Immortal - All Shall Fall

Big, fat, quick, mechanic, polished, clear, soulless. That's how, to put it simple and in brief, the entire production on Immortal's All Shall Fall can be categorized.

There are various points of view that can apply to such a production yet in the end it's what I call the "Burger King Production". It looks all fat, clean, tasty, tempting and handed out quick to you... once digestion starts, you hear all those various sounds coming from the stomach and your shit smells like sewers. That's what All Shall Fall is all about. Your first few listens are just fine and the ear has no problems.. one more listen after that and it's whole different story.

Trendy sound production is suitable to place for this album but, superficial suits it better. It's a fair sound to give for an upcoming and rising heavy/thrash metal band, none would expect more and everyone will be pleased. To offer Immortal's new album, raising the sticks music and sound wise is only expected. Offer a Black Metal album and I'd double the production's expectations, name Immortal and I'd triple that.

Production, production, production!

Did I say it enough? No?

Production! Production! Production!

Ice, blizzard storms, darkness and all the usual "Nordic" themes coming from the band, we all know that. But where is that integrated in the sound? Forget the treble and thin sound, where's the atmosphere?

Bombastic triggered drums, mixed high and loud, with a minimal attention given to any of the other parts of the kit over the expense of the sacrificed bass lines tossed along an average guitar sound and an average vocal mix. Some call it "safe" sound, I call it faceless. If the band isn't aware that the sound what made them, the old followers do. Think about it, what's the difference between the sound of A Bullet for My Valentine and the new Immortal?

Big and forward triggered drum kicks bring no atmosphere, let alone coldness. Definitely and certainly a very un-blashyrikh production.

A worthy note of mention, 4 tracks with an "intro" with a low volume, leaving you with 3 options: 1) Raise the volume up high and lower it down when the music starts 2) Skip it 3) Sit and wait.