Band:	Dimmu Borgir
Album:	In Sorte Diaboli
Style:	Symphonic black metal
Release date:	April 27, 2007
A review by:	Dream Taster

Disc I
01. The Serpentine Offering
02. The Chosen Legacy
03. The Conspiracy Unfolds
04. The Ancestral Fever [European bonus]
05. The Sacrilegious Scorn
06. The Fallen Arise
07. The Heretic Hammer [North American bonus]
08. The Sinister Awakening
09. The Fundamental Alienation
10. The Invaluable Darkness
11. The Foreshadowing Furnace
12. Black Metal [Venom cover] [Japanese bonus]

Disc II [DVD]
01. The Serpentine Offering [video]
02. Making Of The Album With Dimmu Borgir (Studio Report)
03. Making Of "The Serpentine Offering"
+ Photogallery

A Black Metal concept album? Yes, you read that right. Dimmu Borgir has once again found a way to stand out by taking an unconventional path. The Norwegian superstars are back with "In Sorte Diaboli", following mostly raw reviews on their re-release of "Stormblåst". Needless to say that their concept better stand the test if Dimmu Borgir wants to stay on top, seeing that their latest notable work was released in 2003. Remember "Death Cult Armageddon"?

First, I won't get into the details of the story behind the music. You probably already read all about it someplace else anyway. Some classic religion / dark side / priest story, as it could be expected. This concept won't score very high on the originality scale. On the other hand, the production is majestic - as usual - as it comes from internationally acclaimed producer Fredrik Nordström.

Musically, the biggest change on this album is obviously the return of Jan Axel von Blomberg better known as Hellhammer. The master is being the drum-kit, and if you can't notice, you better just give up on music altogether. Apart from that, the usual elements are in place, which is both a positive and negative thing. Positive because the quality is there but negative because I don't really hear any kind of evolution from "Death Cult Armageddon". The exact same recipe was applied here, to the level that I'm beginning to wonder if those songs were recorded recently or during some leftover of 2002/2003 sessions.

What upsets me most is that, frankly, the ethereal vocals of ICS Vortex are starting to smell like mildew. That's old stuff. I would love to hear Galder take a greater role on vocals. If you've ever heard Old Man's Child, you know he could bring something new and powerful to Dimmu Borgir tired vocal formula.

I also hate the whole 'bonus tracks' setting of this album. Basically, you could end up with only 9 out of 11 tracks recorded for "In Sorte Diaboli", which runs for a meager 42 minutes. This is probably one of the shortest concept albums I know of. I know Hellhammer is a fast drummer, but Dimmu Borgir is not playing Grindcore yet. Moreover, when I buy the album, I expect to get the full thing, not having to do some research in order to avoid being ripped off.

The report card is in. Great musicianship, solid album, incredible drumming, but man, I wish something special would completely separate the Dimmu Borgir of 2003 with the 2007 version. Clearly, "In Sorte Diaboli" won't change your view on the band as it scarcely separate itself from "Death Cult Armageddon". Still, it ends up being an interesting listen and will probably remain on 2007 list of Nuclear Blast bestsellers.