Demonaz

March of the Norse (Nuclear Blast)

Tendonitis-felled Immortal guitarist turned group lyricist revs up the Norwegian trio’s black-metal thrash, chugging rototill riffage in the tradition of band staples Damned in Black or even last year’s live blast, Live at Wacken 2007: The Seventh Date of Blashyrkh. Likewise, the titular trek and its twin, “A Son of the Sword,” which name-checks Immortal’s Sons of Northern Darkness, extend the canon, though the übermelodocism of “Where Gods Once Rode” sails a new Norse warhorse.

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This article appears in August 26 • 2011.

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San Francisco native Raoul Hernandez crossed the border into Texas on July 2, 1992, and began writing about music for the Chronicle that fall, debuting with an album review of Keith Richards’ Main Offender. By virtue of local show previews – first “Recommendeds,” now calendar picks – his writing’s appeared in almost every issue since 1993.