Dimmu Borgir Abrahadabra Review

Dimmu Borgir Abrahadabra Review

click to enlargeThe one thing I have always loved about this band is the depth a multiple textures they have. This cd is no different. The frist track is almost 3 minutes of "Throat singing", operatic vocalizing, and other layers that just put your mind into the right frame for what is to come.

I know most of you are use to me slamming the harsh vocals of extreme metal bands, but let me say that this is the Dimmu Borgir release I have always wished for. Even the vocals are done well. The groove found on some parts of "Born Treacherous" show a depth that most bands in this genre can never come close to. At 4 minutes into "Gateways" there is a vocal exchange between two vocalists that not only breaks things up nicely, but adds a layer that might be too wimpy for those more interested in the race for brutality than they are the quality of the song. Not saying that the band sometimes goes into elements that are a little comical when trying to sound brutal, but because the cd sounds more like a musical score to a Tim Burton flick it puts the listener in the right frame of mind to accept it. Yes Shagrath still sounds like he could use a really good throat lozenge, so don't worry about the band 'wimping out' here. Even through "Chess With The Abyss" has more groove to it than most mallcore albums wish they could have, there are still parts on the album that are full of straight up brutality. Mostly though this is song after song of the kind of stuff that gets my blood pumping and my feet thinking I know how to play drums(In my fantasy world I can play double bass like none other).

The weakest point in the cd comes at about 2:40 into "Ritialist". The vocal reminds me of that annoying 70's puppet Madame. I love all the different vocalists and singers, but the cd would have been better off without that one.  Although "A Jewel Traced Through Coal" is my least favorite song of the bunch, I can see how many might feel it is their favorite. It has less groove and more brutality than the others, but even this song is full of more depth than most Metal today. "Renewal" is the same way expect it also includes the annoying backup vocals of the "Madame" impersonator at around 2:50 into it all.

The cd ends with them chanting the name of the cd in the way a bunch of hypnotized minions might. I have turned to this cd many times at work when I needed to kick up my energy level a bit. There is just something about the song structure that really gets me going. Although there are fast parts they never go so fast as to loose the depth of the song writing. There are too many bands today that work for years to create all these complicated parts to their songs and then play it so fast you can't hear anything but a constant blur of white noise. I'm so glad that this band is not one of them. Sure we love to tease the band about their name (Dino Burger, Deamon Burger, Demo Booger), but this cd shows why they get bigger and bigger with each release. Abrahadabra indeed. Aleister Crowley would be proud.