Recently we have written quite a bit about Dimmu Borgir, the band. It started out with a recently unearthed interview of Satyr from Satyricon, who disparages modern "black metal in name only" bands, on the grounds that they weren't there from the inception.
They weren't part of the Inner Circle in Norway, they didn't know Euronymous personally... in other words, they weren't there.
In the words of Satyr himself, what does a "12 year old from Germany" have to say about black metal? Why are outsiders allowed to dictate who is "true" and who isn't?
For some reason, this was taken personally by members of Dimmu Borgir... you can read Shagrath's tempered response here, where he mocks "haters" who don't sell as much as him.
The Two faces of Dimmu Borgir
This has brought me to think a little more about Dimmu Borgir as a band.
Yes, they are commercial. Yes, they are known to be controversial. They like being "edgy", sometimes just for the sake of being edgy... just read the 1995 interview, it was clearly meant to provoke.
Is Dimmu Borgir Really True Black Metal?
So yes, Dimmu Borgir has amassed quite a few haters over the years, particularly in the underground. People like Frost, Fenriz, Nocturno Culto, Ihsahn, Satyr and others are quick to disparage the band and call them "trendies" - a mortal insult in the black metal underground. Fighting words indeed.
But others have quite a different impression of Dimmu Borgir. As I mentioned in a previous post, they were - and still are - talented musicians. Just listen to "For All Tid". Could a poser band like Dark Funeral ever create something of such high quality? Don't make me laugh.
Dimmu Borgir has made good music!
Something else to note in favour of Dimmu Borgir: their association with talented musicians. Hellhammer was the drummer for over two decades. That's not someone you just "call over" to join your band. You're talking about one of the most, if not the most, talented drummer of his generation.
Other black metal musicians, who have known Shagrath personally - Dimmu Borgir's frontman, and most controversial member - have always spoken positively of him.
Heinrich of Warkvlt called him "the best of us all" (source).
Morgan of Marduk has praised Shagrath's style, albeit perhaps in a more tongue-in-cheek manner.
Samoth, the driving force behind Emperor, has placed him in his "top 5 favourite guys".
Abbath has praised both Shagrath and Silenoz when the two bands, Immortal and Dimmu Borgir, toured together.
And finally, Necrobutcher himself, a man who was in the black metal scene from day one - you could even say he had a large part in inventing black metal from scratch, alongside Varg Vikernes and Euronymous - said of Shagrath that he was "the hardest working man".
That's at least five top influential black metal artists spewing praise and admiration at Shagrath.
Could you find even a single one of them to say anything positive about Gorgoroth, or worse, Watain (even his countrymen hate him)? I don't think so. No one outside the media likes these bands.
A Conclusion on the "Black Sheep" of Dimmu Borgir
This post turned out a bit longer than it should have been, and I was indeed playing a bit of "devil's advocate". The web is so saturated with Dimmu Borgir hate, that people often fail to see "the other side" of the band.
That's why this post was titled the "two faces" of Dimmu Borgir. Not to imply that the band is "two faced", but rather to take a look at what people see - the character - and how black metal insiders (the artists who actually know Shagrath and Silenoz) actually perceive the band.
Maybe the "true black metal" is the friends we made along the way...
The difference is stark. So is Dimmu Borgir really a "black sheep" or a "true black metal band"? Perhaps the answer is "it depends". Dimmu Borgir is a band that prides itself on constantly evolving. Yes, not all evolution is good, but at the end of the day, Shagrath and company have shown that they don't like stagnation... they want to be constantly moving forward.
Personally, I hate their post-debut output. I think it is childish goth rock that cheapens the black metal genre. But you can't deny their talent. And seriously, Dimmu Borgir isn't any worse than your average bedroom DSBM band or your three note war metal acts.
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