The long-awaited solo effort from Immortal lyricist/former guitarist Demonaz has  finally arrived in the form of March of the Norse, released on April 1. After a long absence with acute tendinitis that sidelined him from playing guitar at the speed necessary for Immortal, how does his first effort stand up to his long lineage of fine writing and playing?

With a band that consists of Abbath on bass, Ice Dale on guitars and Armagedda on drums, the Demonaz band certainly crafts a different piece of rock from the much-heralded Norwegian metal edifice. If you’re looking for Pure Holocaust-era Immortal this album might not satiate you. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love Immortal’s early work and was a fan before the initial ‘surge’ hit the U.S. shores, but after a while it got a little too predictable for my taste (like any black metal was really discernable post-1995 apart from the originators). The I project is more along the lines of what Demonaz is affording now, and it is pretty rudimentary for the most part. Upon my initial listening to the album I notice that Demonaz’ vocals are pretty good, not the typical raspy black metal shtick, but still grim enough to pay homage to past glories. Demonaz can definitely entertain as a vocalist, I won’t take that away, but there’s something just…missing.

The music is pretty tight and produced well, but there doesn’t seem to be much variation between the tracks; that is, the songs seem to follow the same musical pattern in verse riffs and vocal style. At one point it was tough to tell where “Where Gods Once Rode” left off and “Under the great Fires” began. “Over the Mountains” seems to follow the same blueprint and only manages to dilute the formula just a hair or three throughout. There are some good songs on March of the Norse, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t say that most songs sound too much alike with the exception of an occasional slip of a note variance for effect here and there. Once you hear “All Blackened Sky” kick in, and it does kick right in, you think you’re in for a hell of a ride void of semantics and distraction; after all, Demonaz was instrumental in that Norwegian wave of black metal that we came to love and now know in its bastard form. However, the I band’s albums were much more fluid and engaging the first time around.

For many this might be an instant classic, where to others it might be a ‘grower’, so to speak, but for me it’s missing some key elements to truly be indicative of the Demonaz legacy. To be even more honest, the bonus track in “Dying Sun”, which was written in ’98 is the best song on the album because it sounded nothing like the rest of it. It’s a slower, heavy-laced song that might well have been the groundwork for this collective rather than nine tracks seemingly cut from the same basic riffs and arrangements. I’d have much rather heard this slower, more attentive Demonaz, but, hey, that’s just me. What he probably intended as a throw-away track ended up exciting me the most; too bad it’s only four-minutes out of a 40-minute ride.

The band performs some really fine heavy metal music with a touch of blackness on the edges for keeping with the desired kvlt status, and Immortal’s loyal legions will no doubt eat this up and want me atop Golgotha when this comes out. That said, as a musician myself I’d have surely given any of my band member’s hellish grief for not thinking outside the box a lot more with regards to being far too formulaic. For me it’s a middle-road effort that could have been much better.  

TRACK LISTING

*By clicking "Submit" you agree to the following Terms of Use. You agree not to post any material that is obscene, slanderous, or threatening, or that may violate any law of your country of origin or the United States or of international law. Should you wish to restrict viewing of your email address by third parties, you must select "Hide My Email." You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Metal Psalter from any claims, actions, suits, damages, or other costs arising out of any breach of these Terms of Use.

*Comments:

1.  Northern Hymn
2.  All Blackened Sky
3.  March Of The Norse
4.  A Son Of The Sword
5.  Where Gods Once Rode
6.  Under The Great Fires
7.  Over The Mountains
8.  Ode To Battle
9.  Legends Of Fire And Ice
10.  Dying Sun (bonus track)

Total playing time:  39:27

Release Date: April 1, 2011
Label: Nuclear Blast Records

Demonaz - March of the Norse

Reviewer: Chris

April 6, 2011