Dimmu Borgir. Probably the most famous and successful black metal band in the world. Their origin dates back to 1993, in the city of Oslo, Norway. The name comes from Dimmuborgir, a volcanic formation in Iceland; the name of this formation means "dark cities" or "dark castles/fortresses" in Icelandic, Faroese and Old Norse. In Icelandic folklore, Dimmuborgir is said to connect earth with the infernal realm. The Nordic Christian lore also states that Dimmuborgir is the place where Satan landed when he was cast down from the heavens by God, and there he created the apparent "Helvetes katakomber", which in Norwegian language means "The Catacombs of Hell". The six guys from Oslo really couldn't have chosen a more evocative name for their newborn band, one which fitted their music so well.
After releasing "For All Tid" and the widely praised "Stormblast", the band drew attention to Nuclear Blast Records, which became their label since the release of the legendary "Enthrone Darkness Triumphant", an album which is by many considered a real milestone in the history of black metal, and which is praised by fans and critics alike as one of the best (if not the absolute best) opus by the renowned black-metallers.
This is the album where we start to appreciate the transition from the melodic black metal style of the previous two releases, to what will become the actual symphonic black metal sound the band is widely known for. This is a turning point, and probably that's what it makes "Enthrone Darkness Triumphant" so varied and interesting, as the two souls of the band's musical conception converge and blend together, giving birth to an absolute classic. The increased use of synthesizers marks a shift from the band's previous musical style; the romantic music influenced keyboard scales and melodies provided by Stian Aarstad perfectly complement the rather technical guitar riffing offered by Silenoz and Shagrath (who, at the time, handled both vocal and guitar duties). The riffing is quite fast and relentless, mediumly technical, relying mainly on power chord progressions and tremolo picking, although in certain songs ("Entrance" and "A Succubus In Rapture", to name a few) the pace slows down to put a stress on the dark, gloomy, mystical atmosphere. The guitars, which are extremely distorted, sounding evil and haunting, and the keyboards, thanks to the wonderful arrangements (consisting mainly on scales making up lead sessions, or chords that set up for the general atmosphere), combine to craft the perfect combination of instruments where Shagrath's (who, from this album on, finally found what would be his trademark style) demonic screams and growls can shine. The drumming isn't as mindblowing as would be in later albums, but it still makes up for an excellent performance, fitting the music more than well and providing some interesting solutions. The bass is unfortunately almost impossible to hear.
The CD's production is absolutely top-notch, exquisite, as the album sounds dark, evil, haunting and not overproduced, retaining the characteristic core of the black metal sound, but not making it unlistenable or making it seem "potato produced". Nuclear Blast Really did an excellent job here. The song's lyrics deal with the themes of satanism, sorrow, pain, occultism: they are indeed really well-crafted, exquisitely written, somehow cryptic and full of arcane references. It is noteworthy that they are written entirely in english, for the first time, and the band would continue following this trend with later outputs, save the occasional song in Norwegian language.
The songs are all among the best stuff of the band's catalogue: the band performed the album in its entirety more and more times, due to the quality of the material present in it. Immortal classics from "Enthrone Darkness Triumphant" include: the legendary, unforgettable album opener "Mourning Palace" (featuring an unmistakable keyboard intro, fantastic kayboard scales, an interesting time signature change from 6/8 to 4/4, a passionate performance by Shagrath, instantly recognizable and memorable riffing and vocals, a fantastic crescendo towards the end of the song, an alternation between furious and aggressive sessions and slower, gloomy, more evocative and atmospheric ones: really, this might be the best song the band has ever written), "Spellbound (By The Devil)" (again, great guitar work, fantastic keyboard intro and melodies, a great chorus and demonic vocals make up for another instant classic), "In Death's Embrace" (starting with a lighspeed combination of keyboard scales and guitar riffs that seem almost like chasing each other, leading to a few sung lines and then to a piano-dominated session), the furious "Relinquisment of Spirit and Flesh" and "Master of Disharmony" (the heaviest songs on the record, featuring incredible tremolo picking and furious blast beat sessions, and an extremely elegant solo too in the latter); really, each track would deserve to be mentioned, for each one has something special, unique and unforgettable to offer.
This album had such a success that it propelled black metal almost in the world of "mainstream" music, thanks to its outstanding quality in terms of songwriting, inspiration and musicianship, to a strong promotional effort by Nuclear Blast, and to some characteristics that made it more approachable even for those who weren't into this genre of extreme music (english-written lyrics, a great production, melodic elements granted by the keyboards, even the fact that the band logo was changed and was now fully legible). "Enthrone Darkness Triumphant" is an instant classic, a milestone for an entire genre, an obliged listen to any fan of extreme music (or metal in general), and it's probably the best thing Dimmu Borgir has ever done: don't miss it for any reason, and give it a spin if you haven't already done that, even if you're not a fan of the band's newer material: you'll love it.
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