A conclusion for now, the last of the great Dimmu Borgir records. Death Cult Armaggedon was the first release I lapped up as a fully fledged fan. Its nostalgia is immense for me. Having convinced my circle of sixth form friends to buy it on release, it became a soundtrack to our friendship exploring the world of extreme music. The reason I say Its the last of their greats is because DCA ventures into the lavish orchestral avenue, ditching traditional key tones. Both Galder and Silenoz's guitar styles undergo an evolution away from constant power chords too. Although these songs are a far cry from their classic sound, this stride is phenomenal and everything they tried is golden. I can't say the same for the following In Sorte Diablo.
Song after song is utterly embellished by the orchestral instruments. Dimmu's extreme metal aesthetic would sound lost without it. The union is wonderful, bringing a rich sense of cinema to the drive of Barker's batter drums and aggressive guitar grooves which stomp and grind from end to end. A couple songs, namely Lepers Among Us and Cataclysm Children, ride the storms without the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra behind them. Evenly spaced, they break up the albums flow, injecting more devilish brutality as Dimmu get into some of their hardest, crunchiest songs to date.
The album excels on all fronts but as Dimmu do, their song structures always lead to interesting places. Plunges of darkness and other abstract arrangements give each song a real trajectory to venture upon after the verse and chorus have been established. Each song has a defining component, a special musical passage, making it hard to skip a beat. Perhaps more so than any record before it, they get a little closer to a whole experience. DCA is one album I love to listen to all the way through.
Everyone is pretty much on their best game. Shagrath delivers his demonic howls as usual with some adventurous manipulations too, possibly with the aid of pedals. It contributes to the albums lean and mean texture, occasionally with an Industrial brush as mechanical noises and swells of ambiguity feature sporadically. Its a harsh, rapid storm of malevolent metallic music that evolves across its ambitious arc. First with Blood Hunger Doctrine, DCA open up. A slower tempo pounds out a thumping groove from the rhythm section and offers respite on journey to a fantastical conclusion.
ICS Vortex unleashes his beautiful heathen voice on the albums second Norwegian track. The chemistry with the pianos is stunning. I love how this band can fit illustrious melodies between rapid blast beat assaults. Eradication Instincts Defined is where the concluding magic begins. Its orchestra into so memorable and vivid. One can picture the devastation war brings over the natural beauty of mother earth, as if flying over the fields of war. Shagrath crashes the song into a fury with a length scream that sets this epic on its way. Its lengthy venture leads us into the sirens of war and devastation as the albums longest number unfolds after it.
Unorthodox Manifest's audio scenery of war depicted against the cry's of hail Satan sets off a chilling saga. The band pivot from what seems like a regular song into some of its harshest blasts, leading into a roaring epic, flush with melodies and amazing guitar solos that interchange and play off to the highest magnitude. Its such a surge of energy, that seems like only a fade out was appropriate, unable to land the beast they unleashed with a single strike. Its one of the bands more remarkable songs.
Although
I often consider the three prior albums to be superior, writing my
thoughts out on DCA makes me reconsider. This was a group of musicians
with far more maturity and direction then they had armed themselves with
before. Galder and Barker brought much to the band, transitioning them
again to the frontier of Extreme Metal. Although Dimmu are considered
Black Metal, its far from the tradition. They are their own powerhouse
of evil and on this occasion manifested a vision to perfection.
Rating: 10/10