Satanism. Murder. Cannibalism.
Black metal is a strange beast. Born in an intensely combative underground scene in Norway during the early ’90s, black metal combined the nihilism and speed of thrash and death metal with an ear for melody normally unheard of in extreme music circles.
Albums were recorded in basements and evil imagery was of utmost importance. Church burnings and other mischief were fairly common during the time, and several artists from the scene are still in prison for their crimes.
Such was the climate when Norway’s Dimmu Borgir recorded its second album, “Stormblast.” Ten years and four albums later, Dimmu Borgir is now with Nuclear Blast Records, and the somewhat hard-to-find “Stormblast” is getting a new lease on life. The release is actually a complete rerecording of its second album, originally released in 1996 on Cacophonous Records and now rereleased earlier this month in the U.S. Originally envisioned as a stop-gap between albums, the rerecording of “Stormblast” also gave Dimmu mainmen Shagrath and Silenoz something to do while the other members worked on different projects. Shagrath and Silenoz – the only current members who were in the band when the original was recorded – handled vocals, guitar and bass duties together, with keyboardist Mustis providing a gothic touch and black-metal-journeyman drummer Hellhammer keeping time.
From the sounds of rainfall and howling wolves that kick off opening track “Alt Lys Er Svunnet Hen,” the improved production values are immediately apparent. Peter Tatgren’s production is much clearer and full than the original’s, with guitars dominating the mix this time around. Everything, from the heavier multitracked guitars and Mustis’ neo-classical synths to Hellhammer’s ceaseless pummeling, sounds much more crisp and bombastic than the comparatively thin, obviously rushed original recording.
Even Shagrath’s screamed vocals, which are slightly deeper than the strangled-cat vocals that are standard fare for most black-metal bands, sound much better. The band also renders most of the lyrics unintelligible, which isn’t a huge problem since they are done entirely in Norwegian. But with song titles like “Antikrist,” listeners should get the gist.
“Broderskapets Ring” is a prime example of all that is right with black metal. Moving at a slower tempo than most of the songs, it features spoken word verses and tasteful minor-key guitar leads, with atmospheric keyboards in the background that add an operatic quality to the music. The track also shows the newfound emphasis in guitars between the rerecording and the original, as many of the melodies that were done with keyboards are now handled by harmonized guitars. It shows how extreme metal cannot only be brutal, but majestic and beautiful as well.
The third track, “Nar Sjelen Hentes Til Helvete,” opens with dense, alternate-picked guitar and Hellhammer’s familiar grind, which slams headlong into a piano solo before accelerating back into the familiar black-metal territory of blastbeats, screamed vocals, horror-movie keyboards and buzzsaw guitars. Dimmu Borgir’s fine sense of dynamics and structure is also found in “Sorgens Kammer – Del Ii,” with its clean, finger-picked intro and slow breakdown with acoustic guitars that give the listener some time to relax and reflect before returning to the 200-beats-per-minute beatings.
The best track on the album is probably the title track, which begins with a thunderclap, then throws the listener headlong into a pure black-metal maelstrom complete with blastbeats, courtesy of Hellhammer, symphonic keyboard washes and flourishes, and sick guitar work including crushing riffs and blurry, alternate-picked chord changes. It really incorporates all of the elements of black metal in one tasty morsel, evoking images of corpse paint, bullet belts and spikes, lots of spikes.
Even though the album sounds great and is chock full of great music, there is one small caveat: fans have quite literally heard it all before. Sure, there are two previously-unreleased tracks – the atmospheric “Sorgens Kammer – Del Ii” and “Avmatkslave.” Some of the lyrics have been changed, but the majority has already been released, and the original production was never really that poor, as Dimmu Borgir never applied the low-fi single-microphone-hanging-from-a-basement-rafter mode of record production that their corpse-painted brethren did.
That being said, one must always question when a band rerecords one of their albums, because thoughts inevitably seem to turn to the band trying to get another $15 from their fans. And besides, there are plenty of other albums that are in much more need of rerecording – or at the very least a remix -than “Stormblast.” Metallica’s “And Justice For All,” for one.
Besides gripes about the necessity of rerecording, it would have been nice to see more vocal variety in the songs, as the vocals alternate only between an agonizing scream and a heavily processed croak that doesn’t sound much different than a slightly less gentlemanly C-3PO.
The album really would have benefitted from the inclusion of current Dimmu Borgir bassist/vocalist Vortex, whose classically trained, opera-influenced tenor would have provided a great counterpoint to the more extreme vocal styles.
The drumming might also prove to be a bone of contention for fans. While Hellhammer’s flurried, let-the-double-bass-fly style is suited for the blinding speed of black metal, some might feel that original drummer Tjoldav’s simpler, brutish style was more effective for an album that is as dependent on atmosphere as brutality. His churning rhythms become more noticeable as the album winds down, and toward the final third, many of the tracks begin to take on a similar sound. Differentiating between them becomes difficult.
Purists will likely scoff at the new mix, especially since the original’s emphasis on keyboards was what gave it most of its character. Also, the removal of synth-based “Sorgens Kammer” from the original is enough to make longtime fans cry foul, although bits and pieces do show up scattered among the other tracks.
Nevertheless, Mustis’ tasteful contributions are still effective, giving the tracks an epic, gothic feel, evoking a choir and resulting in a powerful, almost soundtrack-like atmosphere. Better yet, think of extreme metal mixed with opera, but without all of the pomp and circumstance.
Despite these criticisms, the new “Stormblast” is still an interesting listen because though Dimmu Borgir has evolved significantly since its inception more than 11 years ago, it still hasn’t strayed that far from its roots. All of the basic elements of its sound are there: neo-classical keyboards, sweeping arrangements, inventive drumming and churning guitars. “Stormblast” merely documents the band at its more embryonic stage, before its songwriting became polished.
Still, the rerecording is really only a must-have for hardcore fans and completists. Perhaps realizing this, Dimmu Borgir included a great-looking and great-sounding bonus DVD documenting the band’s set at Ozzfest 2004, which by itself makes it worth the purchase for collectors. For those who want to check out Dimmu Borgir for the first time, their third album “Enthrone Darkness Triumphant” is a better starting point – and in English, no less.
All in all, “Stormblast” is a satisfying slab of frostbitten metal that only a place as dark and cold as Norway could produce. It’s not for everyone, but for those willing to take the time to get used to the more extreme nature of the style will be rewarded with an incredibly melancholy, mournfully beautiful album from one of black metal’s greatest bands.
