Enthrone Darkness Triumphant is the third studio album by Norwegian symphonic black metal band Dimmu Borgir, released on 30 May 1997 through Nuclear Blast. It was the band's first release through Nuclear Blast. This is the last release to feature keyboardist Stian Aarstad and the first with bassist Nagash.
| Enthrone Darkness Triumphant | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 30 May 1997 | |||
| Recorded | January 1997 | |||
| Studio | The Abyss, Pärlby, Sweden | |||
| Genre | Symphonic black metal | |||
| Length | 56:38 | |||
| Label | Nuclear Blast | |||
| Producer | Dimmu Borgir | |||
| Dimmu Borgir chronology | ||||
| ||||
Release
editThe album has been released on many formats, including a limited edition vinyl (300 white and 1000 black). In 2002, a deluxe CD version was released with bonus material. Enthrone Darkness Triumphant was also the band's first album to display their second logo, though the old "black metal" logo is seen in the back cover artwork on the original printing. Due to concerns from Nuclear Blast,[citation needed] the lyrics of "Tormentor of Christian Souls" were omitted from the disc's liner notes. "Master of Disharmony" and "Raabjorn speiler Draugheimens skodde" are re-recorded versions of older, already released tracks (from Devil's Path and For all tid respectively).
Critical reception
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| The Metal Review |  [2] |
| The Metal Observer |  |
| Chronicles of Chaos |  [3] |
| Rock Hard | 9/10[4] |
AllMusic praised the album, writing, "One of the most important Scandinavian metal discs ever, Dimmu Borgir's Enthrone Darkness Triumphant is the group's unquestioned masterpiece."[1] In 2005, Enthrone Darkness Triumphant was ranked number 298 in Rock Hard magazine's book of The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time.[5]
In 2020, it was named one of the 20 best metal albums of 1997 by Metal Hammer magazine.[6] In 2021, the magazine ranked it as the 7th best symphonic metal album of all time.[7]
The album has occasionally faced some criticism. Death Metal Underground labels it "a ripoff of bands that were new when these musicians were born,"[8] noting that it lacks a sense of theme and that it is essentially "a pop album with heavy metal riffs," which wants the "neoclassical orchestration that made [the previous album] Stormblåst brilliant."[9]
Track listing
editAll tracks are written by Dimmu Borgir
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Mourning Palace" | 5:13 |
| 2. | "Spellbound (By the Devil)" | 4:08 |
| 3. | "In Death's Embrace" | 5:42 |
| 4. | "Relinquishment of Spirit and Flesh" | 5:32 |
| 5. | "The Night Masquerade" | 4:25 |
| 6. | "Tormentor of Christian Souls" | 5:39 |
| 7. | "Entrance" | 4:47 |
| 8. | "Master of Disharmony" | 4:15 |
| 9. | "Prudence's Fall" | 5:56 |
| 10. | "A Succubus in Rapture" | 5:59 |
| 11. | "Raabjørn speiler Draugheimens skodde" ("Raabjørn Reflects the Mist of Draugheimen") | 5:02 |
| Total length: | 56:38 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 12. | "Moonchild Domain" | 5:24 |
| 13. | "Hunnerkongens sorgsvarte ferd over steppene" ("The King of the Huns' Sorrowful Black Journey over the Plains") | 3:05 |
| 14. | "Chaos Without Prophecy" | 7:09 |
Charts
edit| Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|
| German Album Charts[10] | 75 |
| The Official Finnish Charts[11] | 26 |
Personnel
edit- Dimmu Borgir
- Shagrath – lead vocals, lead guitar, production
- Silenoz – rhythm guitar, production
- Stian Aarstad – synthesizer, piano, production
- Tjodalv – drums, production
- Nagash – bass, lead guitar, background vocals, production
- Additional personnel
- Bente Engen – vocals (track 5)
- Peter Tägtgren – engineering, mixing
References
edit- ^ a b Anderson, Jason. "Enthrone Darkness Triumphant - Dimmu Borgir". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 27 October 2012.
- ^ "Enthrone Darkness Triumphant (Reloaded)". Archived from the original on 2 July 2011. Retrieved 27 November 2012.
- ^ Review by Pedro Azevedo
- ^ Wendel, Kai. "Rock Hard review". issue 121. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
- ^ Best of Rock & Metal - Die 500 stärksten Scheiben aller Zeiten (in German). Rock Hard. 2005. p. 93. ISBN 3-89880-517-4.
- ^ "The Top 20 best metal albums of 1997". Metal Hammer. Future plc. 2 December 2020. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
- ^ Davies, Hywel; Dome, Malcolm; Goodman, Eleanor; Chantler, Chris; Gordon, Connie; Grady, Spencer; Rees, Adam; Selzer, Jonathan (17 November 2021). "The 25 best symphonic metal albums". Metal Hammer. Future plc. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
- ^ "Dimmu Borgir - Black Metal [Death Metal Underground: Black Metal, Death Metal, Grindcore, Speed/Power Metal, Thrash and Doom Metal reviews, discographies, mp3 samples, tracklists and images]". www.deathmetal.org. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
- ^ "Dimmu Borgir - Enthrone Darkness Triumphant (Black Metal)". www.deathmetal.org. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
- ^ "charts.de". Retrieved 1 June 2013.[dead link]
- ^ "finnishcharts.com". Archived from the original on 30 September 2008. Retrieved 1 June 2013.