Dimmu Borgir
In Sorte Diaboli

THE REVIEW

Songs: Rating:

The Serpentine Offering 8/9

The Chosen Legacy 7+

The Conspiracy Unfolds 7 1/2

The Ancestral Feuer 6

The Sacrilegious Scorn 8 1/2

The Fallen Arises 8 1/2

The Sinister Awakening 7

The Fundamental Alienation 8 1/2

The Invaluable Darkness 7 1/2

The Foreshadowing Furnace 6

Album Rating:

Moral Rating: 8

Arithmetic Rating: 7.56

Album Review

"In Sorte Diaboli" presents itself as a symphonic black metal album with slight death metal influences. Almost all the tracks on the album are well-crafted: Sagrath's vocal parts are well-conceived and thoughtfully placed within the pieces, matched by the epic verses sung by Ics Vortex which see significant growth in this new work.

Looking more in-depth, we can come across a song which is most likely the most engaging on the album: "The Serpentine Offering". This track reveals an introduction, at first impact, surprising, almost on par with the (instrumental) bridge of "Progenies Of The Great Apocalypse", meaning: ABSOLUTELY EXCITING! If we then listen to the wonderful voice of the bassist extending a good 56 seconds of pure thrill (a timeframe never reached before), Shagrath's vocal performance excellently balanced without being excessive for even a moment, and the mini death metal bridges, we can realize that this song reveals itself not only as a great song but also as an excellent lead single to introduce the world to the truly commendable abilities of this group. Of course, the song I referred to in the previous lines is not the only one that should be considered, which is why I’d like to talk about another 3 pieces that have captured my attention and even my heart. "The Sacrilegious Scorn" is a very stimulating track thanks to an excellent vocal performance by Ics Vortex, and the dark, somewhat psychedelic bridge. Unfortunately, this potential song loses points because the second part contains a guitar experimentation in the death metal style that is not well-refined.

"The Fallen Arises" is, in my opinion, the second-best track of the album. An instrumental piece that sets itself apart from noteworthy pieces like "Fear And Wonder", and finds in this detachment its strength (originality). In fact, unlike in other pieces, we don't just find an orchestra of linked strings, but also a simple percussion loop repeated without variations throughout the track’s duration. Once again, Mustis succeeded in perfectly harmonizing percussion with strings, choirs, and electronic effects. Particularly spot-on is the choice to include the neigh of a horse. "The Fallen Arises" could easily reach a 9 if it weren’t for its slight repetitiveness.

The eighth track on the CD is predominantly a black metal song and the death influences do not constitute a flaw. Very stimulating is the introduction: a well-executed very dark Gregorian chant, too bad it lasts only 16 seconds. The rest is quite engaging: the guitar riffs are sharp and Shagrath’s voice also makes a strong impression. If this piece had had a different style of ending, perhaps it might have earned an 8/9 from me.

The rest of the tracks are decent, even though they don't shine with originality. In fact, it is precisely this flaw that I feel compelled to attribute to the album, a significant loss of originality, especially in the pieces "The Ancestral Feuer" and "The Foreshadowing Furnace" where Mustis’s ability to produce symphonic bases that not only harmonize with the other instruments but are also engaging in themselves seems very limited.

In conclusion, I say that "In Sorte Diaboli" is an excellent album slightly more black than symphonic but still will be very much appreciated by both old fans and those approaching this splendid genre for the first time.

ENJOY LISTENING.