Dimmu Borgir - For All Tid (1994), Enthrone Darkness Triumphant (1997) and Godless Savage Garden [ep] (1998)

Melodic and sweeping black metal from the second wave that came to fill in the momentum needed as the old school of modern black metal musicians faded into incarceration or obscurity. Heavily influenced by bands such as Emperor (see below), Dimmu Borgir receive divergent opinions from black metal fans. My sister loves them (the Emperor album was hers, too), but personally I don't like the bombast and drama of symphonic black metal. But if this is your kind of music, chances are you'll enjoy the next couple of albums.


For All Tid (Re-Mastered) (1994)
Their first full length studio album. Production isn't great and neither are the tracks in my opinion. They use the synth extensively: their first track (5:03) is probably the longest black metal intro ever. But then the guitars and drums enter stage. Okay stuff, I guess, just not my cup of tea. Highly melodic, but not containing enough raw power (Burzum, Darkthrone) or speed (Mayhem). Even on their own field, symphonic metal, they don't get close to what Emperor achieves.


Enthrone Darkness Triumphant (1997)
This album is definitely an improvement on their last one. No more shitty intros, but immediately the real thing. The music has become more complex in terms of rhythm and harmony and the production has improved, too. Keyboard, guitar and drums are beautifully arranged, making the albums very listenable, in fact. A lot of fans claims this to be their best album thus far. It does contain a couple of really powerful tracks - great sense of theatrical drama!


Godless Savage Garden [ep] (1998)
By now Dimmu Borgir seems to be moving towards more classic metal. This album always reminds stylistically of Nexus Polaris by Covenant (1998, Norway). Many black metal fans denounce this ep for it not being 'black' enough. Fair enough. But in terms of melodic heavy metal, the band has released a pretty good album: broad guitar/synth movements and the pace has increased compared with their earlier work. And they still haven't lost their brilliant feeling for drama. Just the bass seems somewhat sloppily produced, but that could be my shitty stereo at work. Anyway, if you're into melodic heavy metal, this is what you're looking for. Ep also contains three (mediocre) live tracks.

Dimmu_Borgir_For_All_Tid_192.rar
Dimmu_Borgir_Enthrone_Darkness_Triumphant_192.rar
Dimmu_Borgir_Godless_Savage_Garden_192.rar

posted by Paxjorge @ Saturday, March 11, 2006