Plenty of metal bands talk the talk; Dimmu Borgir, though, most definitely walk the walk. They’ve spent over twenty years now delighting and terrifying their audiences in equal measure, and as you’d expect from a band with albums called, amongst other things, Godless Savage Garden, Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia and Death Cult Armageddon, the word ‘compromise’ has never been in their vocabulary. Whilst their sound has evolved over the years, they’ve usually focused on symphonic black metal, blending the typical ear-shredding volume and unrelenting heaviness of black metal in general with an atmosphere and ambience that provides a counterbalance to the morbid lyrical themes with which they concern themselves. The release of their most recent record, Abrahadabra, in 2010 saw a first for the Norwegian trio; they performed live with a full symphony orchestra in their native Oslo. They took a more conventional Dimmu Borgir show on the road, too, with their most recent UK tour, in late 2011, billed - with tongue perhaps in cheek - as An Evening with Dimmu Borgir. Giving fans a choice of three classic records - For All Tid, Stormblast and Enthrone Darkness Triumphant - they played two sets in intimate venues; one of those records in its entirety, and then a greatest hits selection. A new Borgir record is now overdue - expect news of both that and further UK dates soon, after a recent return to the festival circuit.
Stewart Copeland
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