Dimmu Borgir - Enthrone Darkness Triumphant(black Meta) Rym

DIMMU BORGIR - ENTHRONE DARKNESS TRIUMPHANT CD

BLACK METAL NORUEGO CON EL MAS CLASICO DE SUS ALBUMS.

Dimmu Borgir have been at the forefront of the Norwegian black metal scene for quite some time. Their popularity has exploded since they signed to Nuclear Blast, toured the United States on Ozzfest, and produced big budget albums like Death Cult Armageddon. This newfound popularity has had mixed results from fans and critics alike. Some have accused them of selling out while others see them bringing black metal to the mainstream as a good thing, but enough about that, for today we’re looking at Enthrone Darkness Triumphant, arguably the band’s greatest work.

 Enthrone Darkness Triumphant, whether you like the album or not, has been considered Dimmu’s breakthrough album and one of the most highly regarded symphonic black metal albums for many reasons. This was Dimmu Borgir’s first album for Nuclear Blast and was the first album to feature English vocals (their two previous albums were sung only in Norwegian). The album also gathered a good amount of controversy around the time of its release regarding its highly anti-Christian themes and lyrics (more on that later). As a whole, Enthrone Darkness Triumphant sees Dimmu Borgir reaching a level of majesty and cohesiveness that they have never been able to touch even ten years later.

 Enthrone Darkness Triumphant was recorded at Abyss Studios and features the sterile and big production of Hypocrisy main man and studio owner Peter Tagtrgen. The guitars are as clear as glass and pack quite a punch. The drums sound appropriately triggered and the ominous keyboards sound rich and dark.

 Dimmu kick of Enthrone with their very popular song “Mourning Palace”. This mid paced tune features a very dark, brooding synth section under Shagrath’s possessed screams. Shagrath’s vocal style is different here than on successive releases but his genuinely spirited performance has never been matched. As opposed to the average sounding croaks featured on later releases, Shagrath is howling like a spawn of Lucifer would. His demonic screaming is still unsettling to me at times and is a highlight of the album. The song is very strong and provides an accurate representation of the material at hand. The last minute and a half of “Mourning Palace” is simply breathtaking. The melodic tremolo picked guitars are backed by fast double bass and a majestic and intricate synth part. The song ends with the same melodic riff, but this time is joined by Shagrath and the now blasting drums.

 The next song “Spellbound (By the Devil)” is another standout track. Like the previous track, “Spellbound” starts off with the brooding synth section. The track in all its evil glory marches along for the first minute until a brief shift in tempo occurs, which contains another album highlight. Shagrath comes in, spewing the lyrics “By the Devil!” in such an agonizing way that he has never topped since. The blasting drums come in, augmenting Shagrath’s intense scream. The track continues along in its evil marching pace until the bridge. The entire band drops outs, leaving the keyboards to create a delicate yet sorrowful melody. The rest of the band comes in, with complimentary guitar melodies backed by driving double bass before fading away.

 
We then come to Dimmu Borgir’s most infamous track “Tormentor of Christian Souls”. While being another excellent track from a musical standpoint, the lyrics of this song in particular have been a source of controversy for the band. Nuclear Blast refused to (and still does to my knowledge) print the lyrics to this song because of its very anti-Christian and sadistic nature, not that it does much since Shagrath’s pronunciation is very clear and most don’t need a lyric sheet to understand the lyrics. Musically, this is the most aggressive track on Enthrone Darkness Triumphant. The song kicks off with a lengthy blasting intro (by Dimmu standards) that is augmented by the keyboards. After the intro the band continues along at a thrash pace as Shagrath spews his evil liturgy. The band slows down in the middle and lets the keyboards create a sinister atmosphere. Shagrath enters again with some more depraved lyrics before returning to blasting speeds.

 
The rest of the songs are equally excellent and powerful, with each having a unique strength and character to it. There is a good mix of the faster, more aggressive tracks with the brooding, slow, atmospheric tracks. There are no filler or even average tracks to be found here, just metal of the highest quality.

 
With Enthrone Darkness Triumphant Dimmu Borgir have cemented themselves among symphonic black metal’s elite. The album as a whole contains the strongest collection of songs on any Dimmu records, including many of their live staples and fan favorites. The symphonic element found here may not feature full orchestras and choirs like later releases, but is able to attain the same majestic effect through rich and powerful keyboard lines. Shagrath gives his best performance on this record also, sounding genuinely evil rather than his more typical performances on recent releases. The songwriting is very strong, and while for the most part I like all of their albums, Enthrone Darkness Triumphant is the only Dimmu Borgir album that I can listen to all the way through. The band seemed to have a real fire to make an outstanding album all across the board that is lacking on later releases, where I really like a few songs but find the rest to be average and uninspired. I’m fine with that, because Enthrone Darkness Triumphant is unparalleled in the symphonic black metal genre, with an exception being Emperor. You should give this album a spin if you’re into well composed and executed symphonic metal, because you will find few albums in the genre of equal or better quality.