Immortal (band)

Hearting mountains since the dawn of time.

One of the more famous Black Metal bands, possibly the most famous behind Mayhem and the ones responsible for the genre's stereotypical image.

Immortal was formed by Abbath and Demonaz Doom Occulta after their previous band, Amputation, didn't take off. The band's beginnings can also be traced back to the death metal band Old Funeral, of which both Abbath and Demonaz were members.

Their earlier releases were in a more traditional black metal style, but as of the acclaimed At the Heart of Winter, they have fused black metal with elements of German Thrash Metal. Euronymous of Mayhem is credited for getting Abbath into black metal and as a result, Abbath getting the infamous Varg Vikernes into black metal as well; however, despite these associations, Immortal's primary members have never been involved in the more controversial activities of some of their contemporaries in black metal, and their lyrics have also never involved the religious or political ideologies often associated with the scene.

The band split up in 2003 for various personal reasons. They reformed in 2007 for a string of live performances; after the reunion, the band decided to reform the band on a permanent basis.

Current lineup:

Abbath Doom Occulta (Olve Eikemo) - vocals, bass guitar, guitar, keyboards, drums (1989–2003, 2006–present)
Demonaz Doom Occulta (Harald Nævdal) - guitar (up to 1997), lyrics (switched to lyricist and band manager after his injury) (1989–2003, 2006–present)
Horgh (Reidar Horghagen) - drums (1996–2003, 2006–present)
Apollyon (Ole Jørgen Moe) - bass guitar (2006–present)

Previous members:

Iscariah (Stian Smørholm) - bass guitar (1999–2002)
Saroth (Yngve Liljebäck) - bass guitar (live, 2002–2003)
Ares - bass guitar (live, 1998; lead singer of Aeternus)
Hellhammer (Jan Axel Blomberg) - drums (live, 1995)
Grim (Erik Brødreskift) - drums (live, 1993–1994) (deceased)
Kolgrim - drums (demo, 1992)
Jörn Tonsberg - guitar (demo, 1989–1991)
Armagedda - drums (1990–1992)

Discography:

Diabolical Fullmoon Mysticism (1992)
Pure Holocaust (1993)
Battles in the North (1995)
Blizzard Beasts (1997)
At the Heart of Winter (1999)
Damned in Black (2000)
Sons of Northern Darkness (2002)
All Shall Fall (2009)

Immortal (band) provides examples of the following tropes:

Alternative Character Interpretation - Some have speculated that the band is actually a massive Stealth Parody of the black metal genre.
Black Metal
Cover Version - They covered "From the Dark Past" on the Mayhem tribute album Originators of the Northern Darkness.
Crowning Moment of Funny - The video for "The Call of the Wintermoon", which is also responsible for black metal's reputation among some as a "silly genre taken too seriously".
- As with many aspects of the band, though, "The Call of the Wintermoon" has been interpreted as a Stealth Parody of stupid black metal videos (generally featuring men in corpse paint running around a forest), of which there are many. It's just, "The Call of the Wintermoon" is the most infamous.
Epic Rocking - Most of their songs.
Face of the Band - Abbath.
Heavy Mithril - Instead of focusing on Satanism like their peers, Immortal's lyrics focus on an imaginary world called Blashyrkh, plagued by war and suffering and ruled over by the Mighty Ravendark.
Memetic Mutation - The band itself.
Narm - Take your pick. Their album art, their lyrics ("These mountains which I heart"), their videos...
- Alternatively, Narm Charm.
Serious Business - Notably averted, at least for the band. Black metal bands tend to take themselves very seriously; Immortal do not.
Stage Names - Well, yeah.
They Changed It, Now It Sucks - One of the reactions to their change to "blackened thrash" on At the Heart of Winter; surprisingly, the reaction to the change is far less extreme than what happened with other metal bands that changed their style. Some of the initial reactions to All Shall Fall also had this attitude to them.