Towards the end of the blistering Adelaide heatwave, at a point where nearly everyone was fit to kill each other, that band that is the epitome of Arctic cold — Immortal — played in Adelaide. Despite the heat, something that usually dissuades crowds in this town, a huge amount of people rocked up. Most of them were already incredibly drunk (who could blame them? Perfect beer weather!).

We rocked up at about 7.30, thinking that we’d probably be a bit late, but in fact Fowler’s hadn’t even opened the band room up yet. The bar area was therefore jammed with bodies. Highly excited Immortal fans who had dragged gear along to be signed, on the off-chance that they’d actually get to see the band after the show, hopped from foot to foot, gazing at the band area with longing. The rest of us trooped outside in the hope of some heat relief — in vain: for once it was hotter outside than inside.

Ruins kicked the night off with a set that went for approximately forty-five minutes. While this band played a set that was a huge improvement on the last set that it played here in Adelaide, it still didn’t quite hit the mark. A lot of punters hung around and watched them, and a few got into it, but the crowd reaction was hardly what you would expect from an excited bunch of people. Last time Ruins played here they failed to work the crowd, and ended up playing a fairly mediocre set while looking more and more pissed off. This time, they were tighter and better, and they didn’t get pissy, but they haven’t learned the crowd-play lesson. Still, they did a reasonable job; if they improve at the rate they already have over the past year, then by the time they next come over, they’ll be pretty damn good.

The break between Ruins and Immortal was stated to be quite a while — something like half an hour. Everyone trooped outside for a smoke or guzzled beer, the drunk got drunker, and the crowd’s anticipation was palpable. It’s pretty rare to get such an excited crowd to a gig. As a measure of their excitement, a good gauge is the fact that at the first sign of guitars warming up, everyone bought an armful of beers, ditched their smokes, and poured into the stage area of the venue. Only to stand there for half an hour listening to the curious intro music that was also spoken word.

It was a great tactic: the anticipation got thicker, and thicker…

… until Immortal finally launched themselves onto the stage, and threw themselves into their set. Bounding out, KISS-style, this black-metal band dived headfirst into a furiously fast-paced, relentless set, that hammered us for way more than an hour. Two short breaks in the set no doubt provided a bit of relief for these sons of Norway, who were unused to such heat.

At one point, between tracks, running with sweat he was unable to wipe away due to his leather and studs, Abbath exclaimed, ‘It’s really fucking hot in your city!’ Despite this, the band were clearly pleased to be playing to such a large, excited crowd.

The band played tracks from most of their albums, including Diabolical Fullmoon Mysticism (1992), ­_Battles in the North_ (1995), Damned in Black (2000), and Sons of Northern Darkness (2002). The entire setlist was greeted with screaming, grinning, and general metal appreciation.

Just Say Rock did a great job bringing this band to our shores. May they come back, and may many more Norwegian bands come in the wake of the Immortal Blashyrk!