Artist: Dimmu Borgir
Label: Nuclear Blast
Release Date: 3/12/01
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Title: Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia Artist: Dimmu Borgir Label: Nuclear Blast Release Date: 3/12/01 |
Judgment Committee Reviews | Rating |
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Abyss's Review:
It seems like eons since Spiritual Black Dimensions first graced my ears, and in an era when it seems that bands put out an album every 10 months, I found myself missing Dimmu. Do you Dimmu? I do. Well, it was well worth the wait, as Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia is just what I was looking for.
Not much has changed since the last album. Dimmu Borgir still create very accessible black metal, heavily laden with goth, but I see this album as a progression from the last for the sheer fact that they seem to be getting better at it. The songwriting seems more focused this time, as every track is pretty fucking cool. It all begins with the standard instrumental intro that, while just as unnecessary as all of the rest of them, is a little less irritating. It’s a pretty melody that does do its part to get you psyched for the upcoming distortion, but I just assume it not be there.
"Time changes and head-banging segues abound, providing thoroughly enjoyable listening." The songs seem to be slightly simpler if you take all the separate parts and look at them individually, but much more attention is paid to the riffs, and the songs come across as much more mainstream for it. Time changes and head-banging segues abound, providing thoroughly enjoyable listening. The band expands on its clean vocal offerings, coming in like a slightly heavier Roger Waters, and the melodies themselves are catchy enough to beg you to sing along. More importantly, as is often the case, they don’t seem out of place alongside the more acidic black-screams, they rather sound like two separate voices relaying the same emotion.
For those of you that think this band is a pale clone of Cradle of Filth (or vice versa) this album will in no way change your mind. Similarities abound, but I think both of these bands have their own take on the sound, and in my book there is room for both of them.
"Every track is pretty fucking cool." I strongly recommend this album to all of the metal fans that don’t care what a band’s name is as long as the music is cool. There’s also a pretty cool cover of the Twisted Sister song, “Burn in Hell”, which I find myself playing more often than I’d like to admit. The worst you can call this band is Cradle with some clean vocals, but the fact is that these guys rule, and have for a long time.
Death's Review:
Dimmu Borgir’s sound can be described rather simply: blackened vocals (with the occasional clean deviation) with thrash/speed riffage and atmospheric keys and the sporadic melodic “haunted house” keyboard run. Not exactly my cup of tea, although I understand the value of the sound and its importance to the current scene. Still, I’m not flipping over Puritantical any more than I was about Spiritual Black Dimensions. And while this latest Dimmu release does seem to have a touch more of a streamlined songwriting focus, the band’s evolution is nowhere near dramatic enough to encourage former non-believers (and, conversely, to dissuade fans of Dimmu’s recent work).
Personally, I like the relatively similarly-styled Cradle of Filth better. Not sure why, but the overall theatrical “Dani Filth show” thing is just generally more interesting than the Dimmu trip, I guess. That’s not to say that Dimmu doesn’t have its moments - many independently killer riffs can be found throughout this record. Unfortunately, they are invariably bookened by standard-issue, tremolo-picked, boring and seemingly pointless simple melodies. Seriously folks, I grew up playing guitar in metal bands in the eighties, and I know that I always wanted to come up with either (1) intricate, technical riffs which exhibited a certain kinetic and aggressive musicality; or (2) bludgeoningly powerful, sludge-encrusted, power chords of doom. At what point did simple three-to-six-note meandering little midtempo scale-run melodies become of such interest to you people, no matter how fast they are picked?!?!?!? You know what I’m talking about: how many sixteenth note AAAA-GGGG-CCCC-BBBB “melodies” do I have to endure? I honestly don’t understand it.
"How many sixteenth note AAAA-GGGG-CCCC-BBBB “melodies” do I have to endure? I honestly don’t understand it." Tying this back in to a discussion of Dimmu Borgir, I recognize that you can pull out the isolated powerful riffs from this record, and that they often display a certain power and lightning-quick right hand picking technique. At these points in the songs, I can almost start thinking of this album as 4-skull worthy when the intensity of the vocals (which I generally find boring) hits its peak. But invariably, the songs end up full of the type of mediocre filler I described in the preceding paragraph (admittedly found in many if not all black or uber-extreme death metal bands). And to me, that makes all the difference.
Don’t get me wrong: I like what Dimmu represent in many ways, the new breed of high-profile yet arguably extreme heavy metal warrior. And the music, while not my thing, isn’t of the “I can’t have fun listening to it” or “I feel the need to disclaim my interest in this to anyone who will listen every time it is played loud in my vicinity” variety. I even like some of the more King Diamond-esque, lower-register vocals employed from time to time. Bottom line: there’s nothing necessarily bad about Dimmu, they’re OK. But no surprise given my predispositions, I don’t think it is great. At least not to my ears.
"Standard-issue, tremolo-picked, boring and seemingly pointless simple melodies."
Hel's Review:
What do metal and movie soundtracks have to do with each other? Generally, I would say I don't know, but this week, both albums before the Judgment Committee this week begin and end with epic instrumentals worthy of opening credits on the big screen. I still haven't figured out what metal and movie soundtracks have to do with one another, but I enjoyed the bitter-sweetness of "Fear and Wonder" and the contrast between the end of that song and the beginning of the next, "Blessings upon the Throne of Tyranny", so what the hell. I'll do as Dimmu do for now.
In general, I think I like this album better overall, than Spiritual Black Dimension. It strikes me as having less focus on the keyboards, so instead of being annoyingly prominent, they are more integrated into the songs and much better for it. The blending of vocal styles voices adds depth, and the songs are well written, and well performed.
"Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia is a well-balanced album that is interesting and entertaining." Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia is a well-balanced album that is interesting and entertaining. I'm sure not everyone will love this album, since there are always those who will look for negatives and perhaps claim it is too palatable or too polished. But I say, this is a good album, so stop trying to make sense of it. Don't waste your time puzzling over trivial things like the meaning of the album title. Darken the room, grab some popcorn, and sit your ass down to enjoy it. Do as Dimmu do, too.
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