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Abbath’s “Winter Bane” Shows He Doesn’t Need Immortal To Kick Ass

I was extremely lucky to have the opportunity to go see Immortal back in 2011, a gig that has since stood the test of the time as one of the

8 years ago

I was extremely lucky to have the opportunity to go see Immortal back in 2011, a gig that has since stood the test of the time as one of the grimmest and most sickeningly-entertaining 90 minutes of my life. It really sucked to hear that the band couldn’t get over their managerial and financial concerns recently and decided to end things on sour terms, but it was still somewhat relieving that Abbath would continue on by himself. It really stings knowing that Immortal was planning on getting back in the studio within the next year, but I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what ole Abbath is capable of…


Oh, wait a minute. This is amazing. Like, Sons of Northern Darkness-level amazing. This is the exact merger of black metal and thrash that Abbath has been churning out since day one, but it feels way more inspired and charismatic than just about anything that was on All Shall Fall. Everything is just as frigid as his former band’s (it still feels strange saying that) material from the late 90s, but it’s been glossed over with modern production that luckily never comprimises attitude for clarity. Oh, and did I mention that “Winter Bane” boasts plenty of chortle-inducing frogman vocals that only Abbath can execute without ridicule? Ironically, Abbath sounds like he’s having more fun writing music for this upcoming solo record than he did with the band that has surrounded his entire musical life.

You better be getting all kinds of hyped for his self-titled solo debut. It’s coming out on January 22nd and will inevitably be the perfect soundtrack for getting lost in your local frostbitten forest of choice.

-KB

Heavy Blog

Published 8 years ago