Dead to this World, the new band led by ex-Immortal bassist Iscariah, has posted a new track on myspace: http://myspace.com/deadtothisworld
The band's debut album "First strike for spiritual renewance" will be released on November 19 via Dark Essence Records.

Dark Essence has signed two new bands, Bourbon Flame and Dead to this World. Both acts feature ex and current members of various illustrious Norwegian metal acts such as Enslaved, Gorgoroth and Immortal and you can find out more here: http://www.darkessencerecords.no/

According to this interview (in Norwegian), Immortal will going one step further with the live-show reunion and is planning on recording a new album. Stoked! Unlike some tr00 black metal warriors, I've always felt like the band got better with every new release, so I'm excited they're continuing on.

Antenna talks to Demonaz (ex-Immortal) about his new band Perfect Visions: http://www.antenna.nu/perfectvisions/news1.php

Blabbermouth points the way towards finding footage of Immortal's recent reunion gig at Norway's Inferno Festival: http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=70373
Immortal were great when I saw them way back when they toured with Manowar (a bill that worked much better than you might think), so I hope this reunion thing works out for them. I think they still have potential to carry on as the great band they once were/are.

Immortal is doing a pair of US gigs as part of their reunion this summer:

07/13 - BB King Blues Club, NYC, NY
07/15 - The Avalon, Los Angeles, CA

I
Between two worlds
Nuclear Blast

"Between two worlds" picks up, in some way, where Immortal left off. In times when noone knows if said band will record more records, this release from ex-frontman Abbath comes as a great relief. Sure, if you're looking for "true" black metal, this isn't really up your alley as what we're facing here is a dose of classic heavy- and thrash metal. Influences from bands such as Motörhead, Bathory and WASP are very present and in a good way! It just goes to show that the classic metal acts are never to be ignored. However, despite these influences, you can still hear some Immortal-licks, especially in "Mountains". And Abbath's vocals are still as evil as can be. But, and there is a "but" here, not all is jolly good with this release. There are songs that don't quite cut it for me such as the titletrack and the closer "Cursed we are". You gotta love bands that instantly makes you think of favorite bands such as, in this case, Judas Priest, but there are limits. I mean, why buy the new Trivium record when you can purchase "Killers"? Why buy this one when you can purchase "Screaming for vengeance"?
- Jonas Appelqvist

MP3: I - Far beyond the quiet

Abbath's new band I picks up pretty close to where Immortal left off and I think that's great. See, unlike most black-metal purists, I've always felt that the each of the band's albums was better than the one that preceded it. Besides being recorded terribly, early material such as "Pure holocaust" and "Battles in the north" just aren't that good. The promo photos? Still undeniably classic. But the music? Eh, I rather listen to Darkthrone if I want to stay tr00 and kvlt. I however, is something different. The cold darkness of black-metal remains, but the music is far more rooted in thrash and other, more classic heavy metal styles. Just listen to that song I've posted today and tell me that opening riff doesn't remind you of "Bark at the moon". Sure, it starts to sound a lot more like Bathory once the drums and ominous keyboards come in, but that too is a good thing. Abbath's croaking vocal style might be too much for some to take, but I think it just adds to the atmosphere he's trying to create. It's supposed to sound evil, y'know? Thrash on.

I - Far beyond the quiet

DigitalMetal reviews "Between two worlds", the debut album from I - Abbath's (ex-Immortal) new band: http://www.digitalmetal.com/reviews.asp?cid=7846

Blodårstid takes a look back at Immortal's debut album "Diabolical fullmoon mysticism": http://www.holyterror.com/blod/2006/09/29/immortal-diabolical-fullmoon-mysticism-cd/

It was already announced that Immortal would be reuniting for next year's Wacken festival, but now they've also added two US dates to their schedule:

07/13 - BB Kings, NYC
07/15 - The Avalon, LA

Unlike the previous Emperor reunion gigs, I'd actually say these might be worth attending depending on the price. Emperor is incredibly boring live, but Immortal put on a great show when I saw them on tour with Manowar.

I, the new band from ex-Immortal frontman Abbath, has posted two new songs on myspace: http://www.myspace.com/abbathi

Video mix: A-ha, A Camp, Fidget, Vapnet, The Psyke Project, Timbuktu, more...

Could there be an Immortal reunion? What's the dreaded orange-grip? Find out more here: http://www.heavymetal.no/show.article.asp?menuid=&artid=4000

Blabbermouth reports on a new Immortal tribute comp, due out this fall: http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=37091
Confirmed artists so far include Aura Noir, Zweizz, Vreid, Beyond Dawn, Sunn 0))) and more.