Damned in Black

This is the last Immortal album released through Osmose Productions, ending a long association with the French label. Iscariah plays bass, his first appearance on one of their records. It was recorded at the Abyss studio in Sweden, and during the same session the band cut a version of Mayhem's "From the Dark Past" that later appeared on the compilation Originators of the Northern Darkness - A Tribute to Mayhem. There are seven songs and the record runs under forty minutes. It keeps the long-form writing At the Heart of Winter had brought in while giving the blast beats more of the arrangement, and it plays denser than its predecessor. AllMusic granted that it tends to be overlooked between At the Heart of Winter and Sons of Northern Darkness, describing it as their "nasty, spiteful little brother, sounding slightly rushed, unkempt and panicky", and adding that the album benefits from the approach: it is angrier and more fiery. Besides the ordinary jewel case there were a limited digipak, a limited picture box, a cassette and a hand-numbered vinyl pressing, which Osmose reissued in 2005. The running order here is the original's as printed.