ÆTHERIC
As the title suggests, this track breathes the frigid, crepuscular firmament of Norway's icy, northern winds. Starting with what could be best described as the catchiest black 'n' roll riff not heard on Satyricon's '02 effort, Volcano, it then swaggers and vexes its simplicity into perhaps the album's most memorable choir-lead chorus with the chant "All is eternal… all eternal… rise and fall!" Silenoz, and his blackened cohorts, then deconstruct the bombastic nature of the song's chromatic mid-section, infusing it with an amoebic-like resonance which serves to pacify the song's transcendental euphony. "ÆTheric" is the first sign that Dimmu Borgir has, once again, found comfort in restraint.
COUNCIL OF WOLVES AND SNAKES
An interesting departure, albeit a wholly welcome one. Its spell-binding and eclectic mix of traditional Norwegian black metal—intertwined within a Nordic folk/tribal-like framework—will likely confound a good number of listeners, particularly those raised on the last couple of albums alone. More discerning, astute (rooted) listeners will certainly relate, as it shuns the paint-by-numbers approach we've (irresolutely) come to expect, delivering an eccentric-yet-refined song that bleeds ambiance and affection from both a contemporary and historical reference. This song, more than any other, makes incredible use of the sequenced Burzum-like keyboards peppered throughout the entirety of the album. The result—birthed from this contrast between minimalism and baroque—is an otherworldly and ethereal experience that perfectly captures the desolate-yet-beautiful hyperboreality of their homeland.
THE EMPYREAN PHOENIX
What starts out as a mist-enshrouded, clean-picked guitar interlude is quickly propelled—by a wrath-imbued percussive fill—into one of the blackest riffs heard on Eonian. This particular inquisition into the dark art of the ascending and descending tremolo saunters to a mesmeric, trance-inducing pace. In fact, the riff in question sounds so damn good, both fundamentally and sonically, that it beckons the question: who the hell produced this thing, anyway?
So, to preface, never before has a Dimmu Borgir album sounded so extraordinarly organic. This feat was achieved via the more-than-capable hands of one Jens Bogren over at Fascination Street Studios (Arch Enemy, At The Gates, Katatonia, Sepultura, Ihsahn, etc.). With Jens at the helm, Eonian does what no contemporary symphonic black metal album has done—rekindling the onomatopoeia that is the second wave of Norwegian black metal. I know, it sounds all too good to be true, let me explain. When you listen back to Enthrone Darkness Triumphant or Satyricon's Nemesis Divina, well, they sound just as they should, right? We wouldn't change a thing about these albums, would we? Yeah, you can argue that the latter was remastered, but for no good reason apart from celebrating its 20th anniversary. Anyway, that's beside the point. These listening experiences transcend the (seemingly) simple act of receiving sound waves into the tympanic membrane (eardrum). It really is impossible to even articulate. Yet, Jens has indeed articulated it through his arcane, wizard-like knob-twiddling. As a result, Eonian is a glacial-yet-temperate listening experience. It is akin to swimming through a lake of warm oil as a full-on Arctic blizzard rages around you. Cutting through this blinding winter tempest are the malevolent incantations of Shagrath – who delivers his strongest performance in recent memory.
"The Empyrean Phoenix" is a great example of the Jekyll & Hyde-like personality that exists within Dimmu – the constant battle between good and evil, darkness and light, black metal majesty and orchestral flamboyance. Of course, there are those who will always have a hard time wrapping their heads around the dichomoty in mood and atmosphere, which is often construed as awkward. Such is the ongoing struggle of contemporary Dimmu Borgir. To play devil's advocate, is it, in fact, awkward? Sometimes. Does that matter? Hell no. Revel in the inherent awkwardness that is Dimmu's impeccable brand of symphonic black metal. It is a beautiful thing that only a band of Dimmu's sophistication and experience truly gets right.
