DIMMU BORGIR — Death Cult Armageddon (review)

DIMMU BORGIR — Death Cult Armageddon album cover Album · 2003 · Symphonic Black Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
3/5 ·
Warthur
Death Cult Armageddon sees Dimmu Borgir edging a bit closer to the musical style of then-drummer Nicholas Barker's former bandmates in Cradle of Filth - although the emphasis is still on black metal as opposed to eroticised pulp horror gothic metal, there's the same use of symphonic elements to create a distinctly accessible and catchy brand of extreme metal. Is it kvlt? Not even slightly, but I'd rather black metal bands concentrated on creating great music first and cultivating a kvlter-than-thou image second. The overall armageddon atmosphere and the cartoonish depictions of all-out war against life itself lends a bit of cohesion to proceedings and makes this the most interesting Dimmu Borgir albums since Stormblast.

That said, whilst I'm reluctant to mark down an album just for not being TRVE KVLT black metal, at the same time I am more than willing to mark an album down for being unambitious, and that's precisely what Dimmu Borgir seem to be on this release. Sticking inside your comfort zone in a musical genre all about discomfort and the exploration of extremes feels a bit like missing the point to me.
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