Dimmu Borgir – In Sorte Diaboli (2007)
Nuclear Blast records
Line-up:
Shagrath - Vocals
Galder - Guitar
Silenoz - Guitar
Vortex - Bass
Mustis - Synth/Keys
Hellhammer - Drums/Percussion
Tracklist
1. "The Serpentine Offering" – 5:09
2. "The Chosen Legacy" – 4:17
3. "The Conspiracy Unfolds" – 5:24
4. "The Sacrilegious Scorn" – 3:58
5. "The Fallen Arises" – 2:59
6. "The Sinister Awakening" – 5:09
7. "The Fundamental Alienation" – 5:17
8. "The Invaluable Darkness" – 4:44
9. "The Foreshadowing Furnace" – 5:49
The Story: The story is located in medieval Europe. A priest assistant finds out that Christianity is not the good way for him. He’s kind of awakening and he finds out that he has more power and more ability than he thought. The priest is now leaning more into the dark side. It’s a medieval star wars if you prefer.
The Album: Dimmu Borgir has always been a band who gives you too much. Everything was exaggerated and that’s a part of their music. This time, they decided to keep it simple. No Orchestra, no keyboard overuses, no ultra-epic moments. In some cases this is for the good but some of these elements would have been welcome. Dimmu Borgir is not a Black Metal band anymore. Some roots are still here and here but they’re more of an extreme metal band. In opposition their previous records their’s no song that sticks out. This means that if you like a song you’ll like the record and if you hate one song you’ll hate the record. To me, the only songs that has a single potential is ‘’The Serpentine Offering’’. An almost perfect song. I mean, every Dimmu Borgir elements are there. The intro is very epic, the riffs are crushing, the drums are insane and even Vortex is singing. To me, this song would have been perfect if it has a solo after the clean singing part. The no solo thing is a key missing elements. Some songs could have been embellish if they had a solo (‘’The Serpentine Offering’’ and ‘’The Scrilegious Scorn’’). In fact a song like A Succubus in rapture from Enthrone Darkness Triumphant would have change all the perspective of the record. The ultra-epic moments are missing especially during the last few songs where it gets a bit repetitive. Dimmu Borgir has always use sounds who give the songs a weird vive. The intro to ‘’The Sacrilegious Scorn’’ and ‘’The Fundamental Alienation’’ are good examples of these scary type of vibes. ‘’The Sinister Awakening’’ has a frightening satanic chants in the middle which is awesome. The outro is also well constructed with the epic keyboard. Vortex has is moments three times on this record. He sings in ‘’The Serpentine Offering’’, ‘’The Sacrilegious Scorn’’ and ‘’The Invaluable Darkness’’. His presence is always welcome and should come more often. Overall this record is very static. I mean the band goes straight in a particular direction. It’s definatly their best since Spiritual Black Dimension. The music has more a reason to be and their’s no filler track except the instrumental work of Mustic on ‘’The Fallen Arise’’. The band should stay in that direction but should had some epic elements such has beautiful guitar solo or interlude.
Band Members Performance:
Shagrath vocals had always been criticized. Some people were saying that he sounds now like Dani Filth. I totally disapprove. His vocals are more powerful and clearer than ever. He also used some effect which is interesting and it also breaks the monotony.
Vortex is always the shining member of Dimmu Borgir. His voice is so pure that it would make any pop singer jealous. His vocals melodies are well built and his intonation is almost perfect. His bass playing is not heard a lot which is sad.
Silenoz and Galder riffs are solid. Most of their riffs are thrash. In fact, the guitar work has not improved since Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia. There is no real solo (except ‘’The Scrilegious Scorn’’). There is also not a lot of clean guitar work. Good work but nothing really special.
Mustis is another shining member of this record. Since they’re not using orchestras anymore Mustis as a lot to do. The intro of ‘’The Serpentine Offering’’ is a keyboard masterpiece. He also had some other great moments. I think of ‘’The Sinister Awakening’’ outro.
Hellhammer has without a doubt done a brilliant performance. I’ve never really heard of Mayhem and Arcturus but his performance makes me want to. His ferocious grooves and his intense fast drumming are impressive. His double bass speed in ‘’The Chosen Legacy’’ reach 260bpm which means 17 bass drum strokes per second. He also play’s some fast blast beats but not as often as Barker did. His playing is more interesting are less monotone.
Bonus DVD: The bonus DVD is not what I expected. The content is interesting but only for hardcore fans. I mean the recording footage is too short to be very useful. The video documentary is not very useful as well. It would have been great if they’ve done something like Chimaira of Lamb Of God has done with the bonus DVD of their last record..
Recommended Tracks:
The Serpentine Offering
The Chosen Legacy
The Sinister Awakening
The Sacrilegious Scorn
Pros
The concept
Hellhammer’s work
Mustis’ work
Vortex’s Voice
Cons
Repetitive
Some epic elements are missing.
The guitar work is not that great.
