Church burnings, murders, inner-circle band hatred…it’s all been done before. The rumours and wild tales surrounding the Norwegian black metal scene are almost urban legend at this point. Now, talk about the crazy dudes from Europe has been blown so out of proportion that not even the most devoted fans know the absolute truth. Still, to Dimmu Borgir, one of the scene’s most influential bands, a modicum of respect must be given to those tales.
“We want to continue the tradition of what our influences created,” states lead vocalist Shagrath over the phone while preparing to assault Smalltown, Virginia with selections from Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia, their most successful album to date. Shagrath feels it boldly maintains the “true spirit of black metal.”
“It’s a natural development from what I was listening to while growing up. I was listening to bands like Slayer, thinking ‘this is it. This is the vibe I’m looking for.’ There’s something about the evilness of the originators that just sucks you in…. When I listened to those bands, it felt like I was flying over mountains, running through the woods with an axe in my hand, destroying everything in my way. That’s the feeling I want this album, this band, to inspire.”
Dimmu Borgir are once again nominated for a Spellemannsprisen (Norwegian Grammy) in the metal category. Having previously lost (and won) other such awards, Shagrath admits he’s uncharacteristically hopeful this time around.
“We’ve been nominated twice before with Emperor, who won it. And we did win once, which was cool, ’cause it meant free beer! Overall, though, you would think that black metal bands would shun this kind of thing, saying it’s not a big deal. It isn’t, but there’s still that small desire to win….It’s for ourselves, mostly, but when we didn’t win, I was still like…GRRRR! FUCK!”
Looking at the current state of black metal, Shagrath is torn. “It would be great if everything could stay like, ’91 forever, wouldn’t it,” he asks half-jokingly. “[The scene’s] not so bad. It would be boring if it did stay then forever. That time was magical. Bands were so serious. It was all by the rules, the church burnings, the murders…it was so hardcore. Today, you still have the same feeling, but it’s not as strong. In ’91, we were younger and everything was black and white. Now, so many other things impact what we do. The business, the changes in the music like exploring and adding new elements. I guess that’s the good side. It’d be boring if everything sounded like [Darkthrone’s] Transylvanian Hunger, even if it is the best black metal album ever.”
Currently writing new material for the follow-up to Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia (tentatively titled 666 Injection), Shagrath is confident that the band’s diverse musical interests will result in a unique, but pure album.
“We’ve just started writing, so it will take a while to get everything together, ’cause we don’t want to rush it. We only go in the studio when we feel like it, so that our albums reach their full potential. With this next one, we’re influenced by a lot of pop music, for sure. There are a lot of good pop bands out there—A-Ha’s new album is great, but none of us will write that stuff. We have to go with feeling, heritage…what’s good for us. Maybe we’ll bring in some ambient music. I’ve been listening to a lot of that.”
hile one has to question just how possible it is for a decidedly Satanic, bombastic band to incorporate ambience into their style, an aspect that Shagrath assures will be present, are the trademark orchestral compositions.
"Symphonic black metal has been around for ages, and it's had a decided influence on our sound, even if we can't afford a 13-piece orchestra. For the next album though, we want to find a way to work it in. Things sound so much bigger, and we want majestic. Like, tympani and stuff. That doesn't sound good coming through a synthesizer, but when you have the real thing, you get the good stuff. It'll rip your balls off, it's so much bigger."
Finishing with an anecdote, Shagrath relates the one time Dimmu Borgir did get their real orchestra, but lost it just as quickly. "We were playing the Norwegian Grammys, and they had a 13-piece orchestra scheduled to play with us. When they performed the sound check with us, it was killer. After hearing that, you need the real thing. The only problem was, just before we went on for real, the orchestra said they didn't want to do it. They were reading our lyrics and said that it was Satanic, and we were the tormentor of Christian souls. They withdrew like, a couple of hours before we went on. People say that black metal isn't serious music? Well, how professional is that?"
