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Dimmu Borgir - Stormblåst MMV review



Reviewer:
4.0

434 users:
7.55
Band: Dimmu Borgir
Album: Stormblåst MMV
Release date: November 2005


Disc I
01. Alt Lys Er Svunnet Hen
02. Broderskapets Ring
03. Når Sjelen Hentes Til Helvete
04. Sorgens Kammer - Del II [bonus]
05. Da Den Kristne Satte Livet Til
06. Stormblåst
07. Dødsferd
08. Antikrist
09. Vinder Fra En Ensom Grav
10. Guds Fortapelse - Åpenbaring Av Dommedag
11. Avmaktslave [bonus]

Disc II [Bonus DVD - Live At Ozzfest 2004]
01. Spellbound (By The Devil)
02. Vredesbyrd
03. Kings Of The Carnival Creation
04. Progenies Of The Great Apocalypse
05. Mourning Palace

It's 1996 and a band from Norway named Dimmu Borgir manages to release their second effort, "Stormblast". The expectations from the black metal audience must had been quite big and Dimmu Borgir didn't prove these expectations wrong, on the contrary, they offered a really inspired piece of majestic black metal to the world. What someone could notice from "Stormblast" was an intense will for a lyrical atmosphere, having an epic feeling at times or a more melancholic approach at others. And thus "Stormblast" remained a classic release to the eyes of many black metal fans, up to an extent.

Nine years later, the same band with only Shagrath and Silenoz having remained in the line-up from these days, managed to remake this album and try to adjust it to the sound they have nowadays. This movement means modern production and sound and, of course, a different approach to the arch feeling of the album. The only question that comes forth is "did they succeed into putting "Stormblast" in the sound time-machine of Dimmu Borgir correctly?" - well, the answer is no and I was really disappointed when I listened to the remake, even the cover is not good at all.

The musicianship, with no second thought, is flawless, with Galder and Silenoz on the guitar work doing their best, Mustis on the keyboards unleashing his entrancing and devout melodies and ICS Vortex on the bass lines and Hellhammer on the drumming pouring themselves to the important role of the rhythm section. But a really good musicianship is not enough to make an album sound good. When the time comes to compare 1996's "Stormblast" with the "Stormblast" of 2005 you will easily notice that the feeling is not the same. The lyricism of 1996 has turned into a kind of a sell-out manifesto with all the inspiration having turned into a standard recipe from the band and an easy way to release another album fast enough so as to keep their name in the front of the "black" metal news.

I don't think this was a good move. The guitar riffing has become heavy and the keyboard melodies (which is the main reason why I will give a small plus to the overall rating) have become more modern, applying to the mid-to-later period of Borgir, and more affected as well. When the time comes to talk about the vocals I think they sound ridiculous, with Shagrath ruining the magic that his raw vocals, along with Silenoz's, used to evoke on 1996's "Stormblast".

This movement smells money from a long distance. There are releases that are made for the money, at least they have something to offer. Well, ladies and gentlemen, the remake of "Stormblast" has really nothing to offer but good musicianship, some live videos and a few creative passages here and there. Of course the album will sell, it's Dimmu Borgir, at least it could have been something worthy. Anyway, save your money for their upcoming album or try to get the original "Stormblast" and enjoy yourself.





Written on 16.12.2005 by "It is myself I have never met, whose face is pasted on the underside of my mind."

Guest review by
TheH2K
Rating:
5.6
This time Dimmu Borgir made an effort to remake a masterpiece by mixing their first and third wave. Let's see whether it is a real failure as most people say or not.

They definitely nurtured the record, yet the nature is gone. What I mean is the sound quality has been amazingly enhanced, which can be really thrilling but the atmosphere is completely gone. "Alt Lys Er Svunnet Hen"'s intro has been removed due to copyright issues, which is a deal-breaker to me. "Broderskapets Ring" and "Når Sjelen Hentes Til Helvete" are unnecessarily accelerated, which I cannot understand why. The "Stormblast" track is the best remake on this album, but is only acceptable and nothing exceptional.

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published 03.06.2020 | Comments (3)


Comments

Comments: 24   [ 1 ignored ]   Visited by: 344 users
14.06.2006 - 21:07
The Damned
Account deleted
I do admit that there was no reason to re-make the amazing landmark that was the original Stormblast... the orignal in my opion is better but the re-release was not completly horrible it was still actually very good... as is everything Dimmu puts out in my opinion their was no reason to re-make it but it doesn't change my feeling towards my favorite band ALL HAIL DIMMU BORGIR!
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16.06.2006 - 02:31
Rating: 6
Dangerboner
Lactation Cnslt
This album just confuses me. I haven't heard the original Stormblast, but this album just doesn't sound right, and I don't know why. Maybe it's the overproduction, but this cd just sounds awkward. It doesn't flow at all and has no atmosphere to it. Maybe I just need to listen to it again.
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24.06.2006 - 18:07
Rating: 6
Xtreme Jax
Psycroptipath
Agreed with The Damned. There is no reason to go back and re-make a (imo) masterpiece, the only thing that they did was open themselves up to make it weaker than the original.

To me, the release is weaker than the original. The feel seems more slack, like they're not really trying hard ... kind of hard for me to explain. The only thing it has over the original is the dvd with the 5 live videos from Ozzfest.
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Hellcunt Smurf
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24.06.2006 - 19:27
Lucas
Mr. Noise
Conclusion: Never re-record something. Blah. Or don't be Dimmu Borgir.
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SLUDGE. DOOM. DEATH. Wait, what?

"The reason I'm running for president is because I can't be Bruce Springsteen." - Barack Obama
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24.06.2006 - 22:53
Mindheist
No Longer Human
You are entirely right,having the two releases,i can support your rating.Dimmy Borgir would never have re-released "stormblast".
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28.06.2006 - 10:24
Damnated
Churchburner
It is a shame, that they actually released this album again. They made a perfect sound, it almost glows, it is like a pop album. What I liked about Stormblast, next to the great musicianship and songs, was the basement like production. It felt so grim and cold, and this new album almost gives you a warm shover.
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Blessed is he that murders Christ in himself and in his fellow men.



Written by TheBigRossowski on 10.02.2009 at 16:01

if my wife and I can't conceive, I want a medical shipment of your sperm so our baby will be just like you.
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29.07.2006 - 10:51
Megadeth88

Well I'm against you all 'cause I think the re-release is great. Hellhammer does a great job on the set, and everything sounds so perfect to me. But then I again I miss the old "Sorgens Kammer". Too bad that Stian took it from someone.
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18.08.2006 - 03:43
Dark Snake
Account deleted
Well, I think I'm on both teams here 'cause I think the songs got a better sound (or; more clear sound) than the original Stormblast (Stormblåst in norwegian) Also the new added "Sorgens Kammer - Del II" is a good one, though "Sorgens Kammer" is a must. The other one; Avmaktslave is a new added, good one. And it's true that Hellhammer is doing a good job on the drums, he's like born to be in Dimmu Borgir

But is it really a good idea to re-record a album? I don't know, but I wouldn't do it if i could avoid it. Dosen't seem right....
Anyway, Dimmu Borgir is Norway's pride
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07.02.2007 - 21:44
Sunioj

If Jon Nodveidt tried to remake Storm of the lights bane after Reinkaos, I'd sacrifice myself to Astaroth and kick his ass in the next realm. If Anders Friden tried to remake whoracle, I would just kick his ass. So with that said, I will kick Shagraths ass.

Just kidding, Im just bored
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25.02.2007 - 09:19
Rating: 9
Danny Thomas

Written by Damnated on 28.06.2006 at 10:24

It is a shame, that they actually released this album again. They made a perfect sound, it almost glows, it is like a pop album. What I liked about Stormblast, next to the great musicianship and songs, was the basement like production. It felt so grim and cold, and this new album almost gives you a warm shover.


haha i like your analogies, very well put. it was that raw sound that made the original so perfect to me. i actually listen to it every night when i go to bed(sorgens kammer puts me comfortably to sleep) mind you, i don't think the remake is a total loss, i do enjoy giving it a listen from time to time, but i see it fading away from my interest whereas the original will always be apreciated by me.
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Our children are dead. Burnt in the ruins that were left by war.
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26.04.2009 - 08:38
Uirapuru
Liver Failure
Written by Megadeth88 on 29.07.2006 at 10:51

Well I'm against you all 'cause I think the re-release is great. Hellhammer does a great job on the set, and everything sounds so perfect to me. But then I again I miss the old "Sorgens Kammer". Too bad that Stian took it from someone.


I'm with you in this dude. I don't know what's the big deal about hating this album. It's a pretty decent sympho/black metal album. Deserves at least a 6,5.

Another thing that I really hated about this was the absence of that fantastic keyboard intro on ''Alt Lys Er Svunnet Hen''.
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member of the true crusade against old school heavy metal, early 80s thrash, NWOBHM, traditional doom, first and second wave black metal, old school death metal, US power metal, 70s prog rock and atmospheric doomsludgestoner. o/
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03.11.2009 - 05:07
Rating: 8
METALVIKING107

I don't know I see where everyone's coming from here but I bought the album (mainly because I wanted a Dimmu Album that was actually in Nowegian), and I kinda like the more well produced version better (the original was kind of a muddled mess of guitars, keyboard, drums and screaming at times) and the original is definitive yes, but if you read what they wrote in the booklet they basically say that they know that people might not like it but they didn't do for you all they did it for themselves so that they could continue on their way knowing that the album was the way they wanted it. Don't the artists have a right want to polish a project that they didn't feel was complete? It is their art after all and you can like it or not but Dimmu didn't do it for you.
Who knows though, I liked it, I go to sleep to this album, I do my homework to this album and I just love listening to it Dimmu is the shit!
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14.02.2010 - 20:42
Rasa

Good said, METALVIKING107.
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05.03.2010 - 01:21
Rating: 9
SatyriconChick

How in hell can this album have an average rating of 4.0??? It may be a re-recording of a classic black metal album, but it's simply awesome. I heard the original Stormblast when it was released way back in '96. Have to say I actually prefer the MMV version, if for no other reason, for "Sorgens Kammer - Del II." That song alone makes this re-release MORE than worth it! It's not my favorite Dimmu output, but it's certainly not my least favorite, either.
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08.05.2010 - 04:36
Rating: 8
In_tallica

I think they made some things better by re recording it, some parts were better, but i still can't undetstand why so many riff/melodies/parts of songs were deleated. Also, the original recording has a way more....should i say melancholic and sad sound to it...much more feeling in a way. Still, great job and excellent musicanship!
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26.12.2010 - 04:48
Mikrokosmos
Account deleted
They butchered their own masterpiece
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15.11.2011 - 18:00
ANGEL REAPER

Although this was the album that drag me into Dimmu Borgir i now,some 5 years later ,think that original Storblast from '96 is better...
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"Cross is only an iron,hope is just an illusion,freedom is nothing but a name..."
"Build your walls of the dead stone...Build your roofs of a dead wood..Build your dreams of a dead thoughts"
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27.11.2011 - 17:39
Baz Anderson

Galder doesn't play on this album.

I'm listening to it now for the first time... it's like the old one of steroids or something. The production isn't great on the original, but I think they lost half of the magic by doing it again like this.
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26.03.2012 - 01:44
psykometal
A staff guy...
Written by Baz Anderson on 27.11.2011 at 17:39

Galder doesn't play on this album.

Neither does Vortex. This album was recorded with Silenoz and Shagrath playing guitars and Silenoz also recorded the bass tracks.

Galder was busy recording Vermin while they re-recorded this album and Vortex was either touring or recording with Arcturus.
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~Zep, Database and Forum Moderation~

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29.08.2012 - 23:23
wormdrink414

Dunno about the album as a whole (or the band, really), but the Sorgens Kammer on this is sweet as hell. Been playing that constantly for the past couple weeks.
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20.03.2013 - 19:50
Fallen Ghost
Craft Beer Geek
Don't see the problem with this, to me it's awesome. I guess this is an album for those who aren't that wild about the raw, old school and unpolished black metal sound.
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25.04.2013 - 20:40
moe5512

I love this version and I hate the vocals on Dimmu's first 2 albums
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14.06.2013 - 08:20
Rating: 4
NorthernDickhead

Written by moe5512 on 25.04.2013 at 20:40

I love this version and I hate the vocals on Dimmu's first 2 albums

And I hate you
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14.06.2013 - 12:55
moe5512

Written by NorthernDickhead on 14.06.2013 at 08:20

Written by moe5512 on 25.04.2013 at 20:40

I love this version and I hate the vocals on Dimmu's first 2 albums

And I hate you

Come at me, bro'
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