Dimmu Borgir - Abrahadabra review
| Band: | Dimmu Borgir |
| Album: | Abrahadabra |
| Style: | Symphonic black metal |
| Release date: | September 24, 2010 |
| A review by: | Daniell |
01. Xibir
02. Born Treacherous
03. Gateways
04. Chess With The Abyss
05. Dimmu Borgir
06. Ritualist
07. The Demiurge Molecule
08. A Jewel Traced Through Coal
09. Renewal
10. Endings And Continuations
11. Gateways [Orchestral version] [Limited Edition/iTunes bonus]
12. The Demiurge Molecule [Orchestral version] [iTunes bonus]
13. Dimmu Borgir [Orchestral version] [bonus]
14. Perfect Strangers [Deep Purple cover] [Hot Topic bonus]
15. D.M.D.R. [GGFH cover] [Hot Topic bonus]
+ Gateways [video] [Digipak/Hot Topic bonus]
Dimmu Borgir sucks. Dimmu Borgir are sellouts. Dimmu Borgir have a stupid image and idiotic videos. Dimmu Borgir kick members out with no explanation. Dimmu Borgir is only about squeezing cash from stupid kids who are naive enough to buy their albums. They suck, they suck, they suck!
If you believe that any of the above statements are true, you may as well stop reading now. This review will not take into consideration anything other than music. In other words, if you expect a biased review aimed against one of the most popular extreme bands, you'll be better off helping your father cut the lawn or doing dishes for your mum, because you won't find what you're looking for here.
I don't know about you, but I got fooled by Shagrath and his cronies. When I listened to “Gateways,” the first single from Abrahadabra, I was appalled. It seemed strange, to say the least. You may easily guess that I wasn't exactly dying to hear Abrahadabra. I expected more songs like “Gateways,” but I didn't get any more. What I got was a solid piece of extreme music with an abundance of good arrangements and embellishments which make for a satisfying listen. Even “Gateways” grew on me, because it indeed is a good song.
From epic and lightning fast “Born Treacherous,” through incredibly catchy “Gateways,” till grandiose “Endings and Continuations,” this time Dimmu Borgir delivers. Their style hasn't changed that much, but their old ideas mixed with a few new things make for a very convincing whole. If you want good old blasting, go for the aforementioned “Born Treacherous” or “Ritualist.” If you are fond of orchestrations and epic scope of songs, listen to “Endings and Continuations” or “Chess With the Abyss.” If you're keen on slower tempos and some decent guitar solos, “Dimmu Borgir” and “Renewal” are for you. Yes, guitar solos, played with talent and knowledge, flawlessly blending into the songs. Variety is the spice of life they say. Variety is what you will find here. An occasional intro, bass interlude, female vocals, they're all cherries on top of this unexpectedly tasty cake.
I've always thought that the marriage of extreme metal with mainstream must end in tears. Thornography or Cold Lake prove me right, but Abrahadabra proves me wrong. While undoubtedly accessible and easy to digest, it simultaneously retains a necessary dose of aggression, speed and heaviness. In their own words:
Be the broken or the breaker
Be the giver or the undertaker
Unlock and open the door
Be the healer or the breaker
The keys are in your hands
Realize you are the source of all created
Of your own master plan
Dimmu Borgir might have gone astray on some of their recent albums, but now I'm sure they found their own master plan. The door is wide open, and the sky is the limit.
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 8 |
| Songwriting: | 8 |
| Originality: | 7 |
| Production: | 9 |
 | Written on 23.09.2010 by Writes overly honest and totally subjective reviews when fancy strikes him. Which is not often. Which is probably good, all things considered. |
Rating:
6.0
6.0
|
Rating: 6.0 |
If you like Abrahadabra by Dimmu Borgir you can make two great mistakes like I did. Let me warn you! The first thing is listening to classical music like Mozart or Haydn. It won't take more than a single stroke to realize that all the so-called great orchestrations are simply nothing in comparison to the dead composers. The second big fail is listening to real and raw black metal. To quote the famous snake, if you do something of that, "your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." This album is neither anything of black metal nor of classical compositions. Read more ›› |
Rating:
7.8
7.8
|
Rating: 7.8 |
Mustis has departed, and no ICS Vortex clean vocals for the first time since 1999. Can Dimmu Borgir escape from the massive attack of the fans this time? Traditionally, the album starts with an instrumental piece; however, except for some seconds, it is not appealing at all and far away from masterpieces like "Fear And Wonder", "Perfection Or Vanity" or even "Det Nye Riket". Read more ›› |
Comments page 3 / 5
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| Elyar S. Gud är Död Posts: 323  |
Written by [user id=42281] on 25.09.2010 at 01:55 Read ppl's comments! almost all of us plus reviewer have said that its a good album and the haters are hidden yet because of the first paragraph of the review lol.
---- Kiss my ass if you dont like me, I dont care.
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| RavenKing Posts: 1941  |
Written by [user id=42281] on 25.09.2010 at 01:55 This comment sounds to me somewhat like "It's metal, so it's good". Just because something is labeled as metal doesn't mean it's any good. I find it quite silly when people bring up the stupid argument of "if you don't like this, you're a pussy and go listen to Britney Spears". Totally irrelevant. Tons of metal music sucks ass.
---- They shake your hand and they smile and they buy you a drink They say we'll be your friends we'll stick with you till the end But everybody's only looking out for themselves And you say who can you trust I'll tell you nobody
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| RockeRoy Posts: 641  |
I like it very much, even think Gateways is cool.
---- You found god? If nobody claims him in thirty days, he's yours Walk with me in hell
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| RavenKing Posts: 1941 |
Written by [user id=42281] on 25.09.2010 at 02:37 Fine, then. I just have the feeling sometimes people tend to believe everything is good as long as it's metal. Sorry if I misunderstood your words.
---- They shake your hand and they smile and they buy you a drink They say we'll be your friends we'll stick with you till the end But everybody's only looking out for themselves And you say who can you trust I'll tell you nobody
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| marzepka87 Posts: 68 |
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| RavenKing Posts: 1941 |
Written by marzepka87 on 25.09.2010 at 03:41 Experimentation and quality are two totally different things. Some people seem to believe experimentation is always a good thing. They forget it often lead to the worst crap a band ever released. The shittiest albums are usually the result of failed experimentation.
---- They shake your hand and they smile and they buy you a drink They say we'll be your friends we'll stick with you till the end But everybody's only looking out for themselves And you say who can you trust I'll tell you nobody
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| kingeryck Posts: 169 |
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| Stuart MiseryKing Posts: 413  |
Written by RavenKing on 25.09.2010 at 03:51 Just look at St. Anger.
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| Stuart MiseryKing Posts: 413 |
Actually, the strange thing about this album. I have read it was supposed to be released on 24 sept in germany and 27 sept in the rest of europe. I bought a copy of this album in my local chain music store in London on 18 sept. I stuck it in my computer to load onto Itunes and cddb music data base didn't even recognise the disc. how bizarre.
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| Windrider Raureif Posts: 684  |
Good review, I'd just given it in all points even one point more, it's really better than I thought!
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| Elyar S. Gud är Död Posts: 323 |
Written by [user id=42281] on 25.09.2010 at 14:28 For me Death Magnetic is an absolute 10, at Sonisphere Istanbul they didnt play Broken, Beat and Scared and I can say that it made me feel sick, they didnt play even Harvester of Sorrow but really it didnt hurt me as they didnt play BBaS.
---- Kiss my ass if you dont like me, I dont care.
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| Baz Anderson Staff Posts: 13262  |
The album is ok, it has some nice parts - mostly towards the end. I liked the Ov Hell album more though.
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| RavenKing Posts: 1941 |
Written by [user id=42281] on 25.09.2010 at 14:28 "Nah, just look at everything after AJFA". (myself) *Here comes Marcel Hubregtse* "Nah, just look at everything after Master Of Puppets". lol
---- They shake your hand and they smile and they buy you a drink They say we'll be your friends we'll stick with you till the end But everybody's only looking out for themselves And you say who can you trust I'll tell you nobody
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| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Elite Posts: 40071  |
Written by RavenKing on 25.09.2010 at 17:22  I was actually just planning to type that. Thanks for sparing me the energy 
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996 
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| Elyar S. Gud är Död Posts: 323 |
Written by Baz Anderson on 25.09.2010 at 17:15 I wanted to try that album, it seems that its a valuable album if you say then.
---- Kiss my ass if you dont like me, I dont care.
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| Elyar S. Gud är Död Posts: 323 |
Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 25.09.2010 at 17:29 last week I saw that you said MoP sucks so lets be honest just 2 first albums 
---- Kiss my ass if you dont like me, I dont care.
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| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Elite Posts: 40071 |
Written by Elyar S. on 25.09.2010 at 19:04 I never said MoP sucks. I only stated that ride The Lightning is better.
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996
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| Elyar S. Gud är Död Posts: 323 |
Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 25.09.2010 at 19:19 same here. 
---- Kiss my ass if you dont like me, I dont care.
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| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Elite Posts: 40071 |
Written by [user id=29268] on 25.09.2010 at 21:07 Nope, we're talking about Metallica now it seems But you're right, we should get back on-topic.
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996
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| Elyar S. Gud är Död Posts: 323 |
Dimmutalle a new band from Italy maybe just because Marcel is in love with Italian bands I give this album a 7 in maximum, it means I wont listen to it maybe after a year but totally good.
---- Kiss my ass if you dont like me, I dont care.
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| Merchant of Doom Posts: 702  |
Now, I listened to this properly and - despite not being a big Dimmu fan... did I say this before - it is a very nicely structured and varied album, albeit fairly mainstream in production and songwriting.... but I do tend to like fairly extreme stuff and more doomy... lol
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| DaMaGe Posts: 4  |
A great album .... i think Shagrath proves that he can lead the band without Mustis and ICS Vortex
---- Born To Be Failure
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| moe5512 Posts: 502  |
I must say that i like shagraths "clean" vocals. sure it is not as high as vortex's vocals but more brutal. yeah thats right, i think this album is the most brutal dimmu album in many years
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| Slayer666 Posts: 2466  |
Of the entire review, I only agree with the first paragraph.  This is a lot better than the last few Dimmu's albums, but it's still mostly the same-old cheesy-as-fuck Dimmu that I'm quite impartial to.
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| Adus11 Posts: 15 |
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