One of the icons and legends of Norwegian black metal scene is back. Yes, Abbath is back with his third opus and it is a blast. Former Immortal main man managed to defeat his personal demons and he is back strong and presenting strong opus of nine songs, one being Metallica cover. I can say that new record is more versatile than ever. Don´t get me wrong, Abbath didn´t start to play folk metal, it is versatile in extreme metal waters, with many influences of thrash metal in the song structures, also death metal in opener Acid Haze, but for me a nice surprise was involvement of something like mandoline melody at the start of one of my personal favorites being Dream Cult. Black metal roots are still there, especially in Abbath´s trademark voice that you are able to recognize anywhere and anytime. Also, Myrmidon is thrash metal influences aggressive anthem with wicked guitar solo and melancholic melody underneath it all. Cover of Metallica´s Trapped Under Ice thematically and musically fits perfectly to this album in case you wondered why Abbath covered Metallica. This album is high energy cold riffing, black thrash death metal at its finest and I can hardly wait to witness this live.
For sure one of the contenders for best releases in 2022 and we have just started.
9/10
KRAYKULLA-WEBZINE 