Say what you will about Dimmu Borgir. Use your derision of them as a testimony to your deep underground kvltitude. Slag them for being a successful, corny, pompous, overproduced Andrew Lloyd Weber musical of a Black Metal band. Hate them for bringing the Norwegian Satanic arts to Hot Topic and middle America. You can do all these things, puff your chest, and pretend that there was never a time in your life where you actually liked at least one of their albums. You definitely didn't like Stormblast, their second album. You hated it's mid-tempo hooks and Hammer Horror film synths, you hated that guy's top hat, and you hated its teen-goth meets teen-Black Metal vibe that was so perfectly constructed you found the songs swimming in your head though you tried to resist.
35 comments:
Why would someone hate a band that spreads music to the masses and raises money for a genre that has less fans than Leo Sayer? Dimmu did for Satan, what Fallwell did for televangelists. Did I really just use both those names in the same sentence?
GOOD CALL
Y'know what... you're right. I never did give Dimmu Borgir a fair shake; by the time I got into black metal (in my late teens, about 12 years ago) they'd already jumped the commercial shark and I never allowed myself to listen to them fairly.
Twelve years on, you've persuaded me to do so. And do so I shall. I'll post again in a day or two when I've listened to this album, with no pre-existing prejudice in mind.
I'm going to say it loud and proud: För all tid and Stormblåst still get regular plays over here, and this was the last decent thing they ever recorded.
Im afraid to dl this, ive heard the trve kvlt elite have been knocking on doors, doing on the spot checks of harddrives, checking for signs of falseness. Im already in a lot of trouble with them for stating my belief that the first 3 cradle of filth albums are CLASSICS in the field of black metal.
This album is perfect. Alt Lyss Er Svunnet Hen is one of my favorite songs. How unnecessary was the re-recording of this album?
well i admit it was better than any Malevolent Creation I had ever heard (probably still is)...but what do i know, I bought the Covenant album Nagash put out after this (the blue cover one, before the K name change)...
I have the LP of this. This was when cheezy black metal was actually pretty good.
nah, never was able to get into this one. Even as a teenager just getting into black metal with no knowledge of the kvlt rules. I tried time and again, but nothing seemed to click. Though recently a friend put on their demo while we were hanging out, and I dug most of that. Love the cover art for Stormblast though, and the fact that even the album title is almost a black metal logo.
For All Tid and Stormblåst are fantastic albums. Thanks for posting the non-"remake" version, too, because that is total crap.
I like the description man, but back in the mid nineties when I picked this up I thought it was a bag of lightweight rubbish, maybe one song on it was kind of alright. I was big into Gehenna at the time too so I thought this would be right up my street.
I haven't listened to it in years and as I'm now far too metal to care about some noncey kvlt shit, I may give it another spin to see how it fairs. Though as I'm currently in the middle of one of my heavy ildjarn cycles...well, I'm keeping an open mind haha.
I actually like all the Dimmu albums from For all Tid to Spiritual Black Dimensions. However The gem that stands out from them is Stormblast. It has a beautiful tmosphere, classy synths and just enough black metal bite to give it that evil ancient vibe. Even though the stuff they do today makes my stomach churn, I cannot deny passionate music such as this.
Never heard this album, but I really dug the album after this one, Enthroned Darkness Triumphant. Gonna have to check out Stormblast.
I think Satyricon do accessible BM really well, I even like that song Black Crow on a Tombstone. But not this, I remember seeing them in London when I was a kid and thinking this is dull and shortly after seeing Emperor who were terrible live. Emperor played that show with Pecatum they were pretty bad, no drummer! Thank Fuck I got to see Immortal shortly after that!
Hmm. I am currently listening to this on youtube, and despite a huge number of turn-offs in terms of horrible synths and vocal bits, it's still quite listenable. Stripped down to just the riffs this would be pretty alright. "Enthrone Darkness Triumphant" was one of my earliest exposures to "extreme" metal, incidentally. Liked it quite a bit then.
I really like the fact that you posted this. I haven't listened to this album in years but I always felt there was something really special about it. It's very melodramatic, but the production and atmosphere make it work. Anytime I see their pictures in magazines nowadays I just can't believe my eyes though. What the hell are these guys thinking?
this is pretty cool. not sold on every song, but some are great. tracks 2 and 3 are genuinely majestic. weirdly, it seems like as their music got more lame and commercial it also got more conventionally "aggressive." almost as if they started trying to sound how people who had never heard BM imagine it must sound...
Nope, sorry. I did it, I gave it a fair shake, but by about half an hour in I was just too bored to finish the album. Put on the Andrew Hill album you posted the day before instead, much better.
Cheers once again for the blog, hope the various tours go well.
Championing Malevolent Creation and Dimmu Bogir as well as proto-free jazz all in the span of 3 days?!?
Aesop, your heroism knows no bounds!
I always found it interesting to hear the similarity between this and Old Man's Child 'born of the flickering', for those into mature black metal Roquefort. Just my little observation when I happened to buy both albums around the same time. Though I should say that the album cover on this one is considerably cooler.
mk
Cover by Alex K. of one of my favorite bands, Benighted Leams.
Aesop, your cool points have gone up(didn't think they could anymore, gawd). I wholeheartedly agree! This is a great album. It is what it is.
the same album with a shitty / saturated tape sound would be killer.
I tried to give this a listen... I really wanted to find something to like about it in hopes that maybe old Dimmu was good, and it had a couple moments, but at the same time it was just a total snoozer. with there being SO MANY better things out there, I cant really see a need to bother with this band at all. this could be a bold emission, but I think I would rather just listen to old crappy cradle of filth if I need to get my fix of the dorked out decadent goth metal. I have a hard time calling this black metal at all. totally agreed on the sweet cover art though!
"the same album with a shitty / saturated tape sound would be killer."
totally agreed with this statement as well. could make an entirely new beast of this album with a nice little lofi shit recording. replace the keys with a nice 8 bit casio too. hahahahahahaha
This just so happens to be my one of favorite Dimmu albums, so kudos, but I'd be lying if I didn't say that I'm totally surprised that you would post this on your blog.
I happen to be one of those people that loves both old, and new "commerical" black metal, and this blog's devotion to the lofi, hard to digest character of the genre is not lost on me.
the one song I like by them, new or old, is "puritania"
which is pretty much a breakdown
Emperor were just better
It's funny to me that I read this, and then I was like, "You know what? Fuck it, I will give it a try. I haven't liked much of what I have heard, but I will give it a spin."
Just to find the file has been taken down due to copyright infringement. Good job record company, running interference on me giving your shitty band a second chance. Don't worry, it won't happen again.
for all tid and stormblast were good
dont know why they have removed your file for violation theres loads of other mediafire downloads for this album
I never really got the connection between cheesy black metal and top hats...
I just think its funny when people hate Dimmu, slag on them openly on the intrawebs, and then go, "oh ive never actually heard them. I just know they suck". Time and time again you hear that. And FYI im not directing this at anyone in particular, so dont anybody get all offended.
Andrew Lloyd Webber?
That's not so odd. Most of the blackmetal stuff poured into my ear by He Who Is Dauntless has more than a bit of the theatrical, blood-and-thunder about it.
Nothing wrong with a little showmanship, hm?
I still like all their stuff till P.M.E.
and even on that album "Puritania" is a fucking blast
I dunno about Stormblast, but For All Tid is amazing. Stien is one of my favorite black metal tracks ever.
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