Anyone who read my previous post understand that I was very excited about “The Serpentine Offering”, the latest video released by Dimmu Borgir, also the first track of their new album “In Sorte Diaboli”. It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out I would get my hands on that album anytime soon.
Technically I did not get it; my wife picked it up for me. As such I had no chance to listen to the tracks before buying it. To be truthful this turned out perfectly.
Upon listening to the entire album for the first time I was a bit unsure what to think of it. The rest of the tracks are somewhat different from The Serpentine Offering. As such it was not quite what I had expected at first. Of course when you have expectations, which are not met your first reaction would be one of disappointment. Trying to overcome this, I listened a couple of times to the entire album and as I did this my enthusiasm for the album as a whole soared.
Now for some reflection on the new album. Like Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia the synthesizer of Mustis is not quite as much represented as in some other albums; the guitars definitely are dominant in this release. Hellhammer, who has been replacement for Nick Barker (the drumming muscle) for some time now has done so very nicely.
But what about the music itself? It’s fantastic in my humble opinion. It’s fast, hard, loud and yet melodic, just like you would expect. There is something really aggressive about this whole album.
One small warning though: do not play too loud in the car… it will influence your driving in ways that are not good for your car… nor your health.