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 guess a lot of purists don't like Dimmu's newest stuff...I however, find it to be their best.
|
||
The first time I heard Dimmu was here on Pandora, on a station that played mostly melodeath. I heard it and was like, "That's epic!"
|
||
Omg the recording quality's kinda baddd.... But they're so good!!!!... I wanna see them live now!!!!!!!!! !
|
||
S**t, the first time I heard Dimmu for more than 5 minutes, me and my buddy were shrooming. Best trip ever. The atmosphere was really palpable. Yes, shrooms + Dimmu Borgir = better than a million orgasms. Try it!!!
|
||
4 words for the naysayers... . . R a a b j o r n Speiler Draugheimens Skodde.....
|
||
Dimmu Borgir is, and has always been, all about atmosphere. Alot of death metal fans just don't get it. To me, having a dark atmosphere is more brutal than heavy riffage. But to any death metal fans who doubt Dimmu Borgir's brutality I have three words for you; Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia .
|
||
Hell MY anal fog is better than this... and I like most of the similar artists. Figure that one out.
Actually I just got done listening to a bunch of deicide, dying fetus, and napalm death and it makes Dimmu seem downright tame. |
||
Enthrone Darkness Triumphant is good. A friend of mine just got it for me for my birthday.
|
||
imo you should get Enthrone Darkness Triumphant and Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia
|
||
I have in sorte diaboli and i love it. Should i get Enthrone darkness triumphant?
|
||
is it really this mandatory to kick and bite over f**king music, i mean ffs if you like the music good for you listen to it if not then dont listen to it and dont make rude remarks to people who like it and to the music and the artists who work to make it, you dbags. Btw dimmu borgin kicks a** and takes names!
|
||
The diabolic theme of many Scandinavian black metal bands isn't necessarily anti-Christi a n , but more deliberately anti-Catholi c . Christianity and Christendom are worlds apart, theologicall y speaking. If you examine the lyrical content of songs, you'll find a lot of preaching against the hypocrisy and betrayal of organized religions as well as issues of power and control.
|
||
Well, yeah, if you're listening to black metal, you're going to find Satanic stuff. There are Christian black metal bands, but they're few and far between.
|
||
Um lol yeahhh pretty much though how much the church like shies away from the "Devil" and seems totally afraid of it and stuff LOL think of it like idk opening your mind. Also thats what your gonna find dude in this genre
|
||
Despite the fact that it's going to inherently piss people off, I'll say it anyways. As a Christian, I dislike how Satanic the whole black metal scene is, but the sound of the music itself is good. I just thoroughly enjoyed a song by these guys.
|
||
Enthrone Darkness Triumphant is one of the best metal albums ever.
|
||
ouch, harsh one there onyxrune. lick mytaint, hes right. i dont see where he mentions anything bout liking the devil. still, a pretty brutal reply, onyx. cant we all just get along. ;)
|
||
Get bent, Lick. I don't praise Satan, or evil for that matter. My post made no mention of such personal reverence. I made a candid observation about the music's content and what it obviously panders to. My advise to you: an obtuse ignoramus such as yourself should spend time contemplatin g your inability to glean information accurately from literature, you self-praisin g load guzzler. You give society a bad name with your abhorrent, slothful ignorance.
|
||
onyx...peopl e like you who just praised kick a** bands because they are "satanic" and "unholy" are idiots..you people give metalheads bad names in general, i don't like satan all that much, i listen to metal because the MUSIC kicks a**. If you care about lyrics so much, why don't you listen to same f*g a** radio rock.
|
||
was that supposed to be a positive comment on the behalf of dimmu? b/c i dont know if i would call that a good thing. it sounded pretty damn negative.
|
||
Dimmu Borgir just doesn't do enough to promote evil. Ha! Visceral, nihilistic, and flat-out unholy. This is as black as black can get! Do you relish demons, hell, infernalism, and the dark lord himself? Then Dimmu Borgir is a great choice for all your black mass gatherings! Listen at your own risk... Dimmu Borgir is the eighth deadly sin.
|
||
look some people like this some dont it dosent matter i listen to Dimmu Borgir because i get mad and this s**t calms me down if you dont like it dont listen simple as that
|
||
These guys - and most of the bands like them - could be screaming about chocolate chip cookies and bunnies for all I know. Can't ever understand a stinking word of it so it becomes about the music (vocals being an instrument) ... which in this case I don't like at all.
|
||
i love it. do you capitalise every f**king word? god...
im in f**king high school! i masturbate and piss people off. thats what i do. |
||
F**k All of Your Beliefs, I Don't Care About Your Religions, I Don't Believe, and Kale Monet, You Must Seriously Have No Life If You Just Want to Piss People Off on the Internet.
|
||
Crowned and Conquering77 7 -, you are truly insane. WE ARE NOT GOD. Thats just a stupid thing to say.
|
||
Damn, why are people still posting crap on the page of my favorite band. This isn't a forum on religion!
|
||
Kale, but you are a God, as we all are God. If only the corrupted teachings of the modern church would reveal that which has been hidden from the outside for ages. We are all the center of the Universe. Arcanum divine.
|
||
first of all kamronkhan, its kale. next, i dont go to church. i shouldnt have to prove my relationship with god by going to church. thats not right. finally, jhomola9, do NOT call me a god. i am nothing. i am flattered you agree with what i said but i dont like the whole i am god thing. not cool. but thanks.
|
||
No way, when I saw them live, they were so gay. I almost threw up towards the stage when I saw their cheesy, uber-death space tights and plastic sun-wreaths around their heads. It is not real. Imagine Slayer wearing space-death outfits with tights!! Haha! Yea, scary shite.
|
||
kale monet is a god i love what u said in your original statement f**k yeah
|
||
I really dig this band, and I have an ecclectic taste of music, but by far, this is some of the best lyrics that go to show how morally perverted we can all be, in which we use a religion as the foundation of all things ostensive.
|
| report abuse |








