Dimmu Borgir has been summoned.
Eight years after their last performance, the band led by Shagrath (vocals/orchestrations, Chrome Division, ex-Ov Hell) and Silenoz (guitar, Insidious Disease), joined by their live members Kjell “Damage” Karlsen (guitar, Chrome Division, The Cult of Destiny), Victor Brandt (bass, Eldfödd, Firespawn, Witchery, ex-Entombed, ex-Entombed A.D.), Geir Bratland (keyboards, ex-God Seed, ex-Apoptygma Berzerk, ex-The Kovenant), and Daray (drums, Masachist, Symbolical, ex-Vader, ex-Vesania…), are collaborating once again with Nuclear Blast for the release of their eleventh album, Grand Serpent Rising.
The album opens with Tridentium’s melancholic introduction, a track that takes its time to get going but offers majestic opening riffs accompanied by a solemn vocal before the explosive Ascent, a fierce and imposing track where the roars return with full force. We find the soaring symphonic touch that elevates the dark and effective rhythm section as well as the vocal parts, but the track ultimately gives way fairly quickly to As Seen in the Unseen, a piece that is far more mysterious at first glance, then flares up without warning to become theatrical, at times recalling the fury of the band’s early albums in its most icy passages, creating a contrast with those where the orchestrations take center stage. The track is skillfully paced, as is The Qryptfarer, which follows suit and delivers a raw sound within a fairly straightforward approach without neglecting the softness of the keyboards; then the atmosphere darkens with Ulvgjeld & Blodsodel, a track that’s been around for a while but still delivers a haunting sound, reaffirming the band’s massive identity and even adding some backing vocals. A brief pause with the introduction of Repository of Divine Transmutation, the next composition that quickly ignites, shifting from aggression to perfectly unsettling touches followed by imposing sections, then Slik Minnes en Alkymist takes over with an ethereal touch, sweeping us away in its torrent of rage. The track is also very well crafted, keeping us constantly on the edge of our seats and effortlessly revving up the machine until Phantom of the Nemesis offers its dark yet relatively accessible sounds, in contrast to The Exonerated, which sounds very aggressive by comparison. The symphonic sections easily balance out the intense blast beats, and the sampled vocals echo Shagrath’s roars, which return with a vengeance on Recognizant, a track that contrasts massive power with some much more ethereal passages, giving us a chance to catch our breath before moving on to the hypnotic At the Precipice of Convergence” a rather dreamy track that features a few more energetic riffs but relies primarily on its keyboards. The heavy-metal-inspired solo comes as a surprise, but Black Metal roots resurface to lead us to the dreamlike Shadows of a Thousand Perceptions, which suddenly takes off, letting the drums run wild on their own while the other instruments paint a tortured yet sumptuous landscape, then the album concludes with Gjoll, an instrumental with cold yet intoxicating atmospheric roots that gently closes this new chapter in the Norwegians’ history.
It’s been a long wait for Dimmu Borgir fans, but the six musicians have given it their all to deliver over an hour of Symphonic Black Metal. While Grand Serpent Rising does have its slow moments, there’s something for everyone to marvel at.
80/100
