Artist: Dimmu Borgir
Label: Nuclear Blast
Release Date: 9/9/03
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Title: Death Cult Armageddon Artist: Dimmu Borgir Label: Nuclear Blast Release Date: 9/9/03 |
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Abyss's Review:
Jesus, talk about culture shock! In the never-ending battle against digital piracy, I received a CASSETTE tape of the new Dimmu Borgir album to review. At the time I didn't really care, I listened to tapes up until 1987 or so anyway, so it was no big deal. Then it hit me, I wasn't even sure if I had anything I could play a cassette tape on. I eventually found something and began listening, but I kept being distracted by the ancient technology I was being forced to endure. Like how the hell do you figure out what song you're listening to? Was that first stupid intro they always do a title in and of itself, or was it only part of the first song? And did I mention you have to flip the damn thing over when you're half way done? No wonder these things went the way of the dinosaur.
"I have always been a fan of this band's style of accessible black metal, but I must say I feel slightly let down by this record." Once I got my head together I began to concentrate on the music. It initially sounded like crap, but knowing this band's reputation for production values and the inferiority of my 'sound system' I have a feeling most of that is the result of me not being set up well for this format. My ears eventually got used to the hissing, however, and I feel I was able to do a good job of ignoring it. I have always been a fan of this band's style of accessible black metal, but I must say I feel slightly let down by this record.
While their contemporaries Cradle of Filth have been putting different slants on their albums (the guitar driven Damnation and a Day, the more new wave influenced Midian, etc.) Dimmu seem to be quite content to stick to the exact same sound we've heard on their last few albums. In many ways I can see why. They've come up with a very successful combination of heaviness and listenability, at once hitting like a battering ram, but also being approachable enough to expand their fan base. And their fan base seems to be growing based on the size of the crowd I saw at their last gig. And I can't really fault them for that, as they remain the epitome of showmen, giving the audience what it wants and putting out quality, well thought-out work. The songs on this record flutter through their acoustic bridges and intros and dive screaming into their pace-setting riffs effortlessly, and as formulaic as it is, they've just about perfected the formula. So in that respect, I definitely recommend the album.
"As formulaic as it is, they've just about perfected the formula." Everyone always says that it's a double-edged sword for an artist: whether they should alter their sound, or whether they should stick to their roots. My personal opinion is that a band must do both - it's not impossible. If a band chooses to stick to their given sound, however, the songwriting must make up for it. The songwriting itself must be able to trick our ears into thinking we're hearing something new, and this record isn't doing that for me. I do really like it though - it was exactly what I was expecting from them. And that's the problem, I need a band to surprise me every once in awhile. One word review: Expected.
Death's Review:
This is a big record for Dimmu Borgir. With Cradle of Filth on Ozzfest, the next band down the popularity ladder in the sub-sub-genre I like to call "commercial black metal" has to be these guys. Surely they are about to blow up big in the U.S. I predict we'll be seeing them along with bands like Lamb of God and something like a Six Feet Under or Superjoint Ritual on next year's Ozzfest (assuming there is a next year's Ozzfest). Give it about ten months and see if I'm right. I'm predicting big things here not because Death Cult Armageddon constitutes any kind of radical departure from the traditional Dimmu Borgir album. In fact, other than a simpler album title (although still the usual three words), the music has not changed all that much. I suppose the production is a bit cleaner and more advanced (something I can tell even listening to the promo cassette they gave me - I laughed out loud when Redwolff emailed "what is this 'ca-ssette' of which you speak"?), and the songwriting may be a bit tighter and more focused than before, but these are advances which merely improve without altering the expected sound and style.
"Other than a simpler album title, the music has not changed all that much."
"The purists are gonna hate this one. This is well-produced, well-played commercial black metal." After the intro, the opening epic track, "Progenies of the Great Apocalypse," is a multi-part tour de force of the Dimmu sound, prominently featuring epic and majestic keyboards that sound like horns but actually do add to the drama a bit. Any thoughts, however, that Dimmu had declined to follow the lead of Cradle of Filth in allowing a bit more of a guitar-based attack to become the focus are dispelled by listening to the next track, "Lepers Among Us" (I think - it is hard to tell which track is which when listening to the cassette) which totally relies upon a sick, intricate, technical thrash riff to open. The Nick Barker drumbeats behind it are perfectly mixed and totally tight - jackhammer-style, thrashy double-bass drums where need be, expressive rock ride emphasis elsewhere. There's no doubt that this band can play. I love the use of the twin-guitar "trills" which accent many of the riffs. I also love the overall guitar sound that is used which is warm and full and totally thrash metal and not nearly as underproduced and "shrill" as the cold and raw aesthetic of the early and "true" black metal bands. While there aren't really guitar solos that stand out per se (there are some extended melodic runs and such, but not really old-school solos), there is enough guitar to satisfy six-string fans here. I love the sick, all-out, old-school thrash attack of the main riff to the song that kicks off side "b" of the cassette (something I'm aware that will only be meaningful to other people out there who have this promo). The purists are right - this really isn't a black metal album, it's just a metal record through and through.
That's probably also why the purists are gonna hate this one. This is well-produced, well-played commercial black metal. The statanic ideology is there on the surface, in some of the lyrics and in the imagery, but in reality it all takes a backseat to the music. The vocals on Death Cult Armageddon are excellent - charismatic, interesting and dramatic. The sense of majesty and mystery in the overall music is ever-present. If you haven't already seen it, check out the new video for the track "Progenies Of the Great Apocalypse." Very "big-budget" and professional looking, it still features plenty of spikes, face paint, fire, snakes, naked chicks and aggression. Clearly, Dimmu is about to take over the minds of the rebellious and downtrodden teenagers of America. The death cult they inspire may indeed bring about Armageddon, but at least we'll be jamming some killer tunes on the way down to the firey pits below.
Hel's Review:
Dimmu Borgir are back and up to their old symphonic black metal tricks again. I did not get to listen to this as much as I would have liked because the chosen anti-piracy format of the promo (cassette tape?!) was limiting, to say the least. Sure, I may still have every console gaming system I've ever owned, but a cassette player? I wasn't even sure if the one sitting in my stereo rack still worked, let alone how to get my receiver to acknowledge it. But fortunately, the dinosaur is still kicking, and it sounded better on my system than I thought it would. I wanted to listen to it in my car, but the tape player I've never even used in my one year old vehicle repeatedly denied me, and I even got it checked and was told the player is fine. Stupid cassettes.
"The quirk of this band remains: very strong symphonic overtones that invariably invoke thoughts of big-budget movie soundtracks."
"I always get a craving for popcorn when I listen to Dimmu." So fine, I go retro and kick it with the Dimmu cassette. The title, Death Cult Armageddon, makes much more sense than the last couple album titles. Musically, it turns out that the band has continued on the path they were walking back in the Spiritual Black Dimensions days, which is as far back as my listening history goes. I took a few minutes and listened to Spiritual, just because I want a little confidence when I make declarations of this type, and indeed, the similarity was strong. For fans of the band, I imagine this will be good news, unless you're the fickle kind that believes a band needs to show you something new with every release. The new material is as strong as anything heard on the prior two releases, and a couple of the songs are downright infectious, though I have no idea what the names of them might be due to the archaic listening format I'm being subjected to. How did we ever know what song was what back in the day when this was the "high-tech" format? Too long ago.
The quirk of this band that has always made me scratch my head in confusion remains: very strong symphonic overtones that invariably invoke thoughts of big-budget movie soundtracks. Danny Elfman, is that you? Certainly, these sections up the composition ante greatly, and it takes a lot of talent to make these parts co-exist well with the black metal parts, which they definitely do. But I always get a craving for popcorn when I listen to Dimmu. It is undeniable that this band has a great deal of both musical and songwriting talent, and while the songs sound slightly different in the live setting, without as much of the movie soundtrack grandeur, the mere fact that they can pull it off live effectively, as I have witnessed them do, is a testament to their skill as a band. At the end of the day, it always comes back to one truth - black metal is just not my thing, and particularly not the heavily embellished style like these guys deliver. Death Cult Armageddon is a stunning album. If you're into that sort of thing.
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