Dimmu Borgir
Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia

Today, the subject of consideration is the super-popular, super-selling album of the Norwegians...What does it signify: the rise of symphonic black metal or the beginning of its decline? Certainly one of the strongest albums in heavy music in general, yes, it is very popular, but the origins of this popularity are not in the simplified structure of the songs, not in the ease of perception (on the contrary, the sound has become tougher and more uncompromising, and the structure of the songs has become more complex), but in the excellent material, professionalism, atmosphere, and in the budget too... Listening to this album, I really want at least half of the extreme teams to have as much money and be able to afford a symphony orchestra and other excesses... But these times, unfortunately, will never come... It was already said above that Borgir began to resemble the Black Dream Team... To the founding fathers Shagrat and Selenoz, and the talented keyboardist Mustis, Galder, the ideologist and the only permanent member of the wonderful group Old Man's Child, ICS Vortex from Borkngar (many were afraid of the collapse of this group after Semyon left, but Vinetersorg copes very well with the duties of the vocalist) with a wonderful epic voice, adding atmosphere and theatricality to the songs. And of course Nick Barker, one of the best drummers, plays here even better than in Cradle Of Filth. The change of studio from Abyss to Fredman also did good - finally the guitars became clear and memorable. The album turned out to be simply excellent, definitely a Must Have for everyone.