To give you an idea of who and what Dimmu Borgir is all about, they are a Melodic Symphonic Satanic Black Metal band from Norway. The band consists of 3 main members, Shagrath on vocals, Galder on guitar and Silenzo on backing vocals and bass. Dimmu Borgir’s lyrics are usually about misanthropy, Satan, anti-Christianity, and rebellion. Most of the bands coming out of Norway are Black Metal bands and believe it or not, Norway’s number one export is Norwegian Black Metal records.
The first song, Xbir, is an instrumental that could be described as a very insane introduction by Danny Elfman to a horror movie. It begins with the roar of a voice of god, then the song introduces the enormous sound of the Norwegian Radio Orchestra and the incredible angel voice of the Schola Cantorum Choir.
The second song Born Treacherous takes you for a ride as it goes through a roller coaster arrangement of moods ranging from an epic sound to a rock riff and then a half-creepy pair that sounds like a satanic tribe chanting, after back to the chorus and finally ending. with thunderous double bass.
The third song, Gateways, is the first single from the album also released with a music video. The video, as always, is very theatrical with the band dressed in white with very black fabrics and jewels. While Shagrath gets all the attention in the video, Agnete Kjolsrud backs it up with high-pitched vocals that could only be better described as the perfect black metal voices expected of a woman.
Now the fourth song, Chess with the Abyss, is a great example of what a great symphonic black metal song with insane solos is, an insanely fast double bass, a huge epic-sounding symphony backing up the lead instruments, and finally , a huge, thunderous boom. in the end.
The name of the fifth song is Dimmu Borgir, which means dark castle or dark fortress. I think this song is about the history of the band. You would know what I’m talking about if you knew the rough history of the band. With Shagrath being the leader of the band and always kicking the members out for unknown reasons. The third part of the first verse says: “What bridge to cross and what bridge to burn, deception is everywhere you look, We eliminate the weak and their weeping.” When kicking out gang members, you might burn some bridges if you don’t, you might not be able to cross some.
The sixth song begins with Shagrath saying something backwards with a light acoustic guitar and then a boom blast sounds out of nowhere followed by the usual symphonic black metal keyboards, but then towards the middle of the song, the keyboards are unleashed with what it sounds like a flurry of angels. At 3 minutes and 24 seconds, the feel of the song changes and takes on an incredible beat that just forces you to move.
I think the seventh track, The Demiurge Molecule, is my favorite song. At first I wasn’t really sure about the voice at first, it sounded strange like Cradle of Filth and God Forbid. As expected, the song changed feel and in about 50 seconds the song changes from a constant double bass pattern to this deep sense of slow doom with heavy sounding drums and then to the only way I can describe it as a fast and short double bass with Star Wars. Backing up orchestral style music with Harley Quinn from Batman on backing vocals. While all this is going on, the whole song sounds very sinister.
The eighth song A Jewel Traced Through Coal is the essence of a true dark Black Metal song and in your face. The arrangement of this song is nothing short of a masterpiece that begins with what sounds like tribal drums beating lightly and then in slow, daunting kicks in 3/4 time. With the drums playing for a few seconds, the guitar just sets the speed of the song while the drummer plays some Norwegian Blasts.
The song 9 revamp just got started heavy with a weird out-of-time guitar riff and leads to a bad-ass solo. Shagrath’s vocal style is what I like in black metal and what I mean by that is that you can feel his emotional voice get really deep and resonant.
The last track of the regular copy of the Endings and Continuation album, begins with a very creepy tone and noises of dripping water and crumpled paper with Shagrath speaking. “Ages past, Abrahadabra, forever to last, enter the supreme unknown.” this song is a good summary of the whole album with the drums, bass lines, vocals and the most punchy guitar riffs.
Although it took Dimmu Borgir eleven months to create Abrahadabra and some feared that their recent tour would damage quality, this remains one of my favorite Dimmu Borgir albums by far.