Origin:	Norway
Genres:

I

When a band goes out on top (as Immortal did, disbanding after their excellent Sons Of Northern Darkness), one can usually expect the members to eventually return to the scene, perhaps in a new guise. And that's just what Immortal mainman Abbath has done, assembling a crew of players all familiar to the Norwegian metal scene and naming the project simply I. The debut from this new group, Between Two Worlds, is not a continuation of the Immortal sound, though it's not a complete about-face either. "Blackened heavy metal" is a term used by others, and it fits -- there are black metal influences, naturally, but the song structures are more straightforward, and the pacing more in line with pure metal than the frosty kvlt black metal Norway is known for. One can hear traces of Viking metal, as well as just a hint of Motorhead here and there, guitarist Arve Isdal adds some Enslaved stylings with his tasteful, biting guitar sound, and Abbath's raspy vocals (not all that different from his later Immortal style) seem to fit in just fine. Abbath's old Immortal mate Demonaz even chips in by writing the lyrics. Abbath is going to be a busy man, dividing time between this band and the now-rejuvenated Immortal -- whether both bands will thrive is not known, but based on Between Two Worlds, I is off to a fine start.