I am probably one of the few writers who really enjoyed their last album, 2018’s ‘Eonion’, but even I was bemoaning the loss of ICS Vortex and now the band is down to just two official members with Shagrath and Silenoz, as Galder, who had been guitarist with the band for more than two decades, is also no longer involved. Mind you, both drummer Daray and keyboard player Gerlioz have been there for more than 15 years, even if they are not listed as members, bassist Victor has been involved since 2018, so the only true newbie is lead guitarist Damage (Chrome Division, The Cult of Destiny).
I have listened to this album a lot now and am still having problems getting my head around it. There are times when their symphonic black metal really hits hard, but the harmony vocals are now in a lower register than the high over the top we used to get from Vortex, and it is that contrast we are missing. There are too many times when the music and vocals combine to come at us as one, and the lack of dynamics means none of it is as powerful as it is intended to be. There are passages in “The Qryptfarer” when Gerlioz provides rippling piano instead of synth-driven riffs and it is like splashes of light in a darkened landscape when wraiths and orcs cross the land, and we need more of that.
The issue with this album is that it is just too inconsistent, and although there are times they are as majestic as they were back in the heyday of ‘Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia’ (how did that album get to be 25 years old?) it is few and far between and the result is an album which will probably sound wonderful to fans of old, there are plenty of others who are going to wonder what the dearth like 4/4 beat at the beginning of “Ulvgjeld – Blodsodel” is doing here.
Rating: 7/10
Links:
https://www.dimmu-borgir.com/
https://www.nuclearblast.com/