At the Heart of Winter
At the Heart of Winter is the fifth studio album by Norwegian black metal band Immortal. It was released on February 22, 1999 through Osmose Productions. It is the first Immortal album not to feature Demonaz on guitar, as he suffered from acute tendinitis in his hands. The album marks a shift in Immortal's musical sound, towards a black metal and thrash metal fusion.[1]
| At the Heart of Winter | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | February 22, 1999 | |||
| Recorded | November 1998 Abyss Studios, Sweden | |||
| Genre | Black metal[1] | |||
| Length | 46:04 | |||
| Label | Osmose | |||
| Producer | Peter Tägtgren and Immortal | |||
| Immortal chronology | ||||
| ||||
Background
At the Heart of Winter was recorded in November 1998 at Abyss Studios in Sweden.[2] It is the first Immortal album not to feature a picture of the band on the cover, and the first to prominently feature the band's new logo, with the cover art was painted by J.P. Fournier. It is also the final release by the band until 2018's Northern Chaos Gods to be recorded in standard tuning. The subsequent releases would be recorded in D standard tuning.
Release
In addition to a CD release, At the Heart of Winter was released as a limited edition metal box, as well as a hand-numbered LP on Osmose, which was later reissued in 2005.
Reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   |
| Chronicles of Chaos | 9/10[3] |
| Decibel | 9/10[2] |
| Sputnikmusic | 4.5/5[4] |
At the Heart of Winter was well received by critics. John Serba of Allmusic praised the album, writing, "the result is a clarity and focus that few purveyors of the genre succeeded at finding, a painstakingly organized assemblage of black metal's base elements into a disciplined purity of metal that prefers the power of the almighty riff, instead of the occasionally overblown classical structuring of much-lauded stalwarts Emperor and Cradle of Filth, or the strange experimentation that Mayhem and Arcturus would undertake".
Track listing
All lyrics are written by Demonaz Doom Occulta; all music is composed by Abbath Doom Occulta. Arranged by Abbath and Horgh.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Withstand the Fall of Time" | 8:29 |
| 2. | "Solarfall" | 6:02 |
| 3. | "Tragedies Blows at Horizon" | 8:55 |
| 4. | "Where Dark and Light Don't Differ" | 6:45 |
| 5. | "At the Heart of Winter" | 8:00 |
| 6. | "Years of Silent Sorrow" | 7:53 |
| Total length: | 46:04 | |
Personnel
Immortal
- Abbath Doom Occulta – vocals, guitar; bass guitar, synthesizer
- Horgh – drums
Additional personnel
- Demonaz Doom Occulta – lyrics
References
- Serba, John. "At the Heart of Winter - Immortal : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards : AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 24 August 2012.
- Bennett, J. "Decibel Magazine: Immortal - At the Heart of Winter". decibelmagazine.com. Archived from the original on 2 January 2010. Retrieved 24 August 2012.
- Schwarz, Paul (19 May 1999). "CoC : Immortal - At the Heart of Winter : Review". Chronicles of Chaos. Retrieved 24 August 2012.
- Ward, Kyle. "Immortal - At the Heart of Winter". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 2019-10-14.