My ears stopped ringing around noon on Tuesday, easily the quickest recovery time I’ve had after a Dimmu Borgir concert. Dimmu brought some Norwegian friends (Enslaved and Blood Red Throne, the odd man out being LA’s Dawn of Ashes) to Terminal 5 Monday night for the Darkness Reborn Tour and, as always, delivered one hell of a show—despite the short-lived residual ringing.
Having braved a fittingly frigid night walk from Columbus Circle, my cronies and I arrived at Terminal 5 just as Enslaved hit the stage. The veteran black/Viking metallers sounded great, blasting the crowd with vintage black metal three chord guitar work and inhuman shrieks. These guys have been doing it since 1991 and their experience shows in their polished live performance. They served as a nice contrast to the symphonic metal that Dimmu brings and catered to the elements of the audience that longed for a more traditional sound.
Next up, Dimmu Borgir, but first I have to say that I was really excited to hear Carrie, Ninja, and Cherokee by Europe in between sets. Europe in between Enslaved and Dimmu Borgir? Why not! The only thing missing was Final Countdown.
If you know anything about Dimmu Borgir, you know that they don’t hold back when it comes to theatrics- corpse paint and spikes are just a launching point for a stage show that is truly operatic in nature. For their new album Abrahadabra, Dimmu has chosen to dress in white, taking the traditional purity of that color and making it somehow more sinister than it’s canonical counterpart. The band emerged in a cloud of smoke as a Wagnerian movement announced their arrival- first the session musicians who are filling in for departed members ICS Vortex, Mustis, and Nicholas Barker (who left some time ago-it’s been a session drummer for a while), then the triumvirate themselves, guitarists Silenoz and Galder and front man Shagrath. Their stage presence is haunting, intimidating, and awesome—these guys have perfected a formula for the epic.
The band dove right into their set, playing heavily off their new album with songs “Gateways,” “Born Treacherous,” “Chess With the Abyss,” and the new fan favorite “Dimmu Borgir.” They went back in their catalogue a bit too, hitting songs off of Spiritual Black Dimensions, Enthrone Darkness Triumphant, and Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia, playing my personal favorites, “Mourning Palace” and “Indoctrination.” The crowd was loving it, a huge mosh pit ensued, and horns were raised. The sound was great, and for those wondering how the orchestral elements, which have a heavier emphasis on Abrahadabra than any previous Dimmu offering, would translate live, all fears were put to rest; pre-recorded tracks are accompanied by keyboard and sound very good. I had not seen Dimmu for quite some time and had forgotten how heavy they were live—every new song sounds better live.
So, as usual, Dimmu put on an amazing show. These guys are pros; they deliver not just a concert, but an experience. From each maniacal face Galder makes to each of Shagrath’s menacing stances, the visual element is there to compliment the haunting music. For all the purists that deride Dimmu Borgir as phonies or sell outs, get over it. Dimmu is here to entertain, and that they do.