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When it comes to music, the letter "I" can stand for many things: intermission, introspection, inspiration, innovation, and integration. It can also be the point of view of a story told in first person singular.
When Norway's Immortal laid their instruments to rest in 2003 after seven full length albums and thirteen years as one of black metal's pioneering bands, the metal underground suffered a great loss. Disbanding on the grounds of purging themselves of burnout, the iconic and enigmatic Abbath Doom Occulta (Abbath for short; a.k.a. Olve Eikemo) can now admit to using the self-imposed hiatus for various noble causes. Although Abbath soon discovered that music was the element that could never be purged from his blood, it was during this period of personal growth that the icon became much more mortal. To maximize his time away from unhealthy old habits, he found a job in scaffolding, became more health-conscious, and spent more time with his son. Firing on all cylinders and seemingly rewarding himself for a job well done, he picked up his guitar again.
Easing himself back into the music scene by way of a Motörhead tribute band named "Bömbers," Abbath continued to write music on his own until the day he reached out to an old friend to lay down guitar solos over his rhythm tracks: current Enslaved guitarist Isdale ("Ice Dale"). It was in this crucible of hard rock and black metal where I's creative fusion exploded.
The inspiration was multi-faceted. Admittedly, the opening riff in "The Storm I Ride" is a tribute to the KISS riff in "Ladies In Waiting" from the Dressed To Kill album; the essence of live rock 'n' roll is plainly evident in "Cursed We Are"; but above all else, Abbath insists the album's greatest musical influence is from Sweden's Bathory - thus, "Far Beyond The Quiet" is a tribute to the fallen mastermind Quorthon. Other muses include all seasons of Abbath's native Norway, and the peace-instilling properties of the countryside.
"Any backwards moves toward their roots are countered with climbing onto higher peaks of cleaner air and new kinds of frozen evil," cites Decibel Magazine, which scored Between Two Worlds a 9 out of 10. Featuring a super group line-up comprised of Arve "Ice Dale" Isdal (Enslaved), ex-Gorgoroth bassist Tom Visnes (T.C. King), ex-Immortal drummer Armagedda, and showcasing the lyrical penmanship of ex-Immortal member Demonaz, Abbath wants to make the message clear that in the instance of this debut album, "I" denotes the Roman numeral "One," designating Between Two Worlds as the first of its kind in the new genre of rock-infused black metal.
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