Battles in the North

Battles in the North
Studio album by Immortal
Released	15 May 1995
Recorded	September 1994 at Grieg Hall, Bergen, Norway
Genre	Black metal
Length	35:13
Label	Osmose
Producer	Eirik Hundvin and Immortal
Immortal chronology
Pure Holocaust (1993) Battles in the North (1995) Blizzard Beasts (1997)

Battles in the North is the third studio album by Norwegian black metal band Immortal. It was released on 15 May 1995 through Osmose Productions. It picks up where its predecessor, Pure Holocaust, left off, featuring extreme tempos, lo-fi production and lyrics about coldness and wintery landscapes. This is the first album where the concept of Blashyrkh becomes a central focus; this would continue throughout all of Immortal's subsequent albums. The last album to feature Abbath on drums.

Background

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

A music video for "Grim and Frostbitten Kingdoms" was released, featuring Hellhammer on drums.

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 (later reissued in 2005). The artwork on the limited slip cover is an original oil painting done by Jeroen van Valkenburg.

Reception

In 2009, IGN included Battles in the North in their "10 Great Black Metal Albums" list.^[1]

Track listing

All lyrics written by Demonaz, all music composed by Abbath and Demonaz.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Battles in the North"	4:11
2.	"Grim and Frostbitten Kingdoms"	2:47
3.	"Descent Into Eminent Silence"	3:10
4.	"Throned by Blackstorms"	3:39
5.	"Moonrise Fields of Sorrow"	2:24
6.	"Cursed Realms of the Winterdemons"	3:59
7.	"At the Stormy Gates of Mist"	3:00
8.	"Through the Halls of Eternity"	3:35
9.	"Circling Above in Time Before Time"	3:55
10.	"Blashyrkh (Mighty Ravendark)"	4:34
11.	"Diabolical Fullmoon Mysticism" (slip cover version bonus track)	0:42
12.	"Unholy Forces of Evil" (slip cover version bonus track)	4:28
13.	"The Cold Winds of Funeral Frost" (slip cover version bonus track)	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

• Abbath – vocals, drums, bass guitar, production
• Demonaz – guitar, drums, production
• Eirik Hundvin – production

References

1. Ramirez, Carlos (6 January 2009). "10 Great Black Metal Albums – IGN". ign.com. Retrieved 20 November 2012.