Eonian

Much has been said regarding Dimmu Borgir's legacy, where it has been, and where it has gone, so I will just focus on this album. Let's just say, being a black metal aficionado, I tend to be very critical of Dimmu, but will not incessantly flame them.

To start off, I would say that the songs on this album are a dichotomy of ideas. On one hand, Dimmu is trying to harken back to their black metal roots. On the other hand, they are trying to appeal to a mass audience and sell records. Somewhere along the way, they are trying way too hard to do both. It feels like, years ago, they lost their way. Pretty much, every song on this album illustrates this fact. From the deceiving opening track that starts off feeling like "Dimmu is Back!" only to give us hints of what the rest of the album would overdo (AKA Nightwish-style sing-a-long interludes), to the ultra-commercial "Interdimensional Summit", which is utter commercial garbage.

The biggest problem with this album is the very inconsistent song-writing. Pretty much the only songs that have any consistency are the last two songs on the album, one of which is an instrumental. Otherwise, every song feels very disjointed and piecemeal and it is puzzling. Songs will start off feeling like black metal and then become Symphonic and poppy. The guitar riffing will go from a very nice, dark, black metal intro to a standard, boring rock-n-roll style riff, and then back again (e.g. Ætheric), with the formula choir-chant thrown in for good measure. If these elements were used once in a while in the album, they may be welcome, but they wear out the listener when heard in every song in formulaic fashion. And, many of the guitar riffs I feel like I have heard before, are very boring, and, perhaps, even annoying on repeat listens. Perhaps, the overall song-writing of this album is better than their last album, but the, so-called, "hit song" is worst than the hit song of their last album and the consistency of the song-writing is far worse.

Speaking of the symphonic elements of the album, they are also very inconsistent. Sometimes they feel and sound like classic Dimmu. Other times, they are happy and gleeful. And, they sometimes don't fit. It is painful for a fan of this band to hear this. And, coupled with the symphonic elements is the vocal choir sections, I can't help but feel that Shagrath and company felt that the loss of ICS-Vortex needed to be replaced by happy choir sing-alongs. In most cases, these choirs detract and do not add to the songs, with a few notable exceptions such as in "Alpha Aeon Omega", which may be the best symphonic-laden song on the album and is probably the best written song here, as well.

Of course, the production on this album, like all recent Dimmu albums, is top notch to a fault. Everything is ultra-produced and sterile. I don't feel the rawness here. I don't feel rage or anguish. It feels like a bunch of rich musicians following a formula, and I hate it. For those who like well-produced metal, this gives you that. For the rest of us - "meh".

To be honest, I am not sure who this album will appeal to. Dimmu was clearly appealing to a mainstream audience. That audience will probably not care about this record, however. Black metal fans will give it one or two listens and go find something better to listen to. Perhaps this album appeals to Dimmu purists? This is otherwise a slightly above average metal album that I can't truly recommend to anybody.