This is probably the first Immortal album that can be taken on its own, aside from the others, and pointed to as an example of sheer perfection in Norwegian black metal aesthetics. Their second album, 'Pure Holocaust' crystallized and set in stone some of the elements they had been reaching for with the debut album, and upped the ante on almost every single level: this hate-filled tome of Northern darkness is spilling over with morbid cruelty, mind-melting speed (it has to be heard to be believed), and guitar playing that instantly evokes both the marching of infernal armies as well as the harshest storms of the Norwegian midwinter nights. A true, undeniable classic--it belongs in your collection.