Review by SzejkElRopa on May 5, 2026.

Who doesn't know Immortal? Even I, still relatively new to the black metal genre, know (and adore) "At the Heart of Winter". With older black metal releases, I have never delved into the earlier releases of the famous or infamous black metal bands. Sure, I know songs such as "Dunkelheit" or "Freezing Moon", and I have listened to Bathory's first output. After listening to black metal for some time, I decided to further explore the roots of the genre. My choice was Immortal's first album with an eerie-sounding title - "Diabolical Fullmoon Mysticism". My predictions turned out to be true, but certain things surprised me.

Yes, the production isn't of the best quality, and it didn't surprise me. The lo-fi sound definitely adds rawness and power to the sound. Well, it's quite hard to imagine "Unholy Forces of Evil", for example, with everything sounding clean. Speaking of that song, it definitely sounds unholy and even blasphemous in a rather tongue-in-cheek, almost cliche way ("WOW-WOWOWOW!"). Nevertheless, Abbath's aggressive rasps craft an atmosphere bursting with darkness. Heavy riffing is another element that deserves a mention regarding the atmosphere in this work. In "Call of the Wintermoon", rhythmic, headbanging sections are very remarkable, conjuring up bands such as Bathory. The song also slows down toward the end to evoke feelings of frost and mysticism. Speaking of that, the most atmospheric song on this album is "A Perfect Vision of a Rising Northland". Opening with a soft, clean guitar melody, it slowly progresses with slower sections, which feature spoken vocals. All of that builds tension, which is resolved by a great guitar solo accompanied by eerie keyboards. Although the album might come across as very primitive at first, I was absolutely immersed by how well-made this song was. Other hints of mysticism can be found amid the rest of the relentless material as well; however, these don't match the energy and the mesmerising power of the last song on the album.

When reading other reviews, I stumbled upon someone saying that Abbath sounds as though he were alone on the top of the castle, screaming among the icy wind, or something like that. I believe that it is the best description of how this 18-19-year-old sounds on this album. Another comparison I could make is that he sounds like a demon from a B-movie (but still very good and gripping) horror film. No matter the description, his rasps are one of the most important factors crafting the whole vibe here. The riffs sound quite similar to each other; however, certain differences can be spotted. I wish the sound of the guitars were more highlighted in the production; it would probably enrich the experience, and wouldn't kill the rawness. I didn't expect this album to have guitar solos, and thanks to that, even though sections don't tend to be lengthy or insanely technical, the overall listening experience became much more interesting. Last but not least, relentless drum attacks can obviously be found there. It doesn't stand out through technicality, but it strengthens the energy conveyed by Immortal.

Well, my modern ears are probably too accustomed to clean production to fully embrace this album as of right now; however, I am working on that. There is, undoubtedly, a great amount of energy that inspired thousands of bands that, at the time of releasing "Diabolical Fullmoon Mysticism", were yet to come. Therefore, I give this album 8.2/10. Not all the rawness and grimness appealed to me; however, some elements positively surprised me and encouraged me to dig deeper into the roots of the endless genre of black metal.

Rating: 8.2 out of 10

Review by Felix on September 9, 2023.

Osmose Productions discovered a lot of promising underground bands in the early nineties. They signed noisy hordes like Impaled Nazarene, Driller Killer and, of course, Immortal. The instinct of Hervé, the owner of Osmose, was admirable, because Immortal's debut did not really indicate the huge potential of the band. It was mainly based on three components: firstly, its atmosphere, secondly, its atmosphere and thirdly, you guessed it, its atmosphere.

Immortal did not hesitate to make a virtue out of necessity. Neither the production nor their musicianship were impressive, but they kept consistently an eye on creating a haunting aura. With regard to its gloomy flair, Diabolical Fullmoon Mysticism was comparable with the debut of Ancient and to a lesser extent with that of Dimmu Borgir. The most atmospheric track was 'A Perfect Vision Of The Rising Northland'. During its length of nine minutes, acoustic guitars appeared as well as nearly primitive keyboard lines, while the band performed simple dark melodies that were accompanied by an equally simple mid-tempo rhythm. Critics said that this song demonstrated their Bathory influence in a blatant manner. But it did not matter what they criticised, because every black metal newcomer of that time was inspired by the Swedish lone fighter. However, this monumental tune marked a successful conclusion of the album. It was just a shame that this ode to Scandinavia - as well as the other tracks - suffered from the production. It lacked of dynamism and pressure. In view of this mix, it is hardly possible to find positive aspects of the production and it would even be a euphemism to call it "trollish" or "natural". However, this album was a debut which was spat out by the underground. Therefore, it is not advisable to have high expectations in terms of the sound when listening to the full-length for the first time.

Its most rabid track constituted the second champion of the album. 'Call Of The Wintermoon' demonstrated that the formation was ready for attack without being willing to grant mercy. Due to the rapid rhythm at the beginning, it marked an infernal opening after the cautious intro and the raw vocals of Abbath expressed a mixture of agony and blasphemy. The remaining songs proved the song-writing qualities of the band without leaving a huge impact. Bubbling guitar lines and mid-tempo drums shaped the sinister tunes and only Norwegian patriots would say that every piece maintained a unique identity. Anyway, at the time of its release, this album came as a real bombshell. It transmitted the spirit of the then omnipresent Norwegian implementation of black metal in a very authentic way. But without these surrounding circumstances, the songs have lost a bit of their dark aura and it is hardly possible to understand the effect that the album had back in 1992. From today's perspective, this debut is still a good album, but it appears a bit shabby. Anyway, black metal historians need to know the here presented tracks in order to comprehend the beginning of Immortal.

Rating: 6.8 out of 10

Review by Kostas on September 9, 2023.

We need no introduction when we talk about Immortal. They were and still are one of the norwegian black metal pioneers. Their first album, Diabolical Fullmoon Mysticism was for sure more than just influential. A milestone of the subgenre and in metal history in general. However, no matter how much I love it, I have to be sincere and admit it is not really that good.

The first word that comes to mind when starting listening to the album is evil. Not because of Abbath's vocals. He actually seems to try too hard to sound sinister or something. His harsh vocal style is good, but I'm pretty sure he didn't need to pretend and he should have tried to be more physical and straightforward. The reason for the album's dark atmosphere is the guitar riffs, mainly. Repetitive yet catchy, they manage to set up a grim atmosphere which can at times cause goosebumps. Unfortunately, these cult auras are not enough to save this poor album from its important downsides.

And when I say downsides, I am not refering to Abbath's vocals only. Drumming is rather boring as well. In fact, I only enjoyed a few blast beats, which made the tracks more aggressive. From the pointless lyrics to the simplistic bass lines, everything else about Diabolical Fullmoon Mysticism is mostly uninspired. And seriously, mastering and mixing only make things worse. The sound is literally so bad, some parts seem to be nothing more than a frenetic noise. 'A Perfect Vision Of The Rising Northland' is in my humble opinion the only fully enjoyable song in this record. There are keyboards, clever melodies and a great solo in this track. I just wish the whole album was like that.

However, no matter what I wish, Immortal's debut album is now a part of black metal history. A record which played a significant role in forming a whole scene. It is really a pity I don't have many good things to say about it musically. Diabolical Fullmoon Mysticism is not an album I'd listen to occasionally. The musicianship is pretty amateur, the ideas are poor and the sound quality is terrible. Definitely an entertaining record but honestly nothing more than that.

Rating: 4.6 out of 10