Stormblåst

Many improvements were to made over Dimmu's debut album For All Tid. The cheap, rough, gritty production and underwhelming musicianship made it a tedious listen, and the typical songcraft didn't help matters either. Fortunately, some essential changes were made and we are left with Stormblast; a huge step up for the band, who would do a total 180 on the album succeeding this one.

As a band, Dimmu have gotten slightly heavier and have also become admirable songsmiths. The boost in balls can be seen clearly on the energetic drumming of "Alt Lys Er Svunnet Hen," or the tremolo riffs throughout "Antikrist." At the same time, Dimmu also payed more attention to dynamics by balancing the sound with the keyboards. The famous "Broderskapets Ring" sees the band revisiting the more morose, mid-paced territory of their debut, but with a new sense of melodicism and atmosphere. Each of the song formulas is clearly more epic and evolved from the naivity of For All Tid, too; every structure seems more narrative and dramatic, with attention paid to melodic emphasis and a wintry atmosphere. The title track is a classic example, and "Dodsferd" is another beautful display of this evolution. Each band member has stepped up dramatically in their skills as a musician; the guitars, though wholly based on power chords, use some short leads and are much more melodic than before. "Nar Sjelen Hentes Til Helvete" shows exactly how much the band have stepped up; it was probably their heaviest track at that time, and the keyboard break in the middle is a perfect pacebreaker.

Tjodalv's drumming really gives the album a boost. His confidence behind the kit blows Shagrath's away, and he uses more fills and double bass to help prevent some of the plodding that was present on the debut. It's never "brutal," but does guide the songs through various passages that would otherwise seem rather empty. "Vinder Fra En Ensom Grav," my personal favorite, shows some impressive blast beats, and many other songs display Tjodalv's ability as the perfect drummer for the old Dimmu Borgir sound.

Stian's synths, once again, set the atmosphere; this time, though, everything has a very wintry atmosphere, perfectly illustrated on the title track and the heavier number, "Da Den Kristne Satte Livet Til," as well as the beautiful opening of the album's opening track, where tumbling pianos and flutes lead the way to synthesized string arpeggios. The synths actually sound decent this time around, and don't wash out the guitars upon their entrance. Instead, it does its correct job as serving background ambience and mood, which shift from epic and mountainous to melancholy, as seen on the instrumental "Sorgens Kammer."

Silenoz certainly sounds worlds better; his voice is more polished and scream-ish, instead of the irritating, lifeless rasp that ran on the first album. There are a few double-tracked vocals here and there, and even some spoken-word (in Norwegian) on "Broderskapets Ring." "Antikrist" shows some of his fiercest screams, as does "Guds Fortalepse." Unfortunately, his improvement doesn't really matter in context of the fact that Shagrath would rip him apart on their next album. But hey, at least he sounds better here, like he actually attempted to convey some feeling here.

Unfortunately, Stormblast suffers from one of the same things that the debut did: production. However, instead of being too raw or underdone here, it's hampered and weak. The guitars have a bit more beef to them, but are cut short with a buzzing overdrive instead of roaring distortion. And even though the drums sound better performance-wise, the muffled snare drum and clunky bass drum sound leave the songs somewhat lifeless and plodding. Of course, another thing that mars this release is the fact that Dimmu's landmark album would follow this and single-handedly shatter all previous efforts.

Those who don't find new Dimmu appealing may enjoy this, but I would be wary of the things mentioned here.

Favorite tracks: "Alt Lys Er Svunnet Hen," "Broderskapets Ring," "Stormblast," "Vinder Fra En Ensom Grav."