Dimmu Borgir
Biography
Blending black metal's most brutal tendencies, the melancholic beauty of opera, and industrial metal's production techniques, Dimmu Borgir carved a niche in the metal world as one of the most savage and creative acts to hail from the Norwegian scene. The group first started in 1993, when members Shagrath (vocals), Erkekjetter Silenoz (guitar), and Tjodalv (guitar and drums) came together to join the emerging metal scene. Although some groups like Emperor and Mayhem had already been making noise for a while, this next generation of groups was the first to directly take their influence from their efforts. They drafted bassist Brynjard Tristan and keyboardist Stian Aarstad into the fold and began their career with a 7" single, "Inn I Evighetens Morke."
The single sold out in a few weeks, inspiring the band to record a full-length album. Although their live performances were starting to gain them a lot of attention, it wasn't until For All Tid's release in 1994 that they made their mark internationally. After some European touring and a few rave reviews from metal publications, the band went back to the studio to work on their next album. The result, 1996's Stormblast, was a step up from the primal debut album. Featuring stronger melodies and their first attempts at the classical flourishes that would enhance their later work, the group again gained more rave reviews. They were still in the shadow of many of their contemporaries, as landmark releases from Cradle of Filth and Emperor were released around the same time. They suspected their use of Norwegian may have been the cause, so Stormblast was also the last album to use their native language to deliver the lyrics. They toured quite heavily behind the album and even released a single for "Devil's Path" in between albums, but along the way, they also lost Tristan and had to replace him with Kovenant bassist Nagash.
When they did return to the studio, they recruited producer Peter Tagtren to record the monumental Enthrone Darkness Triumphant, a landmark album in both scope and songwriting. Due to new label Nuclear Blast's heavy marketing and distribution, the album sold much larger quantities than anything they had produced before, and found them thrust to the forefront of the black metal movement. The band was more than ready to take that responsibility and the following tour saw them pick up second guitarist Astennu. They also fired longtime keyboardist Aarstad because of internal difficulties and replaced him with future Sinergy frontwoman Kimberly Goss. She could only last through a part of the tour due to contract responsibilities, and she was replaced by Mustis. Tjodalv also left the band after the tour to be with his newborn child and was replaced by Aggressor for a mini-tour after taking a break from their Enthrone promotion.
For All Tid was re-released in 1998 with "Inn I Evighetens Morke" added onto the track listing, while the Godless Savage Garden EP was also released to tide over fans until the next album. The recording sessions for Spiritual Black Dimensions came next and Tjodalv came back to the fold after his family sabbatical. The album was released in 1999 to more praise from the metal media, as it revealed a heavier and more complex vision than anything they had accomplished before. Nagash quit before any touring could take place, but the band had asked bassist Simen Hestnaes from Borknagar to add operatic vocals to the recordings anyway, so he slid into the role quite easily. The band also made a split album with Old Man's Child around the same time, and the results were released as Sons of Satan Gather for Attack in the same year. Tjodalv unexpectedly left the band after their 1999 tour, but Cradle of Filth's Nick Barker was more than ready to step into his shoes and the tour resumed without a hitch.
In keeping with the spirit of their luck in the late '90s, the turn of the century saw Astennu fired from the band before the recording of their next album. Financial and time constraints put off the recording process until the fall of 2000, and in the meantime, they drafted Galder from Old Man's Child to become their new guitarist. Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia was the resulting album and the effort was by far their most complicated release to date. Featuring a symphonic orchestra on almost the entire album, the CD was an astonishing accomplishment in the world of black metal. The band toured behind it, but the tragedies of September 11, 2001, cut short their plans to tour with Napalm Death in the States and they had to stay in Europe. Still, they managed to release an EP and a DVD in their newfound spare time and Barker and Galder could do work with their various side projects and other bands before stepping back into the studio to record the mammoth black/death/thrash/gothic/industrial/symphonic metal masterpiece Death Cult Armageddon. Released in 2003, DCA relied heavily on the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra. That same approach was taken on 2007's equally impressive In Sorte Diaboli. ~ Bradley Torreano, All Music Guide
Selected Discography
I ask a question to all the Black metal "community" in Pandora (and maybe to Pandora "owners" too, if they read this). Why there's no Music from the great Black Metal band "ANCIENT" here??
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eh, black metal's definitely an aquired taste. i found this band from listening to bands like kalmah and amon amarth i must say i kinda like them. im still more into more melodic metal bands as well as other extreme genres like melodeath and thrash, but bands like dimmu and kampfar arent bad. i hate bands like immortal though
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Yeah plauge likes a strong keyboard. That's why Yaz is his favorite band of all time.
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It's gonna be hard to get at the new sound they will have when they replace Vortex. It's gonna need some time getting used to, but they will overcome that for sure.
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LOL, if number of notes played per second is an indication of quality, then DragonForce is clearly the best band ever! I don't think that argument will go far either...
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And that is the "infallible" argument for Disturbed / Godsmack supremacy.
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@cadaver: To quasi-quote TGS / Willow, "Are you saying you can make a better hamburger than McDonald's? Impossible! Their fries are just fantastic, I can tell, cuz the sell so many of them! So many locations world-wide cannot happen without possessing the top notch quality 1/8" thick ground up cow on a frozen bun warmed over about 3 hours before you eat it!! You're a f**** f**** f**** f***** er ... (more expletive garbage) GTFO STFU ... (more cheesy acronyms) ... so there!"
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Wolli W cixelsyD...P l e a s e stop...quit b*tching. Go praise your Godsmack to someone who cares. This is the Dimmu Borgir page after all. It's all about taste anyway. Besides, Dimmu Borgir is awesome. Totally freaky sound and disturbing but delightful all the same.
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If numbers mean quality, then Mc Donalds is the best food in the world...
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GGGGGGGGGGGG G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S M M M M M M M M M A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K ! ! ! ! ! ! TRUE METAL!!!!!!! ! !
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And, Willow, your point is? Did you know that I.C.S. Vortex used to use the stage name Garm? I can tell that you care about as much for that little fact as we care about your little fact...Now go post that info on some commercial pop band's page, and maybe your argument will have greater relevance.
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@Punk Guy: So far, I've been happy with their releases. If they start producing crap, I'll just stop listening to them. I can't see them dropping the symphonic elements. I mean, they cut back on them for In Sorte, because they said studio recording the orchestra was a nightmare, but I'm expecting them to continue on with a strong keyboard presence.
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@POL: Yeah, but most metal bands let that s**t go to their heads. They get drunk on fame and next thing you know, they're playing on the same stage as Nickleback. This has happened to many good metal bands. But Dimmu is different, they're a bunch of smart guys so I think that they'll be alright. But the moment they start having some douche singing and no choral or symphonic stuff, I'm gonna call bullshit on them. But right now, they seem to be keeping up the good work.
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@OMW: I think Kaiton has gotten it right with Dimmu though. They gained recognition from their talent, and used it towards production. It's not the rule, but there are always exceptions to the rule.
@POFaggots: For some reason I'm not surprised you have a man-lover in France. |
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The first time I heard Dimmu Borgir was mid 90's on a trip to France. I was really young and impressionab l e at the time, the waiter at the cafe suggested some suflei and espresso and brought over a few coins for the jukebox. I didn't know what to expect when I selected Stormblast but after a few songs I was mesmorized. The waiter and I are still good butties and we exchange new band material from my black metal band often;)
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Hm... You do have a point on that Old Man... I realized that 5 minutes after I wrote that haha...
T.T especially with my hate of mainstream music |
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@ Kaiton: Unfortunatel y your first argument (More talent = more fans/recogni t i o n ) generally isn't the case. Many bands without talent gain recognition, and many bands with talent never get noticed. It is all about marketing and timing. This is why I lobby this more simple truth: Record sales do not equal talent and vice versa. That is not to say that once talent gains sales that they cease to be talented however.
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I really don't get why (black)metal h e a d s judge how good a black metal band is on its obscurity.. Seriously it's like oh no! Their recording quality doesn't suck c**k!!!! They're not good anymore if I can't here the static!! I'm not going to listen to it anymore! Or...
Oh no!!!!! More than 10 people listen to them! They suck now!!!!!!!!! ! ! ! Just grow up.. More talent = more fans/recogni t i o n More fans = More money More money = better studio See where this is going? |
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Dimmu is the s**ts mother f**kers! So what if they are packaged neatly in the record store as "black metal" and so what if Dimmu had all the other groups removed from that area, Dimmu f**king rocks the mother f**kers!
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I agree. There's nothing wrong with production quality that doesn't suck.
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Damn... F**k these guys are so f**king amazing at black metal... They are just pure black metal essence while still maintaining a unique sound...
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I also prefer Dimmu's newer sound.. They kicked more a** in albums like Enthrone Darkness Triumphant and Deathcult Armageddon.
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So anyone here prefer the newer Dimmu Borgir sound to their older sound?...Or am I the only one?
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Godsmack is about as brutal as chicken nuggets. Sure, it's processed crap marketed towards the masses, but some of us harbor an aversion to its processed, bland flavor.
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@Elicoor: Yeah, it's not going to stop me from listening to the music, but seriously. It doesn't make you look evil or intimidating . . . o r dead, for that matter.
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Dimmu is just hella chillun. Its like reggae but its hella more epic. If you dont like Black Metal then dont listen to it... simple as that. And dont be crappin there style, just go jerkoff.
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@Willow: ...And I would argue that I don't wear make-up, so therefor Mortogoph is true metal.
I'll be honest though. I think corpse paint is pretty lame. I mean, I can deal with Turisa's war paint, but black metal corpse paint is pretty stupid looking for the most part. |
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Look everyone, Willow changed his name! Aww isn't he cute?! He's such a little b**ch that he doesn't want anyone to know his name so he keeps changing it! Go f**k yourself with a spiked dildo and die a**hole!
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So because you wear make up you aren't metal? You're just pathetic in all honesty. Dimmu Borgir is more metal than Godsmack could ever dream of being pal.
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To me these guys are probably on the top of the heap of black metal... And to a certain extent... The definition black metal.
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I like the new stuff, really cool. I also like that they have the balls to go outside the box unlike so many metal bands that just put out the same damn album over and over.
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Hail Dimmu Borgir.
I found a dvd of them the other day and now I"m super excited to finally buy it.Hell Yeah!!! |
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Godless Savage Garden was awesome. Enthrone was really really good. Spiritual Black Dimensions was F'n mindblowing. Puritanical was PURE INSANITY! Death Cult and In Sorte are kinda bland in comparison.
Stormblast is a good album, but anyone who says they love For All Tid is just trying to be a typical black metal hipster. (In all honesty, I thought that album sucked) |
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