Devil Music A-Z: Dimmu Borgir

I will never be accused of being the most kvlt metal fan on earth. Case in point my fandom of Dimmu Borgir. When I first listened to them it really was my first exposure to anything black metal related. Even then I wasn't too into the blastbeats and the croaking type vocals.It wasn't until I really listened to the songs that I realized just how much was going on. The symphonic overtones that made each song sound epic. The fact that I could understand Shagrath's words. And the fact that he could go from croaks to growls to roars. I get his vocals are processed in the studio but it sounds evil like it should. It wasn't until I started reading the comments of others that I realized how much disdain for this band people that did like tr00 black metal had for Demon Burger.

Dimmu Borgir has come out of late admitting that they're not pure black metal. Isn't that enough? I say this because that was one of the biggest gripes is that they passed themselves off as being black metal and weren't. Well let me say this, fans of the frostbitten and grim. Fuck off. Your music in it's purest form is the most ill produced and boring shit on the planet. Much like your commentary on Dimmu Borgir.Ooooo let's be evil and satanic and corpse paint our faces to be bad ass.Go and listen to Stormblast and let those of us that don't give a fuck about Immortal,Behemoth,Darkthrone, or Keep of Kalessin enjoy extreme metal that doesn't make us turn it off after a minute in.While you're outgrowing the corpsepaint I'll still be listening and enjoying Dimmu Borgir's music. In the meantime let's sexy this post up with a NSFW video that I've posted before. It sort of encapsulates everything I like about DM's music.



If you're new to this band check out my other posts by clicking the Dimmu Borgir tag on the right and check out a couple of videos from the newest album Abrahadabra that's out now.

Dimmu Borgir's New Video Channels Narnia and Rob Zombie

Dimmu Borgir's new video for the song...wait for it...'Dimmu Borgir' is out now.Personally I find it much less interesting, actually both video releases to be much less interesting then on previous albums. Not to mention that Shagrath is trying hard to look like Rob Zombie and also something out of the White Queen of Narnia's lands. Take a look and let me know if I'm just talking out of my ass and this is a brilliant video that enhances one of the weaker songs on the album or not.

Devil's Review : Dimmu Borgir - Abrahadabra

No that's not a picture of future Narnia villains.That's actually a picture of the remaining permanent members of Dimmu Borgir making their fans think that they have gone full cheese. With a silly album title, these costumes, and Vortex and Mustis shown the door could Dimmu Borgir create an epic album again? Let me answer with a frozen and grim "Yessss".More on this after the jump.

I was not prepared for what I was about to hear. None of the symphonic elements are lacking and this is evident with the opening intro entitled "Xibir".The next track "Born Treacherous" actually introduces something that was never on previous releases,groove laden riffs.The next track is the one that was released as the first single and subsequent video "Gateways". This is an excellent track with only one complaint. They have a guest female vocalist Annette from a band called Djerv and she rudely interrupts the flow of the track with some cringe worthy screeching. Fortunately her return near the end of the track is not too bad.

Those few tracks at the beginning are probably the strongest on the cd, though the remaining tracks are no slouch either and actually are very much what Dimmu fans come to expect from this band. Snowy Shaw of Therion/Dimmu/Therion fame does provide cleaner male vocals in place of Vortex in spots on the cd. Is Vortex missed? I really don't think so. But then again I always thought his clean wailing style was overrated to begin with and a few songs on previous works would have been fine without him. As for Mustis, he had some great compositions but whoever they have doing it now is just fine as well.

So bottom line is that I enjoyed this album very much and much more then I was expecting to. It's epic in nature, creepy like albums of old, and has a few surprises in store for those brave enough to get past the ridiculous imagery. Dimmu fans that liked material pre-In Sorte Diaboli should like this. The tr00 black metal fans will continue to ignore and scoff. And that's fine, your bands are boring anyway. I highly recommend people pick this one up even if you're new to the band. Here is the video for Gateways.

Dimmu Borgir channeling Steve Miller?

A few days ago Dimmu Borgir did a countdown on their Myspace page revealing a piece a day on what the new album cover and title was going to be and the end result was what you see above. Needless to say I'm starting to be concerned on whether or not this album is going to be very strong or not. Of course I'm a doubter and according to Shagrath on Blabbermouth says I can stuff it.More on this after the jump.

First I'm kind of "meh" about the cover. It's by the same guy who did the covers for Kreator, Sirenia, and a few others. Secondly, the title. Really....for a band that incorporates an epic symphonic soundscapes to a black metal environment they came up with Abrahadabra? Yes I get the reference because I actually did read the article but come on, DB couldn't come up with a better title then this? This is something some stupid ass band like Attack! Attack! would come up with. Thirdly they are going to be touring Europe with Korn. Yes, you read that right, Korn. This has to be a marketing strategy to get maximum exposure and it is Europe so maybe it will work but I guarantee this tour package wouldn't work in the States. And lastly, it is yet to be seen what kind of dynamic there is going to be after the lineup changes last year. Which camp will be correct on who actually contributed to past success? Vortex and Mustis or Shagrath and Silenoz.Are Dimmu Borgir proving the detractors right by saying they're a bunch of sellouts?

Guess we'll have to wait and see with expectations kept in neutral.

Demon Burger for Halloween

Here's a good video for Halloween. Be advised this is the version that shows blood and naughty bits.Enjoy!