The first thing that grabs your attention after you get the "collector's edition" I did not knowing it, and now am the proud owner of an Abbath patch, sweatband and pin, all which would look lovely on my letter carrier uniform, yes, I'm a letter carrier/headbanger of 55 fossilized years, is the production. Where all early black metal was some of the worst sounding metal out there, and somehow given the stamp of approval as the real deal by black metal fans who may have suffered frostbitten eardrums, Immortal's sound improved through time, especially after "Blizzard Beasts", with the last album "All Shall Fail" having the best overall sound.
"Abbath" is given the treatment this type of music really needs, a better mix with less jarring treble and deeper bass and drums. The guitars are still loud and up front, but sound much much better, giving the riffs real punch and allowing the vocals to be more prominent as well. Opening track "To War" would have been a great number to rally the Vikings on their pillages. "Root of the Mountain" has that classic mid paced pounding that most recalls Immortal's best work, especially from "Sons of Northern Darkness", and we get a black metal interpretation of Judas Priest's classic "Riding on the Wind" as a bonus track. showing that Priest was just as influential on the black metal community as well as thrash and death metal. It's a good cover.
Overall, "Abbath" is a ferocious album with great bass by King and drumming by "the Creature" who may be moonlighting from Ghost - who knows. It will be one of the best metal albums of the year, and hopefully we won't have the long wait between albums this time around. And I didn't even use my "Abbath and Cothtello" pun. Ooops.
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