Dimmu Borgir - In Sorte Diaboli

Published April 15 2007

*=Staff's pick	The Serpentine Offering* The Chosen Legacy The Conspiracy Unfolds The Sacrilegious Scorn* The Fallen Arises The Sinister Awakening* The Fundamental Alienation* The Invaluable Darkness The Foreshadowing Furnace

Genre	Black Metal	Shagrath	Vocals
Tracks	9	Silenoz	Guitar
Runningtime	43 Min.	Galder	Guitar
Label	Nuclear Blast	ICS Vortex	Bass
Release	27 April 2007	Hellhammer	Drums
Country	Norway	Mustis	Keyboard
Similar artists	---

Regardless of how you choose to define "black metal", you cannot deny that Dimmu Borgir some way or another belong to the genre. They may not be "true", signed on a major label and selling a massive amount of albums, but musically they sure belong to the scene's utter elite and have so been doing for over a decade.

Describing this album to you is very easy. Given that you have heard Dimmu Borgir's previous album Death Cult Armageddon (2005), that is, because this one sounds pretty much the same. Better in some aspects, less good in other. First of all the production on this album is amazing. They are lining up a compact, fat and massive but yet crystal clear sound that crushes everything in its way. Splendidly mixed, impressive and one of the best productions I have heard. The orchestration from the last album is toned down to a minimum this time. It is still there but just occasionally and very briefly, and due to this very effective when it appears.

Where Death Cult Armageddon was a minor masterpiece with great riffs, mesmerizing atmosphere and great songs, this album has an even greater overall atmosphere, just as many great riffs (perhaps even more), but there are unfortunatly not many songs present. I was blown away after the initial spin but ever since, I feel there is no real red thread in the music. It instead feels like there is an abundance of riffs stacked on top of each other, and they are individually great, but there is not much of songs to talk about.

I enjoy the album extremely much while listening to it but apart from a few riffs, afterwards I can never recall a refrain, hook or song melody, and that leaves a bit of a weird feeling when the album is finished. Especially since the last song is also the least good one and never really takes off, so it kind of ends with a little bitter taste.

The reason the album gets such a high grade as it does, despite what I have just said, is that the level of the actual material and the performance is so high that you can't overlook or deny it. If the songs were only a bit better puzzled together, this would have been a candidate for a 10/10 grade. Nevertheless, I am strongly recommending to check this one out since I have an intense feeling that this is a grower by time.

See also review of: Abrahadabra , Death Cult Armageddon
See also: interview with ICS Vortex
See also: interview with Silenoz

Performance	Originality	Production	Vocals	Songwriting
9	8	10	8	7

Summary
7,5 chalices of 10 - Tommy