Japanese edition of the 1999 offering by one of Norway's best dark metal bands with 'Masses For The New Messiah' added as bonus track. 10 tracks total. 1999 release. Standard jewel case.
Japanese edition of the 1999 offering by one of Norway's best dark metal bands with 'Masses For The New Messiah' added as bonus track. 10 tracks total. 1999 release. Standard jewel case.
CD Reviews
The best, almost perfect...
king_niall | my castle | 06/08/2001
(4 out of 5 stars)
"First I must start with a disclaimer: I consider Dimmu Borgir to be the best Symphonic Black Metal band ever. No one, not even the mighty Emperor and Arcturus come close.It is, then, ironic, that the dark champion of melodic extreme metal hasn't yet released a perfect record, something that Emperor has done twice, and other bands -like Arcturus, Cradle Of Filth and Nokturnal Mortum- have done once. All Dimmu Borgir records are sublime voyages into landscapes of power, fury and majesty, with complex and perfect drumming, the best vocals and guitars in the genre and the most creative and rich keyboard melodies and effects. Yet every one of those records has one or two flaws that, while not hurting the albums in a serious way, somehow manage to make them avoid perfection.With DB's 1999 release, the irony continues: "Spiritual Black Dimensions" is the best Dimmu Borgir album in terms of songwriting and execution, but has the worse sound mix. Every song in "SBD" is a highlight. It has no filler material. Every song flows into the next, and there's never a moment where you feel that something could be left out. Astennu and Silenoz play very heavy riffs that sound like the monstrous roar of a huge beast, in a true death metal fashion. And this head-banging power is enhanced by a darkly sweet piano and a haunting chorus background. You have, at the same time, the powerful emotions that the best metal invigorates on the listener, and majestic symphonies that evoke mystic realms beyond human experience. The result is an overwhelming feeling of melancholy and joy, exultation and transcendence. Shagrath's guttural screaming, Nagash's bass and Tjodalv's tight and fast drumming add to that effect an urgency, a frenzy that completes the majestic music known as Symphonic Black Metal. On strategic spots, to increase the mood of certain parts, Simen Hestnaes (of Borknagar) sings beautifully, like a longing medieval bard.There are particular moments here that are so crushingly beautiful, so stimulating, that, after having owned this record for almost two years, still can give me goosebumps and tears and the feel that I can bring down walls with my fists: "Reptile", with his sung verse -"He who speaks of nightly treasures..."-(I have some friends, men and women, who don't like Metal at all, but enjoy that chorus as a catchy sing-along, something I suppose Black Metal fundamentalists would find repugnant, but that I find amusing and a testimony of quality music); the second minute of "United In Unhallowed Grace", probably one of the most powerful riffs and synth tunes ever recorded on Metal; the long guitar solo of Astennu during "Grotesquery Conceiled"; the intros of "Arcane Force Mysteria" and "Promised Future Aeons"; the entirety of "Dreamside Dominions"; the final, Egyptian-like, three minutes of "The Insight and the Catarsis", with Simen singing his soul out.Well, if "SBD" is such an auditory orgasm, how come it's not perfect? The answer is that the mix sound, as stated above, is flawed. The drums are buried in the mix, the double-bass drum and a lot of Tjodalv's work is virtually inaudible. The two guitars tend to become one indistinct buzz, and in certain parts they become plain noise. And Dimmu Borgir, as devastatingly heavy as it is, is not about noise, but about power and music. The whole record has this blurry atmosphere, with lots of treble and echoes, like it was recorded in a huge cave. It needs a very high quality stereo-equipment to be understood in its full potential. Play it in a regular stereo, and it loses its sharpness and becomes white-noise with some piano in the background.I suppose it's strange to argue about sound quality in a Black Metal album, given that most of the recordings in the genre, even the best ones, have the same problem -in fact, primitive and raw sound is regarded as an important aesthetic value among Black Metal fundamentalists, because of its rebelliousness, or something. But the brilliance of this band deserves a lot better. Dimmu Borgir deserves state-of-the-art recording technology for its music. Let's hope that in fifteen years, when this album becomes acknowledged as the classic it is, there will be a "Dimmu Borgir Remasters" collection where "Spiritual Black Dimensions" fulfills the promise of its title in a more grand and crystalline way."
Pure evil
Dion F. | Melbourne, Victoria Australia | 08/30/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Now i am fan of dimmu borgir and i must say i love puritanical and enthrone darkness triumphant but i heard a couple of songs from this and then decided to get the album, and my my was i impressed. It's the perfect black metal album, unlike other black metal. Great guitaring, haunting atmosphere and not too mention shargath's evil voice. All of it sends you into a trance when you listen
Trully beautiful, check it out if you like symphonic black metal or dimmu borgir."
Beautiful music...
torquemada | beirut, lebanon | 11/16/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"this album has its moments of supersonic speed (reptile) and superb gothic atmospheres with slower tempos (the insight and the catharsis, arcane lifeforce mysteria) so it's pretty much a varied sound that's contained in this 49 minutes long LP. i dont see how according to some reviewers, DB have 'slowed down'. i mean does it have to sound like a darkthrone album in order to be proudly counted as black metal? my favorite black metal bands are more on the Mayhem side of black metal but i'm judging this album for being what it is, instead of questioning the good production (which seems to be a sacrilege in the black metal realm) or the use of synths, etc. this is superbly arranged music and i think the clear voices provided by bass player Simen ar a particularly nice touch, especially on track 7. black metal excellence dudes!"
Not bad, but nothing amazing.
Chris 'raging bill' Burton | either Kent or Manchester, United Kingdom | 04/23/2003
(3 out of 5 stars)
"What first struck me about this album was the production. Unlike most other black metal bands (even earlier Cradle Of Filth by comparison - if they count) Dimmu Borgir have complete over-production. Now I'm not one of these people who think good production is bad in metal (on the contrary) but I don't think this is actually that well produced. Sure, the guitars are thick, the vocals are layered and mixed and everything that is evident of a HIGH budget, but what I'm getting at is that everything blares out so much that it all melds together and I find it hard to appreciate it as a whole because of this.Generally this isn't a bad album, but the only song I thought was really much good was "Behind The Curtains Of Night-Time Phantasmogoria". There are other cool songs like "Reptile" and "Grotesquely Concieled" but my problem with Dimmu Borgir is that they slow down too much. Emperor, Satyricon, Dissection and Cradle Of Filth all pump up the speed but have slow parts as well. Dimmu Borgir are mostly slow, only ocassionally picking up speed. Now, I wouldn't have a problem if the atmosphere was different. Burzum's Det Som Engang Var was mostly slow. But that album had the typical, poorly produced sound that brought out the slow doomy nature of the music. This is much more orchestrated with nowhere near the same level of emotion, so its more of a hectic orchestrated atmosphere. Which is a bit of a problem if the music isn't fast and hectic (for the most part). Its not that the production is really bad (though I have gripes with it), but it is a little mismatched to the music. I bought this album quite some time ago (we're talking years) and it has taken me until recently to come to a conclusion on what I think of it. It is a good album in its own way but I find it too over-produced. I love the chaotic feeling at the end of some songs when they reach their climax and basement production would not have brought this out well, but generally there are far too many mediocre-at-best moments sandwiched between the occasional good bits. I'm not an elitist black metal fan (in fact my favourite bands are not extreme metal) but I know what I like, and this is missing that edge that other great bands, be they extreme metal or otherwise, lack. This band have talent, but (on this album at least) their sound seems to me to be far too artificial."
Too noisy, too much synth
David Balparda de Carvalho | Belo Horizonte, MG Brazil | 09/19/2001
(2 out of 5 stars)
"Being a Black Metal fan, I must say that although this album isn't a total waste of time, Dimmu Borgir surely had done better in the past. It's too noisy, in the bad sense, full of synth taking over the music, which makes it sound like disco, and look, I'm NOT with the "True Black Metal" people. Imagine what THEY say about this. Finally, this album is totally immmersed in the poser era of Dimmu Borgir. It doesn't even compare with the older Enthrone Darkness Triumphant, where the music is richer and the use of keyboards hardly takes over."
Track Listings (10) - Disc #1