Band:	Dimmu Borgir
Album:	Stormblåst MMV
Style:	Symphonic black metal
Release date:	November 11, 2005
A review by:	KwonVerge

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.