Battles in the North

Battles in the North is the third studio album by Norwegian black metal band Immortal. It was released on May 15, 1995 through Osmose Productions. It picks up where its predecessor, Pure Holocaust, left off, featuring extreme tempos, low-fidelity production, and lyrics about coldness or wintery landscapes. This is the first album where the concept of Blashyrkh becomes a central focus. It is the last album to feature Abbath on drums.

Battles in the North
Studio album by
Immortal
ReleasedMay 15, 1995
RecordedSeptember 1994
StudioGrieg Hall, Bergen, Norway
GenreBlack metal
Length35:14
LabelOsmose
ProducerEirik Hundvin and Immortal
Immortal chronology
Pure Holocaust
(1993)		 Battles in the North
(1995)		 Blizzard Beasts
(1997)

Background

The songs "Cursed Realms of the Winterdemons" and "Circling Above in Time Before Time" reference The Underdark, a setting from Dungeons & Dragons.

Music videos were made for "Blashyrkh (Mighty Ravendark)" and "Grim and Frostbitten Kingdoms", the latter featuring Hellhammer on drums, who also became the band's touring drummer during this period.

Release

The album was issued in multiple formats, including the standard CD, a limited edition digipak, a limited edition digipak with embossed band logo and album title, cassette tape, a jewel case with slip cover, fold-out poster and bonus tracks taken from the Immortal EP (limited to 3000 copies), and a limited edition LP released under Osmose Productions (re-pressed six times over the years starting in 2005). The artwork on the limited slip cover CD is an original oil painting done by Jeroen van Valkenburg.

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal7/10[2]

In 2009, IGN included Battles in the North in their "10 Great Black Metal Albums" list.[3]

Track listing
No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
1."Battles in the North"DemonazAbbath, Demonaz4:11
2."Grim and Frostbitten Kingdoms"DemonazAbbath, Demonaz2:47
3."Descent Into Eminent Silence"DemonazAbbath, Demonaz3:10
4."Throned by Blackstorms"DemonazAbbath, Demonaz3:39
5."Moonrise Fields of Sorrow"DemonazAbbath, Demonaz2:24
6."Cursed Realms of the Winterdemons"DemonazDemonaz3:59
7."At the Stormy Gates of Mist"DemonazAbbath, Demonaz3:00
8."Through the Halls of Eternity"DemonazAbbath3:35
9."Circling Above in Time Before Time"AbbathAbbath3:55
10."Blashyrkh (Mighty Ravendark)"DemonazAbbath, Demonaz4:34
Total length:35:14
Slip cover version bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
11."Diabolical Fullmoon Mysticism"0:42
12."Unholy Forces of Evil"4:28
13."The Cold Winds of Funeral Frost"3:40
Total length:44:04

Misprint

On some editions of this album, most notably on iTunes, many tracks are mislabelled. The songs play in the order shown above, but the song titles are given as follows:

  1. "Battles in the North"
  2. "At the Stormy Gates of Mist"
  3. "Through the Halls of Eternity"
  4. "Moonrise Fields of Sorrow"
  5. "Cursed Realms of the Winterdemons"
  6. "Throned by Blackstorms"
  7. "Grim and Frostbitten Kingdoms"
  8. "Descent into Eminent Silence"
  9. "Circling Above in Time Before Time"
  10. "Blashyrkh (Mighty Ravendark)"

Personnel

References
  1. Van der Pol, Marc. "Pure Holocaust review". Allmusic. Retrieved October 11, 2011.
  2. Popoff, Martin (1 August 2007). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 3: The Nineties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 205. ISBN 978-1-894959-62-9.
  3. Ramirez, Carlos (6 January 2009). "10 Great Black Metal Albums – IGN". ign.com. Retrieved 20 November 2012.
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