Dimmu Borgir
Abrahadabra

TANGLED.

This is how you can sum up, in just one word, Abrahadabra, the eighth album by the Norwegians Dimmu Borgir.

Now... far be it from me to draw overly hasty conclusions for those who come across these few lines or to give gratuitous criticism to a band already much criticized in the past decade, but it's an unsurprising sense of discomfort that remains with me after repeated listens to this platter. Having acknowledged that the previous work In Sorte Diaboli suffered from a blatant stylistic complacency, the two guitarists and masterminds Silenoz and Galder, taking note of the critiques, must have asked themselves: "...and now how do we handle this?".

The result was (also here) a lot of confusion: first the controversial farewell with two important members like Mustis (keyboards) and Ics Vortex (bass and clean vocals), then the recruitment of Therion's bassist Snowy Show which lasted all of 24 hours, only to eventually rely, at least in the studio sessions, on session musicians. I believe it is clear to those paying attention that, in 2010, Dimmu Borgir officially sniffed out commercial success and especially the path to take to achieve it; just look at the photos in the booklet to realize it... tacky as if they were auditioning to become new members of Lordi!!

Having said that, I would like to do an excursus through the tracks that make up Abrahadabra: after the negligible -cinematic- intro "Xibir", it kicks off vigorously with "Born Treacherous" which represents, no more and no less, the epitome of this new effort: a driven and praiseworthy start with good guitar work then suddenly halfway through the track here comes an inexplicable effected break with almost progressive echoes where a 40-piece orchestra takes the spotlight (the driving force through the highs and lows of the whole platter) which, frankly, poorly blends with the rest of the song. But isn't it a bit exaggerated?!?!.

"Gateways" (the single) puts an end to my questions with an altogether well-conceived pace (thanks also to Agnete Kjolsrud's clean female vocals) where the orchestrations - at least here - do their duty. A positive opinion is also for the next "Chess with the abyss" which, all things considered, is very pleasing to listen to thanks to its mood changes. We get to tracks 5 and 6 and here we find the best compositions of 2010-labeled Dimmu Borgir: first with "Dimmu Borgir" with its cadenced rhythms and a previously unknown airy melodic taste, then with "Ritualist" where the rhythmic base-guitar-orchestra mix reaches its structural apex.

But just when I was almost hoping for a second half of the album in crescendo, an unforgivable thing happens. Practically the album, in its remaining 4 tracks, offers nothing plausible anymore. The sheer amount of ingredients thrown in without a semblance of homogeneity is absolutely annoying ("The Demiurge Molecule" in this sense makes your arms fall) and not even the presence of Ulver's vocalist Garm ("Endings and Continuations") manages to lift the fortunes of ours.

In conclusion, an album that yes, takes marked distances from its direct predecessor but that doesn't hold up in the slightest against "Death Cult Armageddon," which in terms of sound is certainly the most similar album to this Abrahadabra; frankly, I wouldn't even know who to recommend it to: fans of symphonic metal? Nah, there are dozens of albums more representative than this, even in 2010; however, I wouldn't have the courage of recommending it to blacksters (even the less extreme ones) since they haven't presented certain sounds since the magnificent Stormblst.

It's not enough to throw in some good riffs, make the rhythmic base anonymous, mix with a generous splash of orchestra to cover it all and rely on excellent production to package a sufficient product. Of course, the meticulous distribution by Nuclear Blast will make Abrahadabra a guaranteed commercial success, but that, as they say, is another story.