Spiritual Black Dimensions Review

Released: Mar 2, 1999
Genre: Symphonic Black Metal
Label: Nuclear Blast Records
Number Of Tracks: 10
Spiritual Black Dimensions is the fourth studio album by Norwegian melodic black metal band Dimmu Borgir.

Sound:	9
Lyrics:	9
Impression:	9.5
Overall rating:	9.2
Users rating:	10
Comments:	3

overall: 9.3

Featured review by: bigREDgrin, on february 12, 2009

Sound: I am Surprised that this CD hasn't been reviewed but by one other person. This album is often viewed as one of the lesser Dimmu albums because of the guitarist. Also the music is a lot faster and is not quite in like symphonic black metal that's imbibed in the other albums. Having said that; the album stands on it own right, the music is fast and powerful and that's all one can really ask out of a Black Metal album. I think of it more as a black thrash than symphonic black metal. Even though it doesn't stack up to Enthrone Darkness or Stormblast it's still a good album. // 8

Lyrics and Singing: My impression on the lyrics is how I feel about Shagrath's and Silenoz every time. I think that they are very good at writing and I always like the vocabulary that's used, as a writer myself I find it hard to use more complex grammar in a song. I always like the lyrics from the primal scream of infesting the dead in herds in Reptile to the menacing evil that Masses For The New Messiah can create. Plus Shagrath's has one of the most powerful voices I have found in Black metal both on the album and live along with the first showings of Vortex in the band especially on Insight and Catharsis which both sing together live. // 10

Impression: Like I said before it doesn't stack up to the other albums by them if one listened to this before the other CD's than I think it would still make a good impression; on the other hand I don't like it as much as the other CD's because the guitarist I think throws off the sound. Galder the guitarist now vibes really well when writing the music and orchestral sections that this guitarist couldn't create. My favorite songs are Reptile, Dreamside Dominions, Insight & Catharsis, Masses For The New Messiah. I love the different style the CD has but I hate that the Guitarist changed their sound so much. I would buy it again if I had the chance. // 10

overall: 9

Reviewed by: HardAttack, on january 30, 2009

Sound: Another great album from Dimmu Borgirs already impressive lineup, Spiritual Black Dimensions is an album I'm surprised hasn't been reviewed already. The guitar work on this album actually surprised me seeing that there are a large abundance of lead riffs and solos involving super-fast scales and sweeps, something Dimmu Borgir doesn't usually do on their albums. This is largely due to a different lead guitarist on the album. Although some Dimmu Borgir fans may not appreciate all the lead guitar work, I do. I find it both a welcome change of pace for them, and something I can appreciate as a fan of other metal bands that have fast lead guitar work. The album is a great combination of talents from the drums, to the keyboards, to the guitars, everything. It's a shame that during this era in Dimmu Borgir's history that there had to be a major lineup change for the band. The lead guitarist, keyboard player and drummer all had somewhat short lived stints with the band because of family obligations, other bands, and "incompatibility" in some cases. Chances are fans may never see another album quite like this one from Dimmu Borgir. // 10

Lyrics and Singing: While the lyrics may not necessarily be considered to be innovative by some fans, this album isn't all focused on darkness, hatred and anti-religious messages. Some of the lyrics also comment on the positive visions of religious beliefs, ascendancy after death, madness and even the potentially deceptive nature of women. Everything fits together with the music very nicely, and considering that this isn't a concept album, it's very well put together. Shagrath is at his best belting out the long screams, hitting his growls in just the right way while still being clear enough to hear (if you know the lyrics). // 8

Impression: If I could give this album a 9.5 I would. It's even better than some of their newer work, has a different and fresh style of guitar playing, great keyboards and chorus usage, a pinch of harmonic singing which accents the music perfectly, production is wonderful and the atmosphere of the whole album is great. There is no such thing as a perfect album, but this effort from Dimmu Borgir is as close as any band can get. A fresh, re-vamped guitar style while still keeping the traditional sound of the band to power it, and despite having favorite tracks, I find none of the tracks on the album to be flawed or stale, I'm just sad there are only 9 tracks on the album (10 on the Deluxe Edition). But then again, that only makes me want to hear more from them. Definite buy. // 9

Comments

[HereticHammer01]

This albums normally really ****ing underrated, which is annoying. However those reviews are good ones it is a real good album.

[Angel Of Sin]

Galder didnt even play on this album (thank ****) it was Astennu

[Angel Of Sin]

Galder has really lost quite a bit of dimmu's Reputation