Dimmu Borgir – Abrahadabra

I have to it, I lost interest in Dimmu Borgir after Darkness Enthroned Triumphant, not because they were doing anything particularly wrong, but because other acts like Arcturus, Emperor, Opeth, etc, etc, were doing so many more things right. I got this partly out of curiosity, partly because it has a smart title. I was skeptical somewhat about the live orchestrations, as I have been promised this hybrid in the past by other bands, and always felt that the merging of live classical orchestrations (as opposed to the more traditional nordic metal approach of having the classical elements handled by keyboards) and epic metal to be more epic metal with a light sprinkling of classical. Don't get me wrong, I actually am not even close to a classical buff, but I have always felt that under the right guidance, these two genres could make some beautifully brutal music together. Low and behold, I really did not expect that it would be Dimmu Borgir who could pull it off so well. Well, I stand corrected.

Perhaps the aspect that stands out the most are just how well integrated the orchestrations are with the metal. You really get the feeling that they were developed in collaboration and concert, rather than one being tacked on at the end of the other. The absence of ICS Vortex is mitigated by the addition of a choir, which actually do a really amazing job of delivering any clean vocals, wherever they are needed.

I personally think by the end of the album, some of the ideas get a little repetitive, mainly because without the orchestrations, this still sounds very much like the same Dimmu Borgir that I listened to 15 years ago, and other than this new element, the metal itself sounds mostly like business as usual. However, I do feel that this is something that is worth checking out.