Dimmu's sounds inspired by Black Metal
Pronounced "dim-moo bore-gear", the Dimmuborgir is a large area of
unusually shaped lava fields east of Lake Myvatn, on Iceland.
However, Dimmu Borgir is a melodic black metal band hailing from
Norway. Shagrath, Silenoz and Tjodalv initiated the band in 1993. Shortly
after, Brynjard Tristan joined to play bass, and Stian Aarstad joined for
keyboard duties. Dimmu Borgir was born.
Haunting keyboard melodies, aggressive guitar work, destructive drums,
grim/raw vocals and a touch of melodic/operatic vocals characterize Dimmu
Borgir's sound.
They are musically inspired by 80's black metal and heavy metal classic
composers, like Wagner and Dvorak as well as Dimmu Borgir began their
career by releasing a 7" EP entitled "Inn I Evighetens Morke" ("Into the
Eternity of Darkness") on Necromantic Gallery Productions in 1994.
It sold out within a few weeks, marking the start of success. Dimmu
Borgir existed in the black metal scene for quite some time but did not
get the recognition they deserved until late 1994, when they released
their debut full length album "For All Tid" a slow, dark and atmospheric
recording on No Colour Records.
In 1996 they released one of the most important albums in black metal
history, "Stormbl+st", on a new label, Cacophonous records.and took a big
step forward, towards the distinctive sound for which Dimmu Borgir is
known for today. Mature song writing, with good variance of tempos, a
strong classical influence and one of the best black metal sounds out
there. "Stormbl+st" showed an increase in speed, yet maintained the melody
and atmosphere. For the first two full lengths, Dimmu Borgir wrote their
lyrics in Norwegian, however after the release of "Stormbl+st", they
changed the lyrics into English.
The main reason being that the majority of the audience did not
understand the lyrics and so Dimmu Borgir wanted to use a popular language
to communicate their message - to reach a broader audience.After "Stormbl+st",
Dimmu Borgir released the "Devil's Path" MCD on Hot Records, in 1996.
Shagrath actually worked in Hot records and he was responsible for the
signing and promotion of bands.
"Devil's Path" is a MCD with 4 songs, and includes a brilliant song
entitled "Devil's Path", . For the MCD, Nagash, who at that time was in
Troll and The Kovenant (previously called Covenant) was recruited to
replace Tristan on bass.
Stian Aarstad did not perform keyboard duties on this album due to the
fact that he had to take care of business regarding the Norwegian army.In
1997 Dimmu Borgir released their masterpiece "Enthrone Darkness
Triumphant" an engaging, powerful and moving recording. "Enthrone..."
marked a move to a bigger label, impeccable production (by the famous
Peter Tagtren) and the success of 150,000+ in record sales."Enthrone..."
was released on their new label, Nuclear Blast, after their old record
label failed to give their best to promote Dimmu Borgir.
After recording "Enthrone..." the band hired Astennu to play guitars
during live performances, so Shagrath could fully concentrate on his
vocals and stage performance. Astennu replaced Jens Petter who was a
member for a short while between "Stormbl+st" and "Enthrone..." and is
presently a full-time member of Dimmu Borgir.
In the "Enthrone..." tour, Stian Aarstad was fired from the band and
was replaced by Kimberley Goss, young keyboard player Mustis from
Norway.He has added a new element to the band, and the new sound can be
heard on "Spiritual..." Mustis had a heavy influence on this album,
considering 60% of Dimmu Borgir songs are created on keyboard first.
A very nice surprise was the re-release of Dimmu Borgir's debut album,
In 1998, Dimmu Borgir released an MCD, "Godless Savage Garden", containing
2 new songs, 2 re-releases, one cover and 3 live recordings. The release
was only intended to be a "goodie" while the fans were waiting for the new
album, "Spiritual.Black Dimensions but was rated so good that it was
nominated for "Spellemannsprisen", a Norwegian Grammy, in the metal
category Released officially on March 1, 1999, "Spiritual. Black
Dimensions" took the record stores by storm and made Dimmu Borgir once
again the kings of the dark throne.
Many have been curious as to what direction the music would take. Those
in doubt of Dimmu Borgir's dedication to extreme music were forced to face
reality when "Spiritual..." proved to be their most complex and extreme
album.
After the recording, Nagash decided to quit Dimmu Borgir to concentrate
fully on The Kovenant and temporary replacement, Simen Hestnaes in late
1999 became the permanent replacement on bass and full member of Dimmu
Borgir.
A month after the release of "Spiritual.Black Dimensions", Dimmu Borgir
made a split album with Old Man's Child, titled "Sons of Satan Gather for
Attack." In the early stages of the 1999 Dimmu Borgir tour, right after
their crushing gigs in New Jersey and Montreal, Tjodalv decided to leave
the band due to musical and personal differences. He had a family to take
care of and could not take the immense touring of Dimmu Borgir. Tjodalv's
replacement was none other than former Cradle Of Filth drummer Nick
Barker.
Dimmu Borgir was about to start the recording of a new album in March
2000 band was booked into Abyss studio with producer Peter Tagtgren to
record the yet untitled new album in March and April 2000 but did not
happen because they needed more time to finish the new material, had some
financial problems, and Nick still lived in England and could not afford
to come over to Norway as often as he should have.
Further line-up changes took place during the writing period when the
band fired guitarist Astennu and replaced him with Galder (Tom Rune
Andersen) the "Mastermind of Old Mans Child" who is known for his
brilliant guitar playing in Norwegian black metallers Old Man's Child.
With a firm line-up now intact, Dimmu Borgir entered Sweden's Fredman
Studio in Fall 2000 to record, Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia.
The album got them nominated for the third time and finally won a
Norwegian Grammy Award in 2001, within the category 'Metal'.
They also began work on CD, "Death Cult Armageddon". "Death Cult
Armageddon" also highlighted their orchestral side; the band recorded
parts of the album along with the Philharmonic Orchestra Prague, which
consisted of 46 professional musicians.
Guitarist Silenoz had this to say: "The new DIMMU BORGIR album has been
a hard and long fucking road to hell, and 'Death Cult Armageddon' is what
we're bringing back. With that we're pleased to announce that this will be
considered our most epic, majestic, somber, evil and grimmest release to
date, containing absolutely everything we're known for - the never-ending
presence of atmosphere, diversity and variety! In other words, it's huge!
Darkness is once again upon us!"
Another notch in Dimmu Borgir's belt is the recording of their first
ever promotional video for "Progenies Of The Great Apocalypse" to support
the release of the new album, "Death Cult Armageddon". An awesome piece of
art work and every metal fan should check it.
The next chapter in Dimmu Borgir history is about to take place as they
hit the roads to give their brilliant piece of work to the thousands of
loyal fans around the world, beginning with Italy's Gods of Metal Festival
beginning of June 2006.
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