Black Metal History Month- Into the Dark Castle -Dimmu Borgir's "Death Cult Armageddon"

 The band's 6th album actually hit the Billboard charts, which opened doors for the genre. Much to the chagrin of cvltists. This pushed black metal into more mainstream audiences and grew beyond the confines of the genre, earning disdain from purists, but here we are. I like the fact that there are industrial sounds creeping into things right from the opening track. The line-up from the previous returns, and there is a more tangible chemistry that plays into how everything flows so well, though Shagrath has a heavier hand in the songwriting. His vocals, being more articulated than those of your average black metal band, also aided them. 

Listening back to this album now yopu can hear how the melodic nature of ICS Vortex's bass playing is also a key factor. Despite Shagrath being a more consistent songwriter this time around, it is Mustis, who penned the biggest song on this album, "Progenies of the Great Apocalypse," that is driven by a catchy gallop. For black metal, it is one of the best vocal production mixes ever. Much of the criticism exists regarding the increased use of symphonic elements, which is misguided, as they are used in a manner that makes things catchier. "Lepers Among Us" is one of my favorite songs from the album, thanks to the hooky guitar groove. This offsets the blast beat to come. They prove you don't have to throw out the blast beats, just don't rely on them. 

There are a couple of songs like "Vredesbyrd' that check off the sonic boxes but do not grab me as strongly as other songs. "For the World to Dictate Our Death" has more purpose than the previous song, with the vocal carrying greater intent. "Blood Hunger Doctrine" collects creepy sounds and uses them wisely. While not offering symphonic grandiosity, 'Catacylsm Children" is one of the album's more dynamic songs. Thought the orchestra fires back up for "Eradication Instincts Defined". It is a song best played loudly that throws a great deal at your ears in the long and winding arrangement. 

Epic is a word that gets tossed around a great deal with metal, but the last couple of songs capture a cinematic quality that is deserving of that description. They even refine what they are doing here in a tighter manner on their next album,  but what happens here is stunning enough and impressive for a black metal band to achieve that. This album deserves a 10.