Immortal "Battles in the North"

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.

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.

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.

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

Exclusively "Battled" by Abbath and Demonaz.

Executive production: Osmose Productions '95.

The tracklisting on the original CD is incorrect. The correct listing is shown here.

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Demonaz; all music is composed by Abbath and Demonaz.

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)"

CD versions:

• Original jewelcase

• Digipak (two different versions exist; one with an embossed logo and title, and one without)

• Limited edition jewelcase (includes slipcover and fold-out poster, as well as the 1991 EP as bonus tracks).

Warning - Osmose CD presses from February 2001 up to around 2005 may contain a copy-protection method which renders the CD completely unreadable in PCs and certain modern Hi-Fi systems. This isn't indicated anywhere on the packaging.

Vinyl info:

• 1998 (Picture LP, limited edition)

• 2005 (Osmose Productions, limited to 1000 copies)

• 2010 (Osmose Productions, black vinyl)

Reissued on limited edition deluxe cassette by Never Dead in 2014. Limited to 100 copies on black and white tapes. Each comes with a set of 3 buttons and a colour card. 

Music videos were made for "Blashyrkh (Mighty Ravendark)" and "Grim and Frostbitten Kingdoms".

All lyrics by Demonaz, except "Circling Above in Time Before Time" by Abbath.

Recorded and mixed in Grieghallen Studio, September 1994.