Resonance - Dimmu Borgir - Evilean
- Sparky
- 1 day ago
- 2 min read
Dimmu Borgir – Grand Serpent Rising. 8.5/10
Their first album in eight long years Norway’s grand masters of Symphonic Black metal have returned with their eleventh studio album Grand Serpent Rising, an album that marks not only their long awaited retuned but welcomes new guitarist Kjell Åge "Damage" Karlsen into the ceremonies.
Taking a step back from the complete OTT blast that was Eonian, Dimmu Borgir returns to the fierce, devoted intensity of their earlier albums to deliver a sound that is stripped back yet is no less grandiose. From the opener of ‘Tridentium’’ and the thirteen tracks and an epic seventy-minute run time the album is unmistakeably Dimmu Borgir yet delivered with more fire and passion than previous albums. Form the cinematic intro that leads into the mid paced attack of “Ulvgjeld & Blodsodel” to the black metal assault of “Ascent”. Shagrath’s vocals rage with new found intensity whilst the musicianship is always superb as “At the Precipice of Convergence” displays with excellent guitar work. Closer ‘Gjǫll’ is quintessential Dimmu Borgir , the instrumental cinematic and symphonic, its strong dynamic structure representing the nuanced drive of the album , it is a rousing closer to an album that re-affirms their status as icons in the genre.
Grand Serpent Rising is an album that captures the energy and spirit of their earlier black metal release with a controlled yet ever-present symphonic presence to create an album that burns brightly with black majesty, its lingering darkness and reborn strength. Recommended!
Evilean - Exhumation Evilean 7.5/10
Sydney’s Evilean is the creation of Jojo Shaw, who recorded wrote and composed all tracks that has led to Exhumation Evilean. A debut EP of glorious old school death metal terror, that is raw and direct pulled directly from the ninety’s movement.
At times discordant, dissonant bordering on the horrific “Lost Cause” contains multiple riffs that unfurl amid waves of distortion and disturbance, the samples and vocals throwback to an old school ethos as does the production, whilst the samples are part White Zombie, part horror film. “Killing Fields” contains pained vocals that threaten to rip the throat of JoJo and its riff a revolving maelstrom of energy. “Die Blind” is frantic, accusatory, tense and suffocating. Part fact, part fiction, the initial simplistic shock reveals something deeper and an atmosphere that is inescapable. The diverse “Bitchcntscumfuck” has to be heard to be believed.
Abrasive and deliberately offensive for those who do not simply understand. It is a euphoric release of pent-up energy and aggression. Unflinchingly abrasive and stripped back to the essentials Exhumation Evilean reveals a force of nature to be reckoned with.
Comments