is a Viking-like folk subtext to the track which becomes apparent through the notation, and a great driving melody over the almost thrash-like bridge, which swerves into balls-out blues fury. "Warriors" cuts down the tempo to a glorious cruise, like a longship slowly making its way through the grating, fragmented ice across the northern waters. It lumbers, but the men aboard press forward, and the song itself has some excellent, hammering rhythms offset with graceful, small glistening licks. The title track falls between the first two in speed, the riffs fully coherent as if to bridge them. Once again, it's hard to imagine Abbath fronting anything more glorious, and the middle of the track slows into a penetrating crawl of choppy riffing, like the frostbite gathering on your weary toes and fingers. After this, "Battalions" is a pure throttling which would have seemed right at home on Sons of Northern Darkness, with some drifting bass lines and more of the shimmering fields of bludgeoning guitars. The riff at :40 is one of the best on the album, and it transforms into an even more epic pattern of descending majesty.

'Magic moments magic times
Barbarians born to stride
Ride with splendor for the war
Battalions at our side'

The latter half of the album holds up, with the epic "Mountains" recalling the very best of Bathory's post-Blood Fire Death period. Acoustic guitars lambasted in huge chords that truly ascend the heights of its namesake. Another of the album's absolute pinnacle riffs comes in after 1:10 in the track, and therein all is beautiful. "Days of North Winds" has a biting groove to its deep, slow thrashing, an evocation of savage natural mystique against the rise and fall of civilization. "Far Beyond the Quiet" is another track I would have pictured straight from Sons of Northern Darkness Pt II: Nephews of Northern Darkness, rousing and splendorous, slow rhythms that manage to confine both sadness and pride for the fallen and the living. I have realized by this point that Abbath is really doing a sort of hybrid of his own snarl with Quorthon's later, cleaner harsh stylings and the grimy edge of Lemmy Kilminster. It is no surprise that this track is a tribute to the Bathory frontman. "Cursed We Are" finishes the fight with yet another of the album's best, catchy rhythms, summoning an almost warm tone through the pummeling harmonics and searing winds of the bridge, and the heavy metal uprising of the chorus.

In three short years, this album has really snaked itself about my memory. Yet something holds me back from giving it a perfect score. Perhaps its the rather safe song structures that don't often meander into the unexpected, perhaps 1-2 of the tracks are not as steel solid as the rest. The album sounds phenomenal, furthering the direction of the (previously) final Immortal record. Brazen guitar rhythms that carve out the ice and ash, solid drumming and some of Abbath's best vocals are all hallmarks of the titanic sound. Though we've now got Immortal back, and they have released a killer new album All Shall Fall, I do hope this is not the end for I. This is a huge effort, well worth the time if you haven't yet heard it.

Highlight: best taken with mead, which will probably cost 3x as much as the album

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

Despite the fact that the band name is pretty weak, this release is nothing short of superb. Black metal this is not. But heavy metal this is, and if you can separate heavy metal from its various subgenres, then this has legitimate claim to be one of the best heavy metal album of the past few years.

If you are a fan of Immortal, you will not be too surprised by this type of music. This album bears much resemblance to the Sons of Northern Darkness album. In SoND we noticed some heavy metal influences, and they have been turned into a full-length album here.

All the hooks and riffs on this album are brilliant, heavy, gripping, and for the most part original. They are trademark Abbath-style riffs but I only heard a little bit of overlap between some riffs on this album and "In My Kingdom Cold" from the SoND album. The greatest riff is probably the one about one minute in on "Bridges of Fire," which is probably among the best songs on the album. Abbath plays palm-muted triplets with a simple rhythm section in the background, making for an incredibly heavy riff.

The songwriting on the whole is tremendous. Don't expect to hear any black metal here. It's upbeat, fast heavy metal, without any blast beats or any vestiges from extreme metal other than the vocals. The vocals are growling Abbath, rather than a high-pitched Abbath sound, which go really well with the rest of the sound. Unlike in Immortal, the drums are relatively toned down and simply complement the rest of the instruments, and do so very well. There are a few guitar solos too; nothing special, but it's good to hear them nonetheless. We also have some ambient, clean parts juxtaposed with killer beats and riffs.

On the whole, a great album. There are really no weak tracks at all. In fact all the tracks are about the same, with perhaps "Bridges of Fire" and "Far Beyond the Quiet" standing out a little bit above the rest.

If you liked Immortal's newer releases or if you like some straight-up heavy metal with deep growling vocals, you should get this.

I personally love Gorgoroth, Enslaved, and especially Immortal. After those bands either splitting up, or having years between releases, to my great surprise I saw this album on the shelves while I was overseas in France.

I was absolutely stoked about it, and maybe that biased me a little before I even had a listen, mainly because I already made up in my mind that this album was going to kick ass. I was certainly not disappointed.

There is a little bit of every band in this project which is something that I really liked. Especially the well-known Immortal vocals, with the somewhat groovy style of Enslaved (black metally speaking) and the crunchiness of the Gorgoroth bass, and Immortal guitars. There is much to enjoy, mainly because this album reaches through different genres of metal, while incorporating the key elements of each, and blending them all really well.

Between two worlds is a fitting title because this album isn't black metal, but something in between. Seeing as black metal was created to offset the death metal scene in America, it is odd to see heavy metal, and black metal melded together as it is here, but this elite cast did it well. Black metal mixed with heavy metal riffs and solos may be the new wave of black metal infuence, and "I" is at the forefront.

As an aside, I find it odd that these artists would go so far outside the proverbial box with this album, when Darkthrone basically did the same thing with F.O.A.D. Neither of these albums sound anything like their predecessors, which is good, and a nice change of pace. An excellent first album from artists who are anything but rookies!

Between Two Worlds is an excellent piece of art. Not only is at an easy listen, but an enjoyable one as well. From start to finish, the blackened vocals and fast-paced heavy metal keep the dark, frosty mood intact. The catchiness of the songs does not take away from the “metal” qualities of the music, but rather adds to them with a somewhat 80’s feel that is reminiscent of many great bands of that time.

As soon as the album started, I knew that it would be a good listen. Storm I Ride is an excellent track, with very memorable lyrical patterns and clean riffing. The next few songs continue with this same feel, but with added leads and more complexity and darkness. Although the atmosphere of the album is never truly “black metal”, it does have a feeling of darkness that most true Norwegian black metal bands have.

The guitar work is flawless, provided by the guitar legends of both Immortal and Enslaved. Ice Dale brings perfect lead riffs to the table, while Abbath shows us his signature style of riffing and guitar composition that can be heard in all Immortal albums. The drumming matches the guitars very well, and the two of them together make a beautiful, enjoyable atmosphere.

With so many legendary members of the black metal scene, it is impossible that there would be no blackened aspects of this band’s music. I believe that this band was attempting to try something very new, but they definitely kept influences from all of their other bands.

Overall, this album is a great listen and is something that deviates from the ordinary spectrum of black metal bands of today. I would recommend this album to anyone who appreciates bands such as Gorgoroth, Immortal, and Enslaved. Although Between Two Worlds takes some getting used to, it is well worth the patience in my opinion.

Before I go into this album, I'd like to start off by saying that I would not consider myself a black metal fan and it's really for only one reason. A lot of times I will hear a band that is under the label of black metal and really dig the music, but the growly gutteral vocals kill me... and not in a good way. I generally enjoy bands like Iron Maiden, Dio, Helloween, and 3 Inches of Blood or Manowar. So obviously, I did not expect to enjoy this album as much as I do.

While I don't have a lot of experience with death/black metal, I have heard a lot of it and I can't really decide whether or not I would include "I" in that genre. Perhaps the two worlds the album title refers to are those of traditional and black metal. The music is quite dark as are the lyrics and with band member names like Abbath and Armagedda, they definitely have some black metal influences. However, the music is very dark fist-pumping melodic metal. The riffs are Black Sabbath-ish yet the solos are somewhere high in the sky along with Dio and any other traditional metal bands.

I unfortunately can't speak for the black metal kids, but for me, this album was a huge suprise. After buying it, I listened to it straight through about four, maybe five times. It rocks. Every single song is beautiful to listen to and the vocals, while certainly in the 'growly' realm, are not distracting and fit well with the heavy guitar, in my opinion. It's been a very long time since I bought an album that I was able to continually listen to straight through.

I don't see much point in detailing each song as it seems to have already been done for this album, but I would be remiss if I didn't urge those who might not necessarily be into Norwegian black metal to give this band a shot. It's dark and heavy but melodic and quite technically impressive at the same time. And I like Abbath's vocals. Growly, yes, but I can understand the lyrics and sing along without needing a Halls cough drop afterwards.

Abbath picked a bit of an odd time to get to work on a new band, the same year an Immortal reformation was heating up, so whether or not I’s debut album will turn out to be a one-off is unclear. While the legendary black metal act was at rest from 2003 until sometime last year, one of the things Abbath did to keep himself occupied was playing in the Motörhead tribute act Bömbers, and the influence of the English stalwarts has clearly crept across to his new side band. This is an unexpectedly traditional collection of songs from one of the black metal genre’s leading lights, and ought to appeal equally to the less rabidly devout fans of both styles.

With an all-star supporting cast that lists Arve Isdal (brilliantly credited here as ‘Ice Dale’) of Enslaved, Gorgoroth’s King Ov Hell and original Immortal drummer Armagedda, the black metal influence was never going to dry up completely, and ‘Between two worlds’ is a very interesting cross pollination of the 2 genres.

The music helps itself to very traditional metal influences, but encapsulates that icy Norwegian atmosphere of black metal (now sided with stellar production) to create a rather unique sound. Abbath’s vocals, while more toned down than usual, are still his expected harsh croak, perhaps now with a touch of a Cronos flavour to them, and certainly help make for a distinctive listening experience.

The Motörhead and Venom influence is best heard on the opening and closing tracks, “The storm I ride” and “Cursed we are,” the 2 fastest and most straightforward on the CD, full of rocking swagger and headed by powerful choruses and total balls-out guitar solos. After the first track the listener would maybe expect a CD full of high adrenaline rockers, but this swiftly proves not to be the case.

The 6 remaining tracks stay mostly in midtempo and focus more on creating a dark and epic atmosphere. Tracks like “Far beyond the quiet” and “Warriors” aren’t a great distance from middle-era Bathory, conjuring up images of desolate landscapes and darkened skies. There is more of a conscious leaning towards musicianship than would be found in pure black metal, particularly in the guitar department, with lead player Ice Dale really being let off the leash on a few occasions. This of course leads to a sacrifice of the genre’s raw atmosphere to a certain degree, but that was probably the whole idea to begin with.

Lyrics are thankfully provided by Abbath’s former Immortal bandmate and longtime-collaborator Demonaz, and are up to their expected standard of brilliant silliness. Delivered as usual in only half-assured English and focusing on the usual Immortal territory of winter and death, with the new addition of battle themes, they fit the frozen atmosphere perfectly.

With such an odd concept for an album recorded by at least 3 very busy musicians, ‘Between two worlds’ actually comes together surprisingly well, with every song succinctly written – nothing seems too long or short or otherwise out of place here, and if Abbath and Ice Dale haven’t in fact put a great deal of work into writing and arranging these songs then they would be an even more gifted pair of musicians than their respective catalogues would suggest if they can roll out music of this calibre on autopilot. Thoughts like that are academic, however, for ‘Between two worlds’ has clearly been a loving effort squeezed into a series of crowded schedules, and the effort put into creating the CD is to be applauded.

While some fans will inevitably fall through the cracks as it proves too harsh for some melodic metal fans and not grim enough for their black metal counterparts, those whose tastes ‘Between two worlds’ are suited to will be delighted with this offering from Abbath Doom Occulta and company, and will only be able to live in hope that there will be a follow-up.

(Originally written for http://www.metalcdratings.com)

Gorgoroth, Immortal and Enslaved aren't exactly bands that make me dance through my room and go "whoopie". So the fact that I contains several (ex-)members of those bands didn't exactly draw my interest. I expected the same old boring Black Metal as those bands. In fact, it was this website's description that made me decide to check them out anyway: "Blackened Heavy Metal". And surprisingly, I kind of liked it! I's debut album 'Between Two Worlds' contains some very decent Heavy Metal, sometimes bordering on Hardrock, with the only Black Metal elements being the vocals and the general atmosphere on the album.

Those vocals are exactly the problem I have with this album. There are definitely some great songs on 'Between Two Worlds', but Abbath is just about the worst vocalist this music could have had. Especially because sometimes you can, with a little imagination, hear the clean vocal melodies the songs were intended to have in Abbath's desperate attempts to sound evil. Another con on this album is that it gets a little boring sometimes, because the tempos of the individual songs don't differ too much. Most of it is the same dragging midtempo stuff with very boring drum work (where have this guy's toms gone?).

Opposing that, there's this huge pro: the lead guitar. I don't know if it's Abbath or Ice Dale doing them, but the leads are absolutely stunning. Most of them are short and quite simple, but that is exactly what makes them so good. Very well structured as well. That compensates the boring element of the album quite well, because usually they come just in time; just before I plan to skip to the next track, there's this really good lead that gives me new energy to sit through the song.

In addition, the production, done by Ice Dale himself, fits the "eighties" mood the album sets very well! Not to say that this album sounds like it comes directly from the eighties, but the sound has an eighties atmosphere, yet still sounds fresh. It adds something a little extra to the overall style this album has, which wasn't bad in the first place anyway.

Highlighting the album for me is actually 'Cursed We Are', which is closing off the regular edition of the album. Without a doubt the fastest track of the album with some great pulsing rhythms and guitars (especially those palm muted ones in the pre-chorus are very cool!) and...okay there's still Abbath's horrible vocals, but when the music kicks so much ass as in 'Cursed We Are', that suddenly is much less of a problem. A recommended track for anyone to check out first.

Also above the average tempo is opening track 'Storm I Ride'. Not a bad track at all! It's a nice mood setter for what's to come. What's to come contains almost only midtempo tracks and like I said, that gets kind of boring after a few tracks, but there's some nice stuff in there. 'Battalions' is still a little faster and one of the better tracks on there, 'Far Beyond The Quiet' is a very beautiful and moody track, as is 'Mountains' and the title track grows on you after some time as well. If you get the limited edition digipack, there's three bonus track among which an acoustic outro (weirdly enough the second last track of the album...), which is the albums second highlight only after 'Cursed We Are'.

Okay, I might have given the impression that this is a bad album, but that isn't by any means true. There's not one bad song on this album, but a lot of them just sound too similar. All the tracks on themselves are enjoyable, but as a whole, there's too much sounding alike. And, as the titles mentioned above might already have suggested, the lyrics are very cheesy too. They're written by someone outside of the band (who calls himself Demonaz), but I can hardly imagine there wasn't anyone in the band who could write better lyrics. Luckily lyrics are just about the least important part of an album.

Black Metal purists will probably detest this album, but for people who want to check out what these musicians are capable of apart from overly blastbeated tracks breaking all boundaries of speed, 'Between Two Worlds' might be a nice surprise. It was to me, as I expected absolutely nothing from the album. If you can ignore Abbath's horrible vocals - something I can't - you can probably easily add ten points to the score I gave this album. Still I think the album lacks enough variation to make it a necessary purchase.

I’ve never heard this mixture of black metal and classic/heavy/thrash/old-school however you put it, done so well before. Every track on Between Two Worlds is seamless, well-produced, well-constructed, and packed with catchy, nod-your-head-along style riffs and beats. There is just a great feeling to this album, very cold but packed with a kind of energy more reminiscent of that you‘d feel in an old-school metal release, and Abbath’s vocals are perfect for this type of style. They aren’t too harsh and “diabolical” but they are still quite raw, complimenting the more classic style of the music.

One of the greatest things about this album is that it’s the kind that you do not forget. Every single song is memorable and there are definitely no fillers… It seems deliberate in its perfection. The guitar solos are crafted into the songs brilliantly and everything just fits like a glove in terms of sound and production.

Whatever hype you’ve heard about I is certainly true, because this album is absolutely flawless if this is your kind of thing. Even if it is not your kind of thing, I’m sure there is enough punch in here to make it your kind of thing!
The best songs I’d have to say are Mountains and Cursed We Are but really they all stand out and have repeat-play potential.
Catchy somehow without being cheesy, over-the-top or annoying, this is brilliant, and I’m yet to hear anything in metal that is like it. I don’t even need to tell you that with an amazing line-up as I have, how on earth could they have released anything less than brilliant?
Looking forward to the next one.

After 'Sons Of Northern Darkness' Abbath decided to put an end to Immortal or at least on ice. It was not a bad move to do it after their best album since 1997's 'Blizzard Beasts'. They went out on a good note. Somehow you knew deep inside that Abbath would come back either in Immortal or anything else. 'I' is some sort of a "super-group" with former members of Enslaved and Gorgoroth joining the mix. Demonaz still writes lyrics and Armagedda who was Immortal's drummer in their first album 'Diabolical Fullmoon Mysticism' makes a welcome appearance.

The music inside has a wide range of influences from some Kiss, Motorhead, Bathory and obviously Immortal. Abbath's voice here is very clear but with that trademark "bull-frog" croak mixed with some Lemmy as well. The band sounds very energetic and enthusiastic about making music together and the overall effort benefits greatly from it. Abbath did the right thing by not making this an Immortal album because he would have gotten crucified for selling out BIG TIME. At least by naming the band something else he can use it as a vehicle for other types of music that don't fit Immortal's past repertoire and still not get ripped for it by faithful fans. The music is hard rock bordering on heavy metal with some winter, war based themes ala Immortal. In fact the song titles are the only thing that resembles Immortal.

However on the negative side I have a problem with the name of the band. Could they have least put some thought into it? It angers me so much that any band would name themselves after a letter from the alphabet. In this day in age with internet search engines, google, ebay, metal-archives, etc. typing in the letter I will get you a ridiculous amount of search results and none of the first 500 results have anything to do with the band. Abbath could've at least done us that favor to name the band other than just I. Aside from that the music shines and it's something that Abbath must have been itching to do, just to expand his horizons and go down a different road. It's an interesting listen and a memorable one. Good job.

After hearing the radio-rip of "The Storm I Ride" awhile back when “I” was just being announced, I was a bit unsure on what to think of this band. Coming from Immortal's front man Abbath, I was expecting to hear Immortal. But this is not Immortal, this is I! And that being said, this album is phenomenal, from beginning to the end. The amount of energy, atmosphere and even catchiness of this album is to be recognized.
Complete with cold Immortal sounding riffs and structures, mixed with Motorhead and Bathory influences.

Now onto the music itself…

The album starts with “The Storm I Ride”. This is basically an introduction song of what’s to come, but do not over look it! For this will show you what kind of coldness, atmosphere and catchiness the rest of the album will provide. Shortly after comes the track “Warriors”. There is not much to be said about this song other than it’s pure brilliant. This song is the album’s “battle song”, in my opinion. It will make you feel as if you are a warrior, fighting within a cold, frozen battlefield. With that being said, every song on this album is extremely cold! “Between Two Worlds” comes next, and need I say how incredible this song is. Very Immortal epic-sounding, think of Sons of Northern Darkness.

The album continues with songs like “Battalion” and “Mountains” (Highlight song of the album, in my opinion), then onto the “Days of North Winds". Now I must say, this song is excellent but rather a standard track - nothing that hasn’t been done before by Abbath. “Far Beyond the Quiet” will hit you hard, being a tribute to Bathory’s Quorthon. Although, sadly, this track is my least favorite, the vocals ruin it for me (Why I rated this album 95% and not 100%).The album ends with “Cursed We Are” which is an excellent ending track.

All in all, this album will blow you away if you’re an Immortal, Black Metal or Metal fan in general. Expect something fresh and new, with an old twist! A very cold, atmospheric and groovy album featuring the best from Immortal, Enslaved and Gorgoroth. This is a must have album!