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Dimmu Borgir is a group of Black Norwegian metal which made the charts in Germany and with the Portugal like in several Scandinavian countries . The formation which, at the beginning, was a group of atmospheric Black metal, dark and melancholic person, became little by little a giant of the scene metal in the whole world to adopt a kind of black more accessible metal and especially more symphonic.

Name of the group

There exists really a place in Iceland called Dimmuborgir, where it is possible to find remainders of volcanic activities which resemble curiously an ejecting castle with turns of the sulphuric vapors. Solidified bodies of lava formed the turns and the doors of the Dark City.

Biography

The group is founded in 1993 by Shagrath, Silenoz and Tjodalv, quickly joined by Brynjard Tristan and Stian Aarstad. The career of Dimmu Borgir starts with the EP Inn I Evighetens Morke in 1994 followed closely with the first album For All Tid (with appearances of ldrahn of Dødheimsgard and Vicotnik of Ved Buens Ende). Shagrath dealt then of the battery and the song, Silenoz and Tjodalv of the guitars, Bjorn Tristan of low and Stian Aarstad of the keyboard. On For All Tid, the sound of the guitars and the vovaux ones are very believed, with the image of the black Norwegian metal of the time. However, the group uses many keyboards (among the first with Emperor) to add an atmosphere melancholic person to the music. The tempo is rather slow, which makes say to some that the album belongs to the Black metal Ambiant. All the words are sung in Norwegian.

The second album Stormblåst leaves in 1996 and is quickly a sharp success in the underground. In spite of the presence of an atmospheric keyboard, the fronts and melodies more complex, are sought and more rapids. The album is used still today as reference in the kind.

After the exit of Stormblåst, Dimmu Borgir decides to replace Norwegian by English for the writing of the texts of the songs " for better transmitting the message in the world " according to the remarks of Shagrath. For the following mini-album (EP), Devil' S Path , the group discharges Nagash The Kovenant (Covenant). Stian Aarstad does not ensure the keyboards on this album because he was shown at a rate of plagiarism of a video game while beginning again, without informing the group, an audio topic of a video game, on the title Sorgens Kammer (he acts of the composition of Tim Wright on the play Agony, published per Psygnosis in 1992 on Amiga - this topic is recoverable here: ). The official reason of its departure is due to military service.

In 1997 Enthrone Darkness Triumphant starts a real recognition of the group but also a polemic. For the pure and hard fans of Black metal, Dimmu Borgir is forsaking the " kind; true black metal" : the guitars are clearer, just as the battery (use of triggers ) and the voice. The keyboard uses much more sounds than at the time of the preceding Norwegian albums. The success of the album exceeds the borders of Norway, in particular thanks to the use of English to a sound produced largely better. After Enthrone Darkness Triumphant , Astennu joined the group to ensure the guitar at the time of the concerts. Stian Aarstad is made transfer group and is replaced by another clavierist, Mustis.

In 1998, leaves Godless Savage Garden , mini Cd with two new songs, 2 re-recordings, a live resumption of Heart Metal of Accept and 3 tracks. The following album Spiritual Black Dimensions leaves in 1999. Nagash leaves the group to be devoted to The Kovenant and is replaced by I.C.S. Vortex. This last is not other than the ex-singer/bass player of Borknagar. It brings to the group of the vocal parts clear , which offer a bit of harmony in one of the darkest albums of the group. One feels more and more in the compositions of Silenoz and Shagrath an influence thrash and heavy metal, supported by Astennu, which brought to Spiritual Black Dimensions of the passages in Sweeping very mélodieux and effective.

Tjodalv leaves the group for reason musical and personal and is replaced by Nicholas Barker which officiated then for Cradle off Filth. Astennu leaves also the group. It is replaced by the excellent type-setter and multi-talented Galder of Old Man' S Child, which failing to prolong the technicality of Astennu will give to the group a style much percussion and aggressive.

For the following album, Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia , the group uses the services of the symphony orchestra of Gothenburg. With this disc, Dimmu Borgir finally found a sound has share which dissociates its dark Norwegian origins. The guitars sound perfectly clear, just as the battery of Barker. Moreover, Shagrath starts to put sound effects on its voice (compression of the sound), which gives sometimes a its electronics to the vocal one. This album is worth to them to gain the Grammy Award Norwegian in 2001. With this new more commercial aspect, the group definitively lost many fans purists of Black metal, but opened with more many people, in particular in North America. The song Puritania is regarded per many fans as the emblematic music of the group since then.

The following album of the group, Death Cult Armageddon leaves in 2003. It is about a very symphonic album which marks a step moreover in the evolution of the group. The very symphonic part Progenies off the Great Apocalypse , composed by Mustis, obtains a sharp success. On Death Cult Armageddon and for the first time since 1996, Dimmu Borgir rewrites Norwegian songs (2), Vredesbyrd and Allehelgens Dod I Helveds Rike . The album is also the first album of " black metal" with being sold with more than 100.000 specimens with the the United States, a major opening in the kind.

To make have patience the fans of the group, in 2005, Shagrath and Silenoz decide to make a re-recording of Stormblåst . The album thus contains modern readjustments of the legend of 1996, but also two no-claims bonus tracks and a DVD taking again a show in Ozzfest in 2004. The line up is quite made up: Shagrath and Silenoz with the vocals, low, guitars, Mustis with the keyboards and Hellhammer (Mayhem, Arcturus) with the percussions.

The last album in date of Dimmu Borgir left on April 27th 2007 to Europe and is entitled In Kind Diaboli . A certain rupture is born since Silenoz announced, and that was confirmed with listening, that no symphony orchestra had been used. On another side, Mustis returned by its arrangements the album épique than what was envisaged. This album is thus shown like a return to the sources, and sounds like a turn for the group. Indeed, the dialog on/with the evil is always omnipresent, but with a tone much more pronounced on the defects of the Catholicisme ( antichristus spiritualis repeated on several occasions), of the Inquisition ( they say I' m the cancer in the heart off the enquiry for example). This history of the hero pertaining to the clergy, calling into question its faith and the veracity of the holy works, was mainly made up by Silenoz, which declared that he wanted to make a kind of account autobiographical via this album. At the musical level, for much, the sound sounds much less clean that Death Cult or the republication of Stormblast , HellHammer gives a rate/rhythm not less complex than its predecessor but very fast to the percussions. For the quintet remaining, the bases are posed since Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia , the lyrical flights of I.C.S. Vortex are always present, the melody passages to the keyboard also.

It is it should be noted that there exist 3 songs no-claims bonus in this album, available according to the geographical area:

  • Ancestral The Fever : European version
  • The Heretic Hammer : North-American version
  • Black Metal : Japanese version

Note

It should be noted that Tony Laureano returned to exploit with the group the 3 dates in France (two in the Elysium Montmartre, and one with Julien Space of Marseilles) and the other dates European, because Hellhammer had broken the arm. One does not know when it can start again to play.

Formation

Line Up:

  • Shagrath (Stian Thoresen) - Song (1993 -)

  • Silenoz (Sven Alte Kopperud) - Guitar (1993 -)
  • Galder (Thomas Rune Andersen) - Guitar (2001 -)
  • ICS Vortex (Simen Hestnaes) - low and Song (2000 -)
  • Mustis (Oyvind Johan Mustaparta) - keyboard (1998 -)
  • Hellhammer (Jan Axel Blomberg) - battery (2005 -) (at the base designed to be a temporary beater, but it would seem that it remains in the group).

Ex-members

Discography

  • Inn I Evighetens Morke demonstration (1994)

  • For All Tid (1994)
  • Stormblåst (1996)
  • Devil' S Path EP (1996)
  • Enthrone Darkness Triumphant (1997)
  • Godless Savage Garden EP (1998)
  • Negro spiritual Black Dimensions (1999)
  • Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia (2001)
  • Alive In Torment Live (2001)
  • World Misanthropy CD Live (2002)
  • Death Cult Armageddon (2003)
  • In Kind Diaboli (2007)

Individual

Republication

  • For All Tid - Republication + 2 No-claims bonus in 1997.
  • Enthrone Darkness Triumphant - De luxe edition in 2002.
  • Negro spiritual Black Dimensions - Republication in 2004.
  • Death Cult Armageddon - Republication in November 2004.
  • Stormblast 2005 - Special Republication Ozzfest with modifications of the song Sorgens Kammer and appearance of Avmaktslave in 2005.

Other exits

  • World Misanthropy DVD & VHS (2002)

External bonds

  • Official site

  • the site in Iceland

  • the French site

Simple: Dimmu Borgir

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