Unholy Halloween: Dimmu Borgir

Performers

• 

  Dimmu Borgir

  As they conjure new, dark compositions, DIMMU BORGIR take a retrospective look back, celebrating the band's 30th Anniversary and the seminal artists that left a defining imprint on their sound.

  Conceived in the heart of the Norwegian black metal scene in 1993, DIMMU BORGIR quickly broke free from the boundaries of the genre, daring to combine a traditional raven black sound with opulent symphonic orchestration. They became pioneers within their own field, forging groundbreaking albums such as Enthrone Darkness Triumphant (1997), Spiritual Black Dimensions (1999), & Death Cult Armageddon (2003), invading the entire world with headline tours and eventually turning into the most influential act of their genre after nine full-length studio releases. 

  After their last two successful albums Abrahadabra and Eonian and the remixed version of Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia, DIMMU BORGIR herald their 30-year legacy by releasing, together for the first time, a collection of their cover songs. Inspiratio Profanus features a cover of Black Metal (VENOM), the genre-defining Perfect Strangers (DEEP PURPLE), fan favourite Burn In Hell (TWISTED SISTER), and electrifying renditions from the legendary CELTIC FROST, as well as other immensely influential artists!

• 

  Satyricon

  Formed in Oslo in 1991, Satyricon made an immediate and enduring impact when they emerged from the flourishing Norwegian black metal scene. An idiosyncratic and fervently non-conformist creative force from the start, chief songwriter and vocalist Satyr and his percussive right-hand-man Frost made perpetual evolution and a noble disdain for the banality of much modern music essential tenets of their artistic approach. Having refined and redefined the second wave of black metal with early albums like Dark Medieval Times and The Shadowthrone, Satyricon screeched away from their peers in 1996 with the release of the widely acclaimed Nemesis Divina, simply one of /the/ classic ‘90s black metal albums and a mercurial blueprint for much of what would follow as the genre progressed into a new millennium.

  From 1999’s vicious, industrial-tinged Rebel Extravaganza onwards, it was obvious that Satyr and Frost had no interest in toeing the black metal party line. Instead, via noisily acclaimed triumphs like 2006’s stripped down and seething Now, Diabolical and its pitch-black follow-up The Age Of Nero in 2008, Satyricon were proudly forging their own unique path, on a never-ending quest to express the inexpressible and to tap into the dark spiritual depths of 21st century humanity.

  By the time the band released their self-titled album in 2013, their reputation as one of modern metal’s most vital, important and forward-thinking bands was way beyond dispute and routinely backed up by their unerring prowess and power as a live band.

  2017 saw the release of their latest and greatest musical achievement, Deep calleth upon Deep.

• 

  Enslaved

  In true Enslaved fashion, the Bergen voyagers’ 16th album, Heimdal, is both a departure and a communion with roots forged over three decades ago in the turbulent birth throes of Norway’s black metal scene. Founded in 1991 by the then precociously young Ivar Bjørnson and Grutle Kjellson, Enslaved were determined to set out on a different course from their Satanic, church-burning peers, turning their attention towards Viking lore and writing the majority of the lyrics for their 1994 debut album, Vikingligr Veldi, in Icelandic for its proximity to Old Norse.

  2020’s Utgard album was the beginning of a new phase for the band, delving deeper into the esoteric nature of Nordic mythology, but finding more precise jump-off points for a leap into the unknown. More streamlined than its multi-layered predecessors, In Times and E, if only to prise open new expanses to explore, its ruminations on the shadowy, titular land of the Norse Jotun ice giants found parallels with the psychological states of the unconscious, and the pilgrimage into our own hearts of darkness that’s the start of the route to all self-knowledge.

  Heimdal offers another tangential act of discovery, another embarkation point for a solemn, expectant and exhilarating passage through the realms of the senses. It's a reflection of paths travelled, a promise of a new beginning, and a rite of passage between the two. Truly an album for all times.