:: Dimmu Borgir - In Sorte Diaboli

Dimmu Borgir

Within the melodic black/symphonic metal scene, there few that have managed to appeal to a broad cross selection of fans quite like Norwegian based act Dimmu Borgir. In the last fifteen years, the band has managed to rise from being a cult underground act to become one of the extreme metal scene’s elite acts, which in turn has seen the group earn both praise and criticism in equal measure. Following on from their hugely successful ‘Death Cult Armageddon’ album from 2003, Dimmu Borgir return with their highly anticipated seventh full-length album ‘In Sorte Diaboli’. For the most part, the direction on ‘In Sorte Diaboli’ adheres closely to the template that Dimmu Borgir have utilised to great success on their last couple of albums, with only the conceptualised storyline and the replacement of orchestration with keyboards the album’s only real major significant changes. The album’s first single ‘The Serpentine Offering’ is the album’s first blasphemous offering, with Mustis leading the charge with a suitably dramatic orchestrated introduction before Hellhammer takes the lead alongside the dual guitarists. Plenty of diversity is evident throughout the track, with Mustis ensuring the symphonic element of Dimmu Borgir’s sound in recent years remains ever present, while Shagrath’s harshly growled vocals are beautifully offset with ICS Vortex’s captivating clean efforts.

Guitars and some incredibly fast drumming efforts from Hellhammer dominate the drive of the follow-up track ‘The Chosen Legacy’ and stunning ‘The Conspiracy Unfolds’, with Mustis simply embellishing upon the blacked noise from the rest of the band, while ICS Vortex puts in a theatrical performance in ‘The Sacrilegious Scorn’ and ‘The Invaluable Darkness’, which more often than not brings to mind his impressive work in his former outfit Arcturus. The instrumental ‘The Fallen Arises’ is an interesting piece that gives Mustis the opportunity to indulge in some symphonic atmospheric tones around the halfway mark of the album, while on the mid-paced ‘The Sinister Awakening’, the guitarists show a little more imagination, with the riffs standing out a little more than on any other song on the album. Finishing up the album is the fast paced and aggressive ‘The Fundamental Alienation’ and the suitably majestic ‘The Foreshadowing Furnace’. Dimmu Borgir haven’t made make major or significant changes on ‘In Sorte Diaboli’, but there are enough subtle differences from past efforts to note an element of progression in the last four years, and just enough to retain the band’s ever growing legions of fans.