This album really opened up the eyes of the black metal scene for the great Norwegian band
Dimmu Borgir. Their genre is melodic black metal, which means that the music isn't as extreme as for example Mayhem and Immortal. Still the music has a lot of elements in common with more traditional black metal.
Enthrone Darkness Triumphant is a great album; the first thing I think of when hearing this album is how "perfect" it is. By that I mean that the album is very consistent and thorough - you really think of the album as a whole. Everything from the album cover to the different songs has a leitmotif which in my opinion is very important for an album. The technical level is very high in all the songs, and the sound on the album is very dark and obscure (in a good way).
Unlike most other black metal I know this album is actually catchy the first time you hear it. This is because of the simple yet powerful and melodic guitar riffs used throughout all the songs. The keyboard also plays a very important role here - most of the songs start with a keyboard intro, and the keyboard is present at all times in the songs. All of this makes the album very accessible compared to other black metal albums. So if you are new to black metal this is a good place to start. In general the lyrics are not very good, but the music more than compensates for them.
The first (and probably most popular) song on the album is
Mourning Palace - this is a typical
Dimmu Borgir song. Like most other songs on the album it begins with a very dark and dramatic keyboard piece. Shagrath's vocals are very brutal, but also very varied. They go from normal growl to really demonic - I know they have probably been synthesized but it sounds really great. It is a very catchy song.
The next three songs
Spellbound (By The Devil),
In Death's Embrace and
Relinquishment Of Spirit And Fire are pretty much built from the same recipe. They are filled with tempo variations, guitar and keyboard breaks. The next song is called
The Night Masquerade and it is quite interesting. It is about some vampiric demon whores who are about to suck blood from their master in order to gain eternal life. The song is built up like a play, and it is very theatrical. For obvious reasons this song makes me think of the scene in Dracula where the three female vampires are sucking blood of poor Jonathan. Harker.
The next song is called something as charming as
Tormentor Of Christian Souls. For some the reason the lyrics for this song haven't been included in the cover. (The reason for this is that Nuclear Blast didn't want to be responsible for them). The song is pretty cool despite of the title. Entrance is pretty good too, but the next song Master Of Harmony is really great! It is very varied and has a real cool returning guitar riff.
Finally there are the three last songs
Prudence's Fall,
A Succubus In Rapture and
Raabjørn Speiler Draugheimens Skodde. They are all pretty good, but they really sound like most of the other songs.
Overall this is a really great album. The musicians in this band are very talented, and the songs are very great and atmospheric. Unfortunately the songs are much alike, and the lyrics aren't really that good. Still I would recommend this album to anyone just slightly interested in black metal. It is an album I am sure will appeal to most people.
Best Songs: The Night Masquerade, The Mourning Palace, and Master Of Disharmony.
Written by
Anders Tuesday, August 20, 2002
Show all reviews by AndersRatingsAnders: 7.5/10Members: 9/10 - Average of 1 ratings.
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