Send "Immortal " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Popmatters |
 Like it or not, when it comes to Immortal, their image has always preceded them. Most metal fans speak of the Norwegian band with reverence, and deservedly so, but to those nowhere near as well schooled in the history of black metal, Immortal is more commonly known as the panda-faced, axe-wielding fellas from one of the more whimsical Photoshop memes to ever hit the internet. While the pure hilarity of animated gifs of Abbath and Demonaz fighting over a Tootsie Pop is undeniable (even metal fans fully acknowledge how silly their genre can get at times), the actual music the band has produced since the early 1990s cannot be ignored. While nowhere near as innovative as Burzum, as complex as Emperor, as experimental as Ulver, or as primitive as Darkthrone, Immortal has stubbornly stuck to the template set by such albums as Pure Holocaust and Battles in the North, to the point now where extreme metal has advanced so much that their deceptively straightforward approach can sound passé in comparison.But there’s something to be said about the old metal guard, the reliable standbys we can count on for familiar sounding records. Like Motörhead, Napalm Death, and Cannibal Corpse, we know exactly what to expect from Immortal, and although their groundbreaking years are well behind them, the promise of yet another slab of grim, frostbitten tales from the fictional realm of Blashyrkh was impossible for many worldwide to resist when it was announced that the band would be putting out its first studio album in seven years. And if familiarity is what you want, All Shall Fall will not disappoint....full text |
| Sputnikmusic |
| When one first listens to All Shall Fall for the first time, it strikes uncanny resemblances to Immortal’s previous full-length album Sons Of Northern Darkness. So it seems that over the course of seven years since Sons… was released that our friends Abbath and Horgh haven’t really progressed at all, instead going for a sound which all of their fans are comfortable with, a sound which really hasn’t changed at all since their most famous album Pure Holocaust. While the songwriting hasn’t progressed, it has been tightened up and cleaned around the edges. The melodies feel more epic, the drums are produced with a heavier low-end, the lyrics are even more grim and frostbitten, and Immortal is still, well, the same old goofy Immortal. If you have heard 2002’s Sons Of Northern Darkness, than you have already heard All Shall Fall. The formula of success for Immortal once again shines through with lengthy, similar-sounding tracks which embrace some of the clichés of the genre while casting others aside. Overall, the production of the album is solid as a rock, every instrument (including bass) is clearly audible at all times, which is a welcome relief from the tendency for black metal bands nowadays to bring progression to a halt in favor of the same raw, intentionally under produced sound of the early 1990’s. The theatrics of Abbath and Horgh are also back with the addition of bassist Apollyon, this time not in the form of an embarrassing album cover featuring the band in awkward poses, but in the familiar pretentious song titles and lyrics which convey all that is black metal (namely winter, the north, and battles long ago). The majority of the guitar department is really just re-hashed riffs which sound remarkably similar and nearly always move at the typical face-melting pace. The heavy use of tremolo picking makes each riff sound sinister and evil, sometimes breaking for a slower, more crushing bridge, but it’s hard to get over the fact that absolutely nothing new is introduced into Immortal’s sound. However, the beauty comes in the small moments when Abbath works in some mellow acoustic interludes and multiple guitar solos which fit the lightning-quick pace of the songwriting, utilizing a lot of tapping for a melodic overtone while still keeping the “shred, shred, shred” attitude present....full text |
| Heavymetal |
| In the last decade, Immortal's promo photography has become so over-the-top that one can't help but laugh. Yet at the same time, in an era of irony-is-everything snobbery, it's refreshing to find a band so lost in the world they've created that they are either unaware of or just don't care about what others think. It's this unwavering dedication that makes Immortal who they are, and with All Shall Fall, their first album back after a seven-year hiatus, they show exactly why they're one of the most important bands in black metal history. The time away from the band has proven beneficial. They had never painted themselves into a corner, primarily because following the blitzkrieg assault of Blizzard Beasts they began to explore various tempos and to draw heavily from traditional heavy metal (beginning with At the Heart of Winter), but All Shall Fall sounds like the band has a new lease on life....full text |
Immortal lyrics
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