666sharon666 All Shall Fall is the first Immortal album released since the band got back together and their eighth overall, marking the end of the seven year gap since Sons of Northern Darkness. Bassist Iscariah did not take part in the Immortal reunion and has been replaced by Apollyon but the core Immortal line-up up of Abbath and Horgh (with Demonaz behind the scenes providing lyrics) is still intact.

Compared to the three prior albums All Shall Fall sees Immortal's music returning to a less thrashy state. I still think that there is a small thrash metal element on the album but gone is the dominant blackened thrash sound of Sons of Northern Darkness and Damned in Black. Instead Immortal have taken a bit more melodic approach than is heard on their pre-break work and in some ways All Shall Fall is more comparable to the album Between Two Worlds that Abbath did under the name I. It's a solid comeback release for the band but ultimately hasn't stood the test of time for me the way the three previous albums and Battles in the North have and that's because much like their first two albums I just don't find the individual songs as memorable, though I'd personally still more likely spin this one than Diabolical Fullmoon Mysticism, Blizzard Beasts and even the ever popular Pure Holocuast.

Attribution: http://metaltube.freeforums.org/immortal-all-shall-fall-t3703.html

Warthur Immortal used to have a fairly brisk release schedule, so fans may have had reason to be concerned when it took seven years for All Shall Fall to finally emerge. Luckily, it seems that the delay wasn't the result of the band struggling to produce decent material; in fact, they've clearly spent their time honing their craft and polishing these songs until they glitter, intent on producing the absolute best album they can. I'd rather have one All Shall Fall than three to five lesser albums; it's a thrashy black metal masterpiece which showcases Immortal hitting a new level of technical mastery. Superb.

Time Signature The rise of darkness...

Genre: melodic black metal with thrash and traditional metal tendencies

The black metal giants Immortal strike back at the world bringing with them the minions of the grim and frostbitten kingdoms.

This is really a great album, I think. The title track is my favorite. It is melodic yet dark and oppressive, and the combination of a sweeping melodic almost rock-like riff and blasting drums works brilliantly. This is probably one of the best black metal songs I've ever heard. "The Rise of Darkness" is a more thrashy affair with elements from especially German thrash metal along the lines of Kreator - without being a clone at all - and there's a lot of great riffage in this track, and the blastbeat section that kicks in at around 3:37 works great in contrast with the rest of the track. "Hordes of War" is another thrashy in-yer-face track, and there are no black metal elements as such in it. "Norden on Fire" is more along the lies of the title track but less intense and with more focus on melody, which also applies to "Mounth North". "Arctic Swarm" also emphasizes melody and even contains some melodeath-like riffage (I guess I am among the people who miss acouple of blastbeats, because I think some blastbeats in this song would work magnificently). The epic closing track also has some melodeath elements as well as some really nice thrashy parts.

This album is recommended to fans of thrash metal, melodic death metal and black metal fans.

UMUR All Shall Fall is the 8th full-length studio album and the first in 7 years since Sons of Northern Darkness (2002) by Norwegian black metal act Immortal. Immortal split-up in 2003 and only reformed in 2006, so the 7 year recording break is understandable. All Shall Fall was released by Nuclear Blast Records in September 2009.

The music on the album is black metal with some traditional heavy metal and thrash metal elements. The tempo is mostly mid-paced but occasionally fast ( no blast beating as far as I recall). A song like Hordes of War is one of the few faster paced tracks on the album. It´s very much rooted in blackened eighties thrash metal. A powerful track that one. Most of the other tracks on the album are more mid-paced and majestic. As always the lyrics are written by Demonaz and primarely evolve around cold and dark nature. The band is a three-piece consisting of Abbath on vocals and guitars, Apollyon on bass and Horgh on drums. While there are nothing really challenging going on in the music, the musicianship is still impeccable. A tight playing unit. Abbath croaks and rasps his way through the album in ususal black metal vocal style but there´s something about his voice that makes him stand out a bit. Maybe an ounce of melody or maybe just the way he phrases his words, but it sounds great to my ears. The album is one long journey in excellence IMO, and it continues to grow on me with every listen. Every song on the album stand out and are memorable. Right from the three strong tracks that open the album to the majestic ending track Unearthly Kingdom, I´m not only greatly entertained I also have trouble not banging my head constantly. Not in a wild uncontrolled way but more in a "Hell Yeah" kind of way that signals my enjoyment with this album.

The production is excellent and suits the music perfectly. I couldn´t wish for a better sound.

All Shall Fall is a great album by Immortal and while old school black metal fans might miss a blast beat or two, they certainly won´t miss dark and cold atmosphere or heavy mid-paced and majestic riffing. A deserved 4 star rating that I´m considering upgrading to a 4.5 in time.