Dimmu Borgir

[official web site]
Reviewed: Stormblast (1996) Enthrone Darkness Triumphant (1997) Spiritual Black Dimensions (1999)	Remarks: Country: Norway. One of the best BM bands (which is why it has so many detractors.)

Stormblast (1996, Cacophonous)

Too much piano; that woman should get her hands tied and only be allowed an occasional interference (just listen to track 4, "Sorgens Kammer" and you'll see what I mean... boundless ennui). This reviewer is much appreciative of the delicate tune of nicely positioned keyboards, but excessive can sometimes be too much.

The production is lousy, for 1996 standards anyway (not for the typical BM album though). The snare drum is much too timid and often gets lost in the double-pedal bass drum gallops. The guitars remind a power saw, you could actually chop wood with that sound, and the synths are disoriented. Compared to Dimmu Borgir's later albums, Stormblast is amateurish and forty-six miles from being polished. The biggest complaint have to be the compositions: awkwardly close to the 80s metal, even the evil vocals cannot rectify the lack of creative energies evident in the music. That the lyrics are entirely in Norwegian is also bad, not because I am some English lingual imperialist but because the mood does not call for this particular language. There are many fine works that capture the Nordic sensibility, this ain't one of them. I am extremely pleased that Dimmu Borgir have shed this style and the girl in favor of their more symphonic later incarnations.

Enthrone Darkness Triumphant (1997, Nuclear Blast)

This album marks the transition from Cacophonous to Nuclear Blast and a change in style for the band. Although routinely maligned by connoisseurs of stagnant vapid Black Metal, Dimmu Borgir revels in evil symphonic bleakness. Take CoF minus Dani's tenuous shrieks, minus the eroticism, plus intensity, and you get Dimmu Borgir. I can never understand how some metal dimwits can accuse them of "going commercial." Last time I checked, this style was still far from being family entertainment. Instead of the lush electronics present in CoF, the keyboards invoke sonic landscapes that hover over the fast rhythms as a mantle of darkness. The production is excellent for this type of music and even though the aforementioned metal dimwits hold that against DB as well, I find such attitudes ridiculous.

Gone are the uncontrollable piano passages (while some of them quite decent, most tended to come at inappropriate times and thus become quickly annoying). "Mourning Palace" is probably one of the most tantalizing odes to Satan, despite some of the cheese factor (lyric-wise) creeping in. "Spellbound" could easily be the soundtrack to a Clive Barker nightmare, while "In Death Embrace" is triumphantly energetic. "Relinquishment of Spirit and Flesh" is where CoF's influence can be most readily seen, both in the structure and arrangement. The next two tracks don't do very much for me, but "Entrance" showcases Dimmu Borgir at their best: alternating speed with a crawling light textures that make your skin tingle. The only minor detraction is the straightforward metal they offer in several places. BM is not just the vocals, people! Anyway, the strongest point of this album is that it gets better every time you listen to it. It is complex and demanding in attention, it is artistic, and it is unique. My favorite song on this album is "Tormentor of Christian Souls." The lyrics for this particular piece are not in the US release but can be found on the website. I guess the rabid Christian establishment can't take the crumbling Christian souls. Pity.

Spiritual Black Dimensions (1999, Nuclear Blast)

Alright, I take it back! I don't like "Enthrone..." more than this album. It did take some time getting used to (what in BM doesn't?) and now it is officially the best DB release, at least until the next one comes out. Much more complex, varied, stylistically and musically. This offering features multilayered textures, clean vocals meshing beautifully with the traditionally strong grimness of Shagrath. Excellent production values, even the muddied keyboards do not detract too much from the atmospheric sound. "Reptile" opens with a haunting keyboard mantle ripped to shreds by a combined drum-and-scream attack. Some surprising fleetness in the chorus, even for DB. "Dreamside Dominions" is more aggressive, with a similar feel as the first song. The album really hits it off with the fifth piece, "The Promised Future Aeons." Following a beautiful lyrical introduction that weaves keyboards and floating barely recognizable vocals, the song explodes with a trademark DB piano motive superimposed over thick guitar sound and convincing drumming. A truly memorable experience, similar in many ways to my favorite "Tormentor" on their previous release. As I said, the rest of the album leaves no doubt that DB are probably the best BM act today. "The Blazing Monoliths of Defiance" is about as brutal as one can get with this type of sound, more reliance on guitar work, frequent change of pace in this one. "The Insight and the Catharsis" is the jewel in this album. It is fast, aggressive, has enough screaming to placate the metal head of the house and yet possesses melody that can inspire even the black metally challenged of your friends. This is not only a superb song (with a surprise ending) but a good showpiece for the band as a whole. When DB do their stuff, they don't miss. There is nothing more I can say about the last two songs on the album except that you will be sorry when they are over. Okay, I will say something about the eighth song. Don't these guys ever use spell-checkers? "Conceiled"? I think not.

The artwork on the cover is superb but the text inside is barely readable. Who was the genius that came up with the glowing letters crap? What was he thinking? Oh, I know - let's have a black background and write in... BLACK LETTERS. Are you insane? Anyhow, this is a minor annoyance and I doubt that many would be reading the lyrics for spiritual edification anyway.

(here's why the original logo isn't on the top of the page)