Silently, leaving the hordes of faithful followers salivating for seven years between releases Dimmu Borgir have kept their listeners hanging for any new mere morsel to echo from and throughout the quiet halls of their orchestral blackened magnificence.
Waiting so long, Dimmu had time on their side to deliver something truly breathtaking, special and a recording an releasing far exceeding anything given to us previously over their remarkable 25 year career.
Dimmu’s last two albums “In Sorte Diaboli” and “Abrahadabra” were opuses containing such brilliance and influence which kept them at the top of the extreme metal ladder. At that time, both 2007 and 2010 respectively, there were very few bands, if any, that could even wish to replicate the sheer overall magnitude in every aspect that Dimmu Borgir kept summoning forth from the depths of their darkened influence and excellence. Sincerely there was absolutely no way of doubting Dimmu’s artistry of crafting, writing and perfectly forging the enormity necessary for the soundtrack of their existence. We all know and accept that Dimmu Borgir are without peer and have no need to prove anything to either their fans, the general metal elitist set or themselves for that matter. Dimmu are fucking amazing and that’s it!
But let’s get into 2018’s “Eonian” shall we. Firstly, was it worth waiting seven years for? Answer is simply, NO! As stated previously the time between the most excellent “In Sorte Diaboli” and “Abrahadabra” was only three years and fuck me they are both so brilliant that listeners could easily question how any extreme band could do so much in such a considerable short space of time. Other bands try to release things regularly in the space of two or three years and it’s every second of the third album that even emits a spark of what Dimmu were doing and could do without compromising anything regarding their impact on extreme metal.
But, back to the seven-year distance of “Abrahadabra” and “Eonian” respectively we as fans could without question be persecuted for expecting something a little more than what we have been gifted. That said though and now out of the way. Is “Eonian” amazing? The short answer is…FUCKING OATH IT IS! “Eonian” is everything we want, nay…NEED out of our Dimmu Borgir hit. It is nothing short of huge, magnificent and beautifully brutal from start to finish.
Whilst Dimmu absolutely have a sound, signature that we love and find chaotic malevolent solace in, we can sigh and gasp blissfully at what we hear in the delivery and execution of every enormous second in its short 43-minute running time.
Upon your first confrontation with think of “Eonian” in the words of Silenoz, that it represents the illusion of time so any preconceived notions or thoughts derived from the seven year silence of Dimmu should be considered obsolete from this point on.
Opening the album is “The Unveiling” and it couldn’t be a more poignant and perfect introduction gripping us by the proverbial throat and senses and the songs instant ability to prove and demand Dimmu’s attention and a feeling of them never actually having made us wait for so long. “The Unveiling” at the beginning has that choir, choral like war march type epic-ness you would expect to bring Dimmu back to life, slowly edging us to the brink of them reawakened. But at 1min 15sec, well here we fucking go the band launch into such black metal enormity “The Unveiling” is actually one of the standout tracks on the album due to its ebb and flow of parts delivered equally both orchestrally and extremely. All of the bands abilities as artists is proven herein. Utilising every detail and sound of their back catalogue this song proves without doubt you are going to love “Eonian”
Track two “Interdimensional Summit” is the first clip and single we got from Dimmu and being the first thing we had heard in so long, whilst I absolutely loved the song I wish I had waited to hear the album in its entirety before hearing “Interdimensional Summit”. Why I can’t properly articulate but this album is a best consumed whole and not in parts and I probably should of taken it in as such. But here we hear Dimmu Borgir burst forth as a phoenix out of the ashes of their past and like fire to dead wood grip us in their immense flames of grandiose magnificence. Again, both orchestrally and heavily the structure, bond and union of all that is Dimmu married together forming “Interdimensional Summit” masterfully bleeds a perfectly sounding song almost worthy of sa ong of the year! Yes ,it’s that good!
“Ætheric” continues to allow the album to both breathe and bleed a dichotomy of chaos and calm. Continuing the album at a steady pulse of grace and spite. And then we get to “Council of Wolves and Snakes”, the second video release and as “Ætheric” breathed the album rhythmically along, make no mistake “Council of Wolves and Snakes” gives the album an unexpected pounding pulse courtesy of the tribal drums patterns accompanied and complemented by Shagrath’s haunting godlike vocal chanting, not unlike you would hear courtesy of Native American Indian calls to the earth and stars. “Council of Wolves and Snakes” truly diverts the album on a 90° angle and gives the listener something unexpected and truly captivating. If you haven’t already I insist you check out the video to get the full emotional and representational feel of the song as a whole.
Launching aloft and forward like the previously mentioned phoenix analogy describes is track five “The Empyrean Phoenix” giving “Eonian” a heightened state of purpose and clarity sonically displaying its overall grandeur. And onward the duration of “Eonian” marches from “Lightbringer” to the closing instrumental “Rite of Passage” Dimmu Borgir have proven for the past twenty five years that they almost encapsulate perfection and are the curators and epitome of orchestral blackened dark symphonic extreme metal and 2018 will undoubtedly prove to again be the year of Dimmu Borgir when they will bring to the world a live experience beyond all you can imagine.
