For all tid

The early to mid 90's in Norway was an interesting time. Bands like Immortal and Darkthrone really nailed that abrasive, icy, bitter sound. Satyricon and Emperor captured that medieval, dungeon-reminiscent black metal theme. Varg was heading to prison but managed to release additional albums that could be seen as pioneers to ambient black metal. And then we have Dimmu Borgir, whose members didn't really seem to have any ties to any of that bands that made up what's considered that circle of black metal. But make no mistake, their debut album "For all tid", stands out today, 30 years later.

Years later, I still don't know how to classify "For all tid". It was very experimental for its time - I can't really call it black metal but it does have some elements. The production is foggy, which lends itself to that extra atmosphere and Silenoz's vocals are fairly average - your typical shrieking, but nothing really offensive nor do they stand out. They fit the overall music well, though.

Most of the tracks appear bleak at first, but the keyboards sometimes create an effect that portray some sort of serenity or at least depiction of being in a happier place through some pleasant dream. Compare the intro "Det nye riket" to "Glittertind". The former has a somber tone, clear production of the sound of the strings followed by even more somber spoken words and a melancholic piano passage. "Glittertind" on the other hand has a faster pace and more upbeat feel. The random shrieks add to this vibe even more. The "overperformed" clean vocals in "Over bleknede blåner til dommedag" have a sorrowful feel, but the synthesizers create a more blissful foundation to the overall tone of the music. It's an interesting juxtaposition and I wish Dimmu Borgir had more tracks like this.

One thing to call out is the presence of the bass, which is typically unheard in anything that remotely falls under the black metal umbrella. It's a nice touch to all tracks in which it's very audibly recognized and this effect speaks to the unique style Dimmu Borgir executed within "For all tid". All the tracks don't really have that "wall of sound" that obscures some of the instruments. Despite a weaker production for the most part, I feel every instrument is enunciated sufficiently. The more moderate tempo approach also helps in this case.

Speaking of production, it varies a lot by track. I already mentioned the first track is very clear, but the title track itself feels completely different. That guitar melody in the first two minutes is really something special. I think the weaker sound of the guitar (it almost sounds like a guitar that makes brass sounds, if you can imagine that) really emphasizes another sorrowful vibe. The effect reminds me a little bit of the older Burzum albums, which is something I never really put together until recently.

The best track might "Den gjemte sannhets hersker", which is the last one of the album. It's one of the faster tracks and the fuzzier production might make it challenging to pick out certain elements compared to previous tracks where I mentioned this was the case, but the gloomy atmosphere stays at the forefront of it all. In addition to that, the piano and lead guitar part yield a massive payoff to create something dark, but beautiful. In some ways, I'm kind of reminded of "Enthrone Darkness Tirumphant"'s final track "A Succubus in Rapture" as both end in the same melodic way. In hindsight, it does highlight how session-member at the time Stian Aarstad may not have been fully utilized here, but this is a small quibble.

Despite being only around 40 minutes, there's a lot here. I do think their sophomore album "Stormblåst" is a bit more refined and the best tracks there trump the best tracks on "For all tid", but the more I listened to "For all tid", the more I found and the more I appreciated. There's a lot more depth here than there appears to be. The album was just made in the right place at the right time. If someone were to make a similar album to "For all tid" 30 years later or even 15 years later, it would not have had the same impact. I like to view this album as an ancient piece of art that has stood the test of time, though it can't be replicated by anyone in the present day. Perhaps it was really an artifact from a different timeline or parallel universe. I can't think of who the target audience would be here. If you liked later Dimmu Borgir releases, this is so far removed from that era but those who outright hated Dimmu Borgir when they got more popular may still write it off. But if you have an open mind and the patience to listen to this, I think you'll appreciate the art that "For all tid" has to offer.

Debut albums in general are one thing, but it's a whole different level when we're talking about 90's black metal debut albums. That stuff is endearing, and can reveal high caliber potential... but it's generally a bit laughable with its imperfections. Bear in mind the guys in the band here were 18 or 19 at the time this came out. There's an obvious willingness to take music to an epic dimension and depict beauty and sorrow in a sometimes naturalistic momentum. The whole introductory track, for one, plunges the listener right into its heart-felt warmness of strings before the piano takes over, and the first contact ever with this band is already one of gothic sadness, with ambition.

The melodic work throughout is fine, as is customary with Norwegian black metal. Synth-choir notes at the back of guitar riffs, often employing the waltz triple time as the preferred rhythmic frame, conferring a traditional Scandinavian identity to the material, like a rocking dance to entice the listener; inviting and lively cadenced. This aspect sometimes borders on a practically child-like naivety: the 2min track 'Stien' sounds like fair music with black metal shrieks and backing guitars superimposed over it. The following 'Glittertind' shares that playful edge, too.

The aspects found in the aforementioned "laughable" column would be something like 'Track 3'. It's unsure whether the vocalist didn't have time to have a proper studio session and needed to catch a bus (to the local swimming pool, say) or if the entire team responsible for the recording were the single laziest group of human beings alive in the world at that particular moment, or simply, deaf. Always give the benefit of the doubt. It's one thing to use a guy that's never sung in his entire life on the mic; that can happen; but to record all of his first takes and keep them like that ? Now that's special. It's one of the rare instances of the vocalist singing straight up out of key on a studio grade release.

And that, everyone, brings us to the endearing part of these black metal horror shows. They're the exact same dream we all shared when we wielded our guitars to play some vaguely melodic or dark and heavy tunes, or when we brayed into microphones like donkeys or screamed like those actresses in B film slashers. You can't punish an album like this too harshly - it's not humane. We all see the limits and imperfections there, but it's got a decent aim at the same time and expresses something tangible and real. Speaking of which, 'Raabjørn speiler draugheimens skodde' is possibly the champion track here, doing the spirited/epic thing well and is arguably the most convincing manifestation of that soulful sorrow the band sought out on this and more broadly in those early, gothic-like albums.

I am doing "Nothing But Black Metal November" right now and this is the 70th release I've heard. I've loved Dimmu Borgir for a good 20 years or so now but have also always avoided this release for not liking it after first hearing it... and still, even considering that and also that I've heard a LOT of older demos and such with a clearly lower budget (which I quite enjoyed), this is BY FAR the worst of them all.

The mix and master is all over the place. Levels, timbres, nothing is constant. Sometimes vocals will be low while the synths are drowning everything else, then you get jumpscared by the vocals and the instrumentation changes levels completely - even within the same section. Some parts are also just poorly executed, as the clean vocals in "Over Bleknede Blaaner Til Dommedag". Not even some reverb for that guy, damn. I love him in the later releases, and I get the ambience they were going for - sounding flat wouldn't be an issue if it were properly mixed. But it is way above the rest of the already poorly-mixed instruments and there's no loudness control as it grows into his harsh vocals, breaking every possible ounce of atmosphere there was.

Their heart is in the good place, don't get me wrong; this would be a very good album if maybe some more care would have been given to its production. I know the entire process of recording and releasing an album back then was immeasurably harder than today, especially considering the variety of their compositions, number of members and possible hurdles. The title track, for example, is an incredible example of how much of a vanguard they were in their time, and is one of the better overall tracks in terms of production despite its variety of themes.

Unfortunately, that's not saying much. There's raw recordings such as Immortal's first demo tape where its poor recording just adds to its grim and frostbitten themes. Here, however, it just absolutely detracts from the experience. What I find most perplexing is how their previous "Inn i evighetens mørke" EP managed to sound a bit more consistent overall - I know it's just three tracks and could be considered of lower quality than this, but I enjoyed it much more than this.

I'm glad it received a remaster, but I truly hope some day they'll give it the same treatment as Stormblåst to truly see what their vision aimed at the time.

Dimmu Borgir (DB) is one of the pioneers of symphonic black metal, instantiating their career with For All Tid. Their riffs are regurgitated from second wave black metal bands like Mayhem and Darkthrone, the latter of which I enjoy on the regular. For All Tid's instantion of black metal riffs isn't particularly interesting, nor do they help any song stand out on this album compared to other black metal albums I've heard. Songs do not have a sense of tension and resolution to them. The riffs mindlessly move in different directions without a sense of relationship to each other. After a while, the tremolo riffs all start to blend in together, losing any memorabilty. Keyboard melodies do not offer dynamic shifts to songs. Each song conveys a stagnant slab of sound. While the instrumental track provides a sense of reprieve from the dreariness, the overall album feels amateurish and bored. The songwriters clearly have no idea of what they're doing. Because the album's quality is so poor, comparative to a demo, it should've been half as long.

Par the course for 90's black metal, the guitar tone and overall production is awful and nigh unlistenable. The bass guitar is inaudible. Lots of treble is expected for the genre, however, lack of clarity in the mix makes the music ear-piercing and headache inducing. The drums slice through the mix, which causes each track to sound like a tape recorder skipping. Due to the utter lack of sound design control, the album sounds thin, lifeless, and bland. While I find DB's execution in need of dire improvement, I give them props for trying out different configurations of black metal riffs, symphonic elements, folk melodies, and spoken word parts. However, I think they should've focused on writing more impactful riffs rather than providing needless variety of sub-mediocre parts.

Easily, the most enjoyable aspect of the album is the vocal performance (with the exception of the clean vocals on track 3). If I had to steel-man this album, I would describe this album as a moody soundtrack for a damaged soul shrieking into the cold, medieval abyss. The vocalist has a unique, nasally timbre which makes him sound like Voldemort if he had a (stuffy) nose. Another interesting tidbit are the Norwegian lyrics. They provide a sense of mystery to the listener. However, the real mystery is whether DB will improve on their sophomore album, Stormblast.

I’m not entirely sure of Dimmu Borgir’s significance in developing black metal as a genre, given that they formed in 1993 after much of the philosophical punch had been brewed, quaffed, and vomited by the arsonists and murderers. In any case, this debut album arrived in 1995, fairly hot on the tail of Emperor, who – lest we forget – were the most impressive of the early black metallers to incorporate keyboards into their sound. At times, For All Tid seems obviously influenced by Ihsahn and company, quite apparent when a song such as ‘Under Korpens Vinger’ mixes together sweeping synth lines, expansively rattling riffs, and a similar gnarled growl from Silenoz to that of Emperor’s In the Nightside Eclipse. However, there’s a lot more to this album than that, mixing up most of the contemporary black metal methodologies with an inkling of something new. If that sounds at all interesting, do yourself the favour of picking up the colourful Nuclear Blast reissue that makes the cover artwork my favourite from the entire second wave. Feast your eyes on that untouchable past.

Your ears may be able to pick up the same themes from Dimmu’s cacophony, although it won’t take many listens to comprehend the messiness and immaturity of some of the music. I feel it isn’t mentioned often enough how young a lot of the early black metal musicians were when making their first recordings, and the average age of 18 or 19 in the Dimmu camp may not have helped matters. Nor did the scattered duties of the band, which saw members swapping instruments and sharing roles, such as Tjodalv turning up on drums for one track, Shagrath handling three separate responsibilities, and Silenoz singing the bulk of the songs, which would change over to Shagrath by the time of Enthrone Darkness Triumphant. Factor in that Stian Aarstad was officially only a session member and the confusion of the music seems justified. Quite often what happens with the songs on For All Tid can be summarized in the same way as the line-up of Dimmu Borgir – they didn’t know how everything should fit together.

Since I’m listening to the remastered edition, I feel a little uncomfortable about how loosely the instruments gel on some tracks, quite obvious when the title track separates bass and keyboards entirely from guitars that are indecipherable with distortion. Heavy use of clean sections there saves the day, conjuring a melancholy and contemplative mood, yet other songs confuse all the more when juxtaposing the mystic clarity of the keys with supposedly attacking rhythm guitar, particularly as the guitar fails to provide a punch to any riffs, due in part to the dislocated bass, which is played quite sedately. Often that means that bandmembers are working against one another, as ‘Stien’ proves in an unnerving 2 minutes, the band blasting away at a grimmer version of their ordinarily relaxed black metal, then Aarsted popping up suddenly for a nostalgic folk melody every few bars. The idea didn’t really make sense in the first place, but added to the awkward mix and inane structuring (‘Stien’ almost exactly repeats the same movement 4 times and then just finishes) it comes close to an outright travesty.

Moments certainly come and go during For All Tid when Dimmu sound much more convincing. Though plagued by slightly irritating transitions, ‘Raabjørn Speiler Draugheimens Skodde’ approaches the majestic territory of Emperor, especially in the slower section towards the end where the simple riff has magnitude added by the keys and some atmospheric clean guitars, the vocal complementing the dark aura with a brief snarled verse. In fact, the slower sections that include more varied instrumentation come out more strongly than the black metal riffing, the band’s use of clean sounds building up some of the crippling antiquity hinted at by the cover art. The feeling hits me strongest during ‘Den Gjemte Sannhets Hersker’ and ‘Over Bleknede Blåner Til Dommedag’, the latter of which features a conspicuous guest role for Aldrahn (Thorns, DHG) warbling and narrating over lilting riffing that holds itself together notably well in the context. The grandiose vocals are joined by soaring violin synths and reach for the same goal as one another, until a pleasantly surprising burst of scorn ambushes the close of the song. Quite a trip, though unfortunately one of quite few places where Shagrath gets the blasting right, inserting a lot of messy stumbles and over-compensated cymbals elsewhere.

I don’t especially want to go into detail on upsets like the song with punk riffing or the unseemly length of ‘Det Nye Riket’ (for all intents and purposes, just a very long intro), partly because I would be repeating what other reviewers have said and partly because they constitute an element of this album’s charm. I’m very happy to grant that Dimmu Borgir made a few mistakes with For All Tid, not least in terms of songwriting and production, though we end up with a second wave album that feels quite different in tone to most others. Heaviness is not overly apparent, the non-metal additions prove satisfyingly atmospheric, and an unusual sense of defeatist struggle hangs over some of the best cuts. You shouldn’t have too many expectations about the norms of second wave black metal going into this, then For All Tid might begin to show its value.

Dimmu Borgir are an active symphonic black metal act from Norway. You know, it's almost like saying "noway", but "Norway"...if you say "Norway" really fast, it'll sound like "noway"! And well, I guess it's only fair to suggest that many people should have ran away from this album...really fast. Come on, let's face it...we're in 2019 now. Dimmu Borgir have never been a "great" band...even if they're black metal and from Norway. I don't comprehend why people always have to compare Cradle of Filth to Dimmu Borgir...all the time... A better match would be comparing Dimmu Borgir to Emperor...and Emperor would win every fucking time, who would argue that? They're from Norway and play the exact same genre, and were out around the same time as Dimmu Borgir...so...think about that for a bit.

Anyways, now it's time to make this an interesting week by sending off some unusual reviews. You know, I always wanted to listen and review this album. So now, I do get my chance! The vocalist sounds like he's literally vomiting into the microphone. Or Popeye the Sailor Man angry because he hasn't got any spinach, that could be it to, you know? The vocals are considerably caked in reverb, which happened to be a thing that bands did way, way back. I don't know why, but it does create a theme where it sounds like animals are howling in caves.

For this being black metal, just in general, I'm surprised how clean the audio is...normally black metal just sounds like it's being recorded in prison. It might not sound "grainy", but it does have the "muffled" sound...but "clean" muffling...if that makes sense to anyone? Also, the album's vocals aren't recorded in English, which is why it probably sounds funny to me. Sounds like something being spoken as if it came from Mars, the red planet, eh...eh?! The harmonies within the synths of keyboard-usage is probably this album's best feature. Because if they weren't added into the mixture, this shit would be more bland than it is already. Those provide some really in-depth feelings you can only get from a well-organized keyboardist.

The riffs of the guitars are quiet in the background, weren't recorded at a high volume. So, the guitars are even worse because of that. But from a certain standpoint, the guitars are played in the higher-pitch. As how a traditional black metal band would have done it back then. But the guitars could have been raised a few notches at least...like, come on...maybe this album would have did better if it was better-produced? Hell, even the bass sounds louder than the guitars. You can hear it climbing over the guitars with utter-ease. The drums sound like they've been recorded from a half-a-mile away. Really far away and almost unnoticeable. This whole record should have had its stems redone from scratch and put back together nicely, because it has a really weak, general atmosphere.

The only reason why anyone even listens to this album or Dimmu Borgir, just in general, is because they've become famous...not because they're good. Take it from me, they're almost-always pushing like...60%-averages on here for their full-length albums...that should tell you something. Must be nice to be shit at your job and bring home a paycheck after every sale and concert you perform. I don't care for the artwork of this release either, seems too "typical" and boring. In fact, the whole album's adventure is pretty forgettable. Funny how nobody even talks about early Dimmu Borgir, like ever...because they weren't even good when they started. Plus they made us wait eight years to release an album, that was another blunder anyways...so...time to retire... You guys have become something that Emperor feared of becoming "not-knowing-when-to-stop-making-music", which is basically word-for-word of a quote that I seen here on The Metal-Archives. You guys had your fun, took a break, came back, still failed...pack up 'n' leave, Dimmu Borgir.

Most black metal fans will consider Dimmu Borgir a taboo in the genre and will call you a poser for listening to them, for whatever reason. They usually are referring to their newer, more "sellout" albums that definitely appeal to a more wider audience. They forget to mention that this and their 2nd album "Stormblast", while completely different from other bands at the time, stayed pretty true to black metal. Sure there are heavy uses of keyboards throughout the album, but in here it is to add more depth to the ambiance, as opposed to being too symphonic to fall out of the category. Also, this album (as well as Stormblast) used "Erkekjetter Silenoz" as the lead vocalist for the album, instead of Shargrath. Shargrath instead played drums and did the backing vocals here, which will show you why the vocals sound quite different compared to their other albums.

The album starts off with long but VERY soothing and calming intro. It's instrumental aside from some spoken dialogue in Norwegian that basically translates to "we are evil and will take over everything". Then as it fades out, the first riff of the album comes in, and oh MAN is it good. As soon as it comes to an end, it repeats with another guitar to give a perfect harmony of both parts. Then the drums kick in and I have to admit this is easily one of the best introductions to any album I have heard. I could listen to it for days and never get tired of it. Every part is very well thought out and melodic and is just a treat to listen to. The third track (Over bleknede blåner til dommedag) has some clean operatic vocals that most people laugh at. I on the other hand, feel like there's a certain charm to them and I love them. You will know exactly what I'm talking about when you hear it. It's not the best, but it's definitely cool to hear something like that in black metal. Mayhem also did the same style operatic vocals in De Mysteriis, but I feel Silenoz did it better in here to be completely honest. The next few tracks are somewhat more of the same, but they are all REALLY GOOD. "Hunnerkongens sorgsvarte ferd over steppene" opens up with a really cool thrashy riff, that takes it back to some of the first wave bands, and then a keyboard comes in to give it more of an ambient effect. The next track is also pretty good, but the last track's intro is just beautiful. Oh my god. It has the keyboards come in with a very dark and gloomy melody, and then the guitars and drums kick in and its just absolute ear porn. The whole song is great, but that intro is something I will never be able to get over. I can't recommend the last track enough, listen to it asap. (Den gjemte sannhets hersker)

Every single instrument is very well done, I will never understand the criticisms of people that say this album is "mediocre" or "bad". This is one of the ONLY black metal albums where I can actually HEAR the bass properly. I don't even have to try to listen to it, I can hear it perfectly fine. The vocals are far better in my opinion than their more mainstream albums. There is something more aggressive and dark about Silenoz's vocals than Shargrath's, and the clean operatic vocals add more variety to them. Shargrath's drumming is great and very well varied as opposed to the typical blast beats that most other bands at the time were doing. The guitars are extremely melodic (just the way I like it!) and both guitars have a harmony that mixes the parts together perfectly. You need both guitars to be able to capture the sound this album brings. You also need the keyboard to be able to capture the feeling that it brings. The combination of both guitars and the keyboard (being used when it needs to be used) make this album have a perfect blend of melodic and symphonic black metal.

To say this album is atmospheric as hell (no pun intended) is a total understatement. You can stare at the GORGEOUS cover painting the entire time you listen to this album, and from start to finish, you will feel like you're a part of that painting. Like you're in the perspective of that hooded guy on the horse, just ready to enter the castle. On top of that, the album has this really unique dreamlike ambiance to it. It's just perfect for listening to in your sleep. I love putting this baby in my CD player before I crash, and I always sleep perfectly when I do.

My ONLY complaint with this album is that it feels like it's missing something. I'm not sure what it is. Maybe it feels too short? I'm not sure. There is something I feel that could have been done to make this album even better than it already is, so I couldn't exactly give it a perfect rating. But to me, it's by far the best album Dimmu has ever (and probably will ever) release. Though it couldn't surpass other symphonic black metal albums like Moon In The Scorpio, or In The Nightshade Eclipse, I hold it to my heart as one of my all-time favorite albums.

Standout tracks: I honestly think that this album should be listened to by anyone from start to finish. But if you want to get a quick taste of what this album has to offer, then I recommend listening to: "Under Korpens Vinger", "Over Bleknede Blåner Til Dommedag" (the one with the operatic vocals), "For All Tid". "Hunnerkongens Sorgsvarte Ferd Over Steppene", and ESPECIALLY "Den Gjemte Sannhets Hersker". You won't regret it!

I get that Dimmu Borgir is somewhat of a taboo within the black metal scene, and is viewed as the worst band ever, however give credit where credit is due. I'd personally argue that ''For All Tid'' is a horribly underrated album, and to not let any bias get in the way of enjoying a great black metal album.

There is a very clear influence from Emperor (and perhaps Gehenna's ''First Spell'' as well), and that is certainly not a bad thing. Though they take a lot of inspiration, they transfer it into something different, and though I see resemblance, it does in no way feel like a rip off. The combination of synth and heavily distorted guitars creates a brilliant and epic atmosphere, and the Lord of the Rings vibe is very strong. If I were to summarise the sound in just one simple sentence, I would say that it sounds like Lord of the Rings (and as a big LOTR fan, I'd argue that it is a very good thing). Whenever I listen to ''For All Tid'', I imagine the Nazgül riding their horses through the dark night in a melancholic and somber eternity. Many claim that Summoning is the go-to band for LOTR inspired BM, however I'd say that I strongly prefer this album over any summoning album.

The guitars and the synth play a somewhat equal role, as they both are predominant in the mix. All songs follow a medium-fast pace, and both tremolo picking, chords and let ring are present in the guitars. There's also use of acoustic guitars, which adds a lot to the overall atmosphere. The synth makes the album sound epic, and it adds to the atmosphere as well. There are a lot of progression in most songs, as there are a magnitude of riffs in each song. The transitions don't feel out of place for the most parts, however there are instances where changes seem a bit forced, which can break the atmosphere.

The vocals are actually quite good, both the clean and the shrieks. Though the clean vocals sound somewhat amatour-like, there's a certain charm to the imperfections in them. The growling vocals also have the same characteristics, they feel more honest and imperfect, which gives the album some character.

Overall, I'd say that ''For All Tid'' is a great black metal album, and would definitely recommend it to anyone new to the genre.

In general, Dimmu Borgir is a divisive entity. As well as receiving praise for their symphonic take on black metal, they've earned scorn in several circles (generally those of a more purist persuasion) for going against the genre's ethos; a band with the intent of making relatively accessible and polished metal draped with superficial black metal influence. However, these same individuals will routinely point to For All Tid and its successor Stormblåst as being the definitive Dimmu Borgir albums. Frankly I don't see it this way at all - as shallow and safe their later albums are, they are least competently executed, polished and well-crafted, which is more than can be said of their first two albums. This in particular easily stands as the worst Dimmu Borgir album, and while it isn't an abomination it certainly isn't worthy of its classic status. It has its moments but it almost seems as if the band stumbled upon these good ideas by chance given the general sloppiness and poor musical execution displayed on this album. It reeks of inexperience and overshooting one's mark.

The production on this album is very poor - though lo-fi production is a common trope of the genre, there's a certain degree of intelligence to giving an album raw production. If we look at say, Transilvanian Hunger, that album sounds as though the songs were written and performed specifically so the production can add to and complement the album's atmosphere, with everything being drenched in static as to make the drums, vocals and riffs sound otherworldly and cryptic. The issue here is that like a lot of amateur black metal musicians, Dimmu Borgir made a serious blunder regarding the sound: the mistaking of a bad sound for a raw one. The guitars are overly thin and gunky, sounding sterile and vague all at once, as well as being too quiet. The drums are inconsequential in the mix, being a thin hissing click that blends into the background. The keyboards sound cheap, like a bad '90s video game soundtrack. The bass and vocals are both too loud, with both obscuring the riffs with the continuous plugging of the former and the all-consuming reverb of the latter. As a result of this the album comes across as dated, unlike the timeless classics this band's fellow countrymen were churning out around this time.

The band plays a friendlier and softer take on the black metal sound, with highly melodic riffs that don't carry a lot of aggression and a notable keyboard presence that serve to sweeten up the package. However, despite this being an album built around guitar melodies few of them tend to be memorable, much to the detriment of the album. Partially this is because of the aforementioned obscuring of the riffs by the surrounding instruments but mainly this is down to them simply not being that well written or captivating. The same can be said of the keyboards, which are sadly underused on this album, despite being present throughout. They too play largely forgettable and uninteresting lines; which isn't helped by the fact that they are simply an undercurrent to the rest of the music, one which can be ignored most of the time. The vocals are serviceable croaky black metal rasps, even if as stated they are mixed too loudly. The drumming however is simply awful, being uncertain and out of time. The drummer simply cannot blast for any given length of time, and completely wrecks any consistency this band might have achieved in a song.

The atmosphere on this album is an odd one; there's a very distant and melancholic feel to some of the keyboard lines and melodies, particularly those in the title track or 'Under korpens vinger', which are the only songs which consistently retain a mood. The rest of the music, despite being fairly overwrought in aesthetic, evokes no real mood at all due to little meaningful use of the keyboards and not playing much worthwhile content to begin with. It is therefore no surprise to find that these two are the best songs on the album, along with the 5 minute intro 'Det Nye Riket' with its simple yet effective piano lines and sombre and low spoken word passages. 'Glittertind' is another clear highlight due to both its quality and it being an instrumental, as it can therefore escape the overly loud mood-wrecking vocal performance. It should be stated however that these are highlights relative to the rest of the album, and aren't in any way standouts in the pantheon of black metal or this band's own discography.

The real area where this album falls is the frankly nonsensical structuring and pacing of the songs. All of the songs on this album, even its standouts, seemingly meander about for the majority of their duration. The band generally shoehorn in a lot of differing passages at once, from the keys to rapid, blasting passages to bizarrely bouncing punk riffs and dissonant, traditional black metal riffs which don't mix with the keys or the mood of the album at all - there are even synthesised flutes and other such effects that sound comical and ruin any atmosphere the music might otherwise have. Despite throwing several ideas into every song the band simply lack the expertise and vision to execute any of them with a particular level of finesse or compose any structured songs out of them. The performances feel uncertain and haphazard, as do the transitions from one passage to another. Songs never really reach a satisfying conclusion or resolve in any meaningful way and tend towards being two-dimensional, with no real intense or climactic passages to speak of. The band never gets their act together outside of a few solid songs, which are still marred by most of the aforementioned flaws.

The main arguments for this album appear to be derived from metaphors and aesthetics rather than any sort of meaningful musical elements. The songs wander about like someone who's lost - but any sort of memorability and meaning to the majority of the material is lost due to the arcane structuring of the songs. The production may be hazy but it also sounds terrible and actually works against the mood in a lot of cases with its easily obscured guitars and poor mix. There's almost nothing in the way of musical texture due to the overly sparse and underused keys as well as the forgettable riffing and the all too vague guitar tone. The wonky performances, particularly the drumming, leave the listener feeling as confused and uncertain of the album as the band obviously was while performing. It is clear that a lot of the more lacklustre material here could have been fairly solid songs had they been written by competent musicians (and similarly the decent songs here could have been made great) but any quality is simply lost in translation here. There's better wandering and melodic black metal out there; don't waste your time with this.

I confess: sometimes I hate Markus Staiger, the boss of Nuclear Blast, because he is giving a platform for a lot of commercial, soulless or pompous bands that have nothing to do with my understanding of metal. But I must also say that I admire his capability to see the potential of talented newcomers instinctively. From my point of view, "For all tid" does not show many signs which indicate the later development of Dimmu Borgir - and the same goes for "Stormblåst", at least to a certain extent. Anyway, the further career of the band is well known.

"For all tid" is stuffed with melancholic, woeful and rather slow-moving black metal. Fairly orchestral background choirs emphasize the sluggish appearance of songs. In rare cases, clear (guest) vocals want to add an heroic touch, for example during the third track. But this intention is doomed to failure, because the here presented whining sounds gruesome, completely dissonant and unbearable. Anyway, despite such flaws, Dimmu's debut cannot be blamed for being a totally lousy work. I admit that the band appears a little bit like the lame brothers of early Gehenna. The atmosphere of "First Spell" is almost omnipresent on "For all tid" and the dominant role of the keyboards does not make my heart beat faster. Nevertheless, Dimmu Borgir offer an authentic album and there is no doubting the sincerity and integrity of the band members, at least at this early stage of their career.

The songwriter have a fine instinct for effective melodies and this feature is an advantage of the album. In their best moments, the songs create an aura which matches the cover artwork. A soft wind of desperation blows through the speakers and the full-length mirrors the early spirit of the second wave of black metal, although it is "only" the rather melodic niche of this movement. Compositions like "Hunnerkongens sorgsvarte ferd over steppene" or "Raabjørn speiler draugheimens skodde" achieve a more than solid level. They are equipped with fairly sophisticated structures, do not lack of diversity and possess a certain currishness. But sadly, too many tracks are too harmless to leave an impact. As indicated above, the keyboards have too much room. For example, the restrained opener, which is free from electric guitars, does not kick off the album in a promising manner. The overall impression gets better as the guitars set in, nevertheless, raw and relentless attacks do not show up. Especially the title track fails to offer a suitable degree of heaviness and power. The same goes for the production. Neither the guitars nor the drums impress with a punchy sound.

After considering all the advantages and disadvantages, "For all tid" is a very mediocre work. The bonus songs "Inn i evighetens mørke (Part I and II)" are acceptable, but they cannot increase the quality level of the album in a significant manner. I still wonder how Staiger was able to identify the commercial potential of Dimmu Borgir.

Who actually listens to it? The band doesn't - in 2011, Shagrath pointed out diplomatically that it would have been difficult to play it if the polls made before the whole EDT nostalgia, so there are at least a few fans who want this album to be heard at concert. Of course, who would want to see the current vocalist struggling behind the kit, without hoping he would pull it off somehow?! Because here, he really didn't!

I have a problem starting this review due to the presence of so many issues that plague this album - be it the drumming, the musicianship or even its existence. In 1994, Fimbulwinter just ended its existence (or was about to, if we take into account the compositional period), Old Man's Child had barely managed to release a demo after many years and one has to wonder what the hell had happened in Shagrath et co. minds when they decided to switch instruments???? Tjodalv was a tight player even then, if somewhat sloppy and forgetting in a live setting and its percussionist predecessor from Dimmu was a competent and active guitarist of a more than decent band. Here, the drums are almost improvised, much like the riffs, and everything sounds like a compilation of ideas thrown in so as to move on with the real "album" to be released. Remember that Stormblast was in the process of making since august 1993!

Now, if we can deal with the obviously immature and damaging decision made by the band, let's see what kind of mess we have to tolerate. The first half of the album has an instrumental track with the future Stormblast line-up and it's as tight as it needs to be, the opener it's an atmospheric bit, with only spoken passages and a piano, while the remainder are an attempt at black metal (Under Korpens Vinger), a terrible clean vocals dominated track (Over Blackende...) and a short fast paced blaster (Stien), somewhat similar to Avmaktslave. Five tracks, five styles, two drummers and three vocalists, with the same number of guitarists?! Talk about coherence! Silenoz can barely scream at this point, letting Vicotnik do it, Aldrahn tries to sing but sounds awful (I read that this take was the least offensive one), Shagrath's best instrumental skills are on the instrumental (track five - the best one yet), where he plays the fucking guitar, and the exact same goes for Tjodalv, who is clearly more competent on the skins.

If you haven't given up yet, than the second half would somewhat reward you, underlining that not everything is shit. In fact, the title track it's quite relaxing, if not a little frustrating to listen, due to the out of place vocal style. Seriously, who thought that Silenoz was the better vocalist, should shoot himself! His almost whispering vocals suck! Of course, they are good in some moments, in some tracks, but fuck, they are undeveloped and brainless! At least Shagrath has an idea of where to change the styles... The remaining tracks are more diverse riff wise, but plagued by the same problems.

Also, by the time of the title track, Tjodalv's guitar playing gets boring as hell, with the clean passages being more frequent. Things will not change to much by the album's end, and Silenoz didn't do much either on the compositional level. There are too many power chords, repetitive directionless tremolo riffs, and folk influences that don't do much for the album's identity. Only the idea of the band's decision to re-record some tracks and play those versions live AND only IF they want to, gives an impression of shame that this album even exists, and their sub-mediocrity was so obvious it must burn their egos.

The only issue I haven't reached by now is the keyboards. Stian Aarstad is so overrated, since everybody thinks that if he plays some notes, it must mean he actually composed them. Now, there are liner notes, and the thing is, he barely composed anything during his stint with the Borgir clan. Even so, the compositions are simple, repetitive, good for the atmosphere, and redeem the album somewhat. The only member who plays the most decent parts didn't write shit...

In the end, what remains after this listening experience? I rarely give it a chance, and it's only during my phase of crappy and inoffensive music, with only a hint of aggression. Some tracks are best in their re-recorded form (tracks 7&8), while the instrumental is still one of the best, since it's played by the more natural line-up, the Stormblast one, giving us a taste of what's to come. Because this album's purpose seems to be just that - the album before Stormblast...

As years go by, I find it harder and harder to reconcile Dimmu Borgir's level of legitimacy within the greater black metal scene construct. Before they exploded around '97 or so they were just sorta there, also-ran wallflowers keen on making enough noise to be noticed amidst the fawning for the greater and more important bands, very "little brother seeking approval from his elder siblings" in approach. The whole bulk of the act and their antics back then reeked not so much of "poseur" as "wannabe", as kids are wont to (they WERE kids when the band was formed, of course); black metal was dark, mysterious, and big in their neck of the woods, and all they wanted was to take the field as well. Of course, post-explosion that very same belief comes into play as their rise to worldwide stardom (within reason...) came at the price of whatever stylistic dignity they had left, but that's all been well chronicled at this point. But if you ask me, their level of genuineness was suspect even during their earliest of days, and even in spite of that I gave their debut album "For all tid" a run for its (and my) money. And let me tell you, it ain't good. Or real, for that matter...

This isn't by any means a well-performed album at all. This is about as sloppy and unkempt as Dimmu's EVER sounded, coming off less as a cohesive album and more like a professionally recorded rehearsal tape, a smattering of ideas and concepts they'd been toying with. The fact that something this demo-like was a signed and released legit full length in the first place is cause for concern as is, and as a result of that and the iffy level of playing much of the musical output is hard to take in and appreciate. It really does feel like the band was just winging it during the production process with no sense of heart or soul during their escapades; just hit record, let's do this and be done with it. Maybe if they put a little more effort into sounding like a real band with real aspirations versus some guys with instruments making an album this wouldn't be as bad as it comes off as. Then again, maybe not...

As well, the songwriting itself was already showing the problematic limitations Dimmu's been unfortunately bogged down with, namely the middle-of-the-road pacing, the replacing of bitter anger and rage black metal teems with with that odd sense of sorrow and remorse this, "Stormblast" and portions of "Enthrone..." would contain and, worst of all, the insistent repeating of riffs and ideas with no realistic sense of building progression. But then again, it really seems hard to soak up the atmospherics the band made their bread and butter even back then with such a significant lack of real keyboard lines. Now I'm not gonna say that Mr. Stian Aarstad is a veritable Chopin on his electric ivories, but you'd think a dude with synths as grandiose as his appeared to be would do more than simply bash single notes or double-octive chords in accordance to the guitar riffs, especially since we get a literal face-load of his skills during "Det nye riket". It definitely feels very out-of-character for what the band would strive for in the years to come. Truly, if folks out there getting into Dimmu with their later outputs (like, say, "Spiritual Black Dimensions") gave this doozy a spin many a confounded head would be scratched. .

One could point to the weak songwriting and disengaged performance as to the biggest factors of this album's ultimate failure, but I'd like to think that the actual line-up itself played a pretty significant part. As we all know, this was the album in which the line-up was kinda mixed around, with Silenoz taking lead vocals (and doing some WEIRD voices all throughout) and Tjodalv on guitar, but most glaring of all is future front-dude Shagrath tackling the drumwork, to which I question such a motive and action; I know the dude comes off as a multi-instrumentalist, but up against the more talented likes of Ihsahn and Abbath his skills on said instruments are elementary at best, be it guitar, keys or, worst of all, drums. For his one-time appearance behind the kit Shaggers was a horrifically shitty drummer, barely able to keep a beat let alone unleash the blasting the heavier sections required, and the rest of the group suffered for it. Every once in a which a sudden increase or decrease in speed would result in everyone working on the fly to keep it all together (the cringe-inducing clean yowling section at the start of "Over bleknede blaner til dommedag" is the best example of this. Give it a listen and prove me wrong.). Under-rehearsed, underwritten, just plain UNDER in just about every aspect. Thus is this album's biggest sin.

But in the end this just doesn't feel like a true and blue black metal album so much as a grainy photocopy of a style made to fit in and look cool. It has all the prerequisites and expectations of what a black metal band/album is supposed to have and shoot for, but there's no heart, no soul, no nothing that made them stand out in the crowd. I found more legitimacy with the likes of Ancient than Dimmu Borgir, even at their worst. Partake only if you're a sucker for gallows humor.

Dimmu Borgir, one of the most polarizing bands within the extreme metal community, loved by some due to their bombastic, magnanimous orchestral arrangements and hated by others due to the atrocious dilution of the black metal spirit and ethos.

Whether you hate or love the band, if you're into black metal then you have undoubtedly heard many so-called black metallers praise this album as Dimmu's best while bashing their newer outputs, mentioning For All Tid as an album worthy of being called "black metal" however, Dimmu Borgir's very first effort suffers greatly from a severe lack of inspiration and direction.

The very first song in this album "Det Nye Riket" is a keyboard-only musical piece that works as an "intro" of sorts, which feels out of place and perhaps too melancholic considering the lyrics, which basically speak about a new kingdom in which Satan is the ruler, even then this small piece sounds gloomy and manages to demonstrate Aarstad's talent with a keyboard. Right after the intro starts "Under Korpens Vinger" which is to me, one of the very few redeemable songs in this album, featuring a very simple and fast tremolo riff for a few seconds before the drums join in together with the rhythm guitars, the combination sounds aggressive and energetic enough to catch your attention, only to be interrupted by a slower keyboard interlude which also sounds annoyingly out of place, however as the song goes on the keyboard takes on a more fitting sound and the music returns to a mid-paced tempo.

Perhaps one of the most damaging flaws in For All Tid is the absolute overuse of synths and keyboards, which drown out the riffs for most of the album; they also sound WAY out of place, too busy trying to generate an atmosphere and failing at doing so. In fact, it seems like the keyboards are actually driving the music, not going with it, which is the worst mistake a black metal band can make; the synths are so loud that the few riffs in this album become nothing but background noise.

Vocally, you can't get more generic than this, you have your typical average black metal grunts and shrieks, merely enough to do the job, there is also a horrid attempt at clean singing during "Over bleknede blåner til dommedag" by Aldrahn, this song is terribly cringe worthy and I cannot understand how this massive failure was included on this album. The vocals are also too high on the mix at times.

The musicianship here is sloppy at best but not in a good way, this album feels terribly inconsistent and it almost seems like the guys at Dimmu Borgir weren't completely sure of what they wanted to do and what they had in mind. Perhaps they felt the urge to write some music and join the growing trend of black metal in Norway, which would explain why this album feels so plain and devoid of any real emotional depth. The guitars sound weak and thin, the drums sound dull and Shagrath is or was an unskilled drummer, even for black metal standards.

For All Tid is a bad album, there are a few worthwhile moments in "Under Korpens Vinger" "Det Nye Riket" and the title track but in general the album feels uninspired and insipid. Dimmu Borgir went into the studio with no solid idea of what they wanted to do and thus failed, and unfortunately 3 songs aren't enough to save an album, specially when one of those songs isn't even metal to begin with.

"Atmosphere" is certainly an abstruse term. It is both broad and vague, with the freedom to be interpreted and deployed across a wide swath of topics and arguments. It holds a particularly special meaning in the case of Dimmu Borgir's first two records: For all tid and Stormblåst. Both are amateurish at best, but have a vocal contingent of individuals who often misconstrue obscure convolution for dour atmosphere rich in aural allure. In short, it is used as an excuse for the mushy, bumbling performances and hazy sound.

Stormblåst gets more of a pass due to the band finally utilizing Aarstad to his full potential, slathering the proceedings in layer upon layer of romantic piano textures. Dimmu Borgir also improved a lot as musicians in the two years between said sophomore release and the enigmatic For all tid. There is no excuse for the sloppy performances here, which should in no way be given a pass under the inveigling shroud of early black metal informality. In fact, a release date of 1994 precludes the association of For all tid with anything other than the oft-abhorred second wave. Despite revisionist claims by Shagrath, his merry group of misanthropes were indeed late to the party.

If For all tid can be called anything, it is certainly eclectic. The band attempts a multitude of styles here, more often than not finding themselves churning out optimistic synth melodies alongside a nebulous mass of aural gunk that was at one point considered a guitar tone. Aarstad has a sizable presence here, but his understated melodies don't necessarily come off as dank or particularly opaque. They sound too upbeat, and it mixes with the dissonant riffing about as well as oil and water. "Stien" is a great example of this, featuring a lethargic but passable riff set and velocity. Despite being a rush job two-minute number, the band feels the need to shoehorn in a cornball flute melody that sounds straight out of Runescape's archaic MIDI soundtrack and neuters the sinister atmosphere in short order.

I suppose that Silenoz's seething swells of distortion manage to squeeze out of For all tid while taking the least amount of damage, but the performance is still obfuscated and diffident in it's delivery. A simple glance at the liner notes proves how thinly the band had to stretch themselves in order to pull the entire performance off. Three members including Tjodalv contributed guitars, and Shagrath is responsible for most of the percussion. Nearly every track is a new exercise in eccentricity and incomprehensible songwriting. Aldrahn's operatic warbling on "Over bleknede blåner til dommedag" is deep and overacted, akin to early Limbonic Art material. There are also a number of spoken-word passages that seem tacked on and wholly unwelcome next to Aarstad's esoteric synths and the surging drums. In fact, Shagrath is the biggest offender of all, barely holding the percussive foundation together. His attempts at blasting are laughable, and there are a number of off-time ride cymbal hits that are both glaring and obvious.

Dimmu Borgir pulls it together on select occasions, notably during the intro, "Glittertind", and the title track. The latter two rumble by at a decent pace and "Glittertind" is mercifully an instrumental piece, save for a few protracted croaks that occasionally feel the need to surface. The opener "Det nye riket" serves as a precursor to Aarstad's grand performance on Stormblåst, with classical piano lines and anachronistic string sections delivering the bulk of the appeal. The clean tones that pockmark the title track are delivered with conviction, and the lead melody during the first minute or so evokes a great somber atmosphere. In fact, this is easily the best song here behind "Raabjørn speiler draugheimens skodde", featuring a slow-enough tempo to not test the lackluster musicianship of the band members. The best track is the aforementioned "Raabjørn speiler draugheimens skodde", which while inferior to it's later incarnation, manages to sound both arcane and heavy enough when it wants to be.

While there would normally be little reason to critique the production values, I can't necessarily give Dimmu Borgir a free pass in this regard, since the outmoded sonic aesthetics of For all tid were intentionally muddied in an attempt to associate it with the earlier Norwegian scene. Silenoz's roars are overwhelming and truly take over when they appear, swallowing up the rest of the band in the process. Tristan's bass is chunky and upfront, oftentimes damaging the lasting power off the riffs as it plugs away in the foreground. The presence of the guitars appears to ebb and flow from track to track, with nothing even approaching consistency in aural delivery. The cleaner tones are drenched in reverb as a stylistic decision, and this can perhaps be considered the one experiment that truly works to the band's favor.

Dimmu Borgir was simply not a cohesive-enough band at the point of For all tid's release, barely managing to pull it together and in the end delivering a laughable excuse at antediluvian symphonic black metal. While I can hardly call Stormblåst a success either, it at the very least showcases a crunchy riff set alongside Aarstad's twinkling piano lines. The same can't necessarily be said regarding For all tid, which will for all time serve as a point of contention between both fans and dissenters of the band.

In the feverish passion of the romantic spirit, Dimmu Borgir capitalize on the core beauty of black metal by emphasizing its melodic and atmospheric qualities, with progressions dictated by the flow of the music’s melodies, presenting an idealistic form of poetically evocative black metal. Portraying epic splendor in vivid atmospheric imagery of grand mountains surrounding gothic castles beyond vast forestlands, Dimmu Borgir use keyboards with as much significance to the music as guitars to illuminate the music’s expression of beauty, which, along with piano and guitar melodies, harmonizes the contrast of violent rhythm and evil vocals through the resolution awarded by descriptive, story-tale composition.

This composition as being the definition of metal songwriting is here indulged with an elegiac depth which manifests the grandeur and adventure of living in the awareness and acceptance of inevitable death, with frequent dramatic transitions in rhythm marked by an isolated riff or keyboard passage, guiding the listener into another scene of existence in which the range of possibility is indefinable, yet intuited in the understanding of the nature of universal forces.

Though structure is often complex in the style of progressive rock sectioning merged with classical sequence of dramatic events, riff patterns are a basic black metal stream of ambiguous flowing rhythmic melody, with varying degrees of extension based on the requirements of the particular thematic representation, with occasional clean tones and acoustic guitars used to provide depth in resonant tone. Reflective of this idea is the phrasing of vocals, which are mostly the shrill shriek or trollish croak of black metal, with dramatic narrative and heroically melancholic singing added for expressive diversity to accommodate the musical theatre, each style arranged to both add communicative urgency to rhythm and to enhance the music’s atmospheric mood with tormented human emotion in the act of transcendence into the universal.

The rhythmic movement of this music is fluid while maintaining a peculiar equilibrium of roughness and graceful motion, with adequate drumming directing tempo with a slightly understated presence in the music, particularly during faster passages, and a prominent bass guitar adding undertones of melodic bass lines, especially effective during slower sections where these lines are easily discernible between drum beats and in the spaces between riff phrases. Though the production is raw and unbalanced in favor of guitars and keyboards, the music’s presence is vivid and far-reaching, with just enough rhythmic force to keep the sound from drifting astray into the netherworlds of pure ambiance. Affection for folkloric significance to modern existence and the imagination awakened through ancient legend inspires the lyrical direction, translated musically with the appeal to dramatic experience in the form of unexpected alterations in mood and development, in the interest of creating a soundworld defined by the inflamed passion of the spectrum of melancholic and violent dark emotion. This dramatic quality elevates the music beyond its creative impulse into a stimulus for full, unrestrained living in the face of artificially constructed consequences; the music wants the listener to become overwhelmed with the inspiration to feel life deeply and painfully through actions that intensify the reality of existence in the heart of the individual.

Flowing through these songs are romantic riffs and folk melodies generated by guitars and keyboards, but also echoed in the rhythmic motion, as melody defines cadence on this album in a way that emphasizes black metal’s romanticism. Strikingly beautiful passages contrast sections of aggressive violent attack, and then unite to demonstrate the universal harmony of light and dark, and while this is not always carried out in the full conception of the band’s intention due to a few songs sounding incomplete in their finality, when it gels it does so with profound resonance. Clearly, Dimmu Borgir have learned a thing or two from Emperor, and though not nearly as majestic, instrumentally proficient, or compositionally articulate as that band, they certainly have a talent for bringing grandiloquent visions to life within the stylistic context in a way that captivates and inspires. It does this through a high level of melodic and atmospheric awareness within structures designed to build up to moments of emotional climax, the quality of which is the sublime glory of looking out over a brilliant landscape from a cliff edge, the noble sorrow of defeat in honorable confrontation, and the rage of violence in the heat of vengeful justice.

When Dimmu Borgir’s music is allowed the transitional and dynamic patience and concentration, and the attention to structure necessary to realize the depth of its power and beauty, it reaches such glorious heights that can produce truly transcendent results, but there is a rushed feeling to some of these tracks that diminishes the album’s potential as an entirety, meaning that its moments of excellence are inconsistently presented. Though not exactly originators of this style of flowing melodic and romantically atmospheric black metal, Dimmu Borgir have built upon the foundation laid by bands like Emperor and Immortal to offer an album of beautiful music that as a first result of their creative inspiration is impressive and overflowing with potential for greatness.

Ah, what a pleasure to have my first review on this site be for the ever famous Dimmu Borgir's For All Tid! I remember the first time I've given this album a listen. My immediate reaction upon hearing Under Korpens Vinger was "what a creepy song this is!", and still this came to be one of Dimmu's finest releases to date. Now let's see why.

The first and most important reason why this album entranced me was because of the beautiful atmosphere that the music has. Each track has its own flair and memorable riffs. I also enjoyed the variation of the keyboard sounds, from the mournful strings and pianos of Det Nye Riket to the happy mood flutes of Stien. It is quite refreshing if you grow tired of the grandiose orchestras that Dimmu now hire to aid them with their music.

As soon as the album starts, you are greeted into the melancholic landscapes of Norway via one of the most beautiful keyboard intros ever: Det Nye Riket! Even though the lyrics speak about the fury of Pagans and Satanists and how they shall crush the oppressing Christians in the name of their lord and master, Satan, the song sounds quite sad and haunting instead of the feeling of anger you would expect from such lyrics. Still, this song serves as a prelude not only for the second track, but for every track on this album due to its haunting atmosphere. The following track, Under Korpens Vinger, was and still is obscure like most melodic black metal is today. This song has all of the conventions of a typical melodic black metal song, from the tremolo-picked intro to the atmospheric vibe with a melodic guitar sound all the way through and the perfect vocal substance for any melodic black metal courtesy of Silenoz. The keyboard is used in a way that a band like Emperor would never use. It sounds much more like melodic black metal as opposed to symphonic. All in all, Under Korpens Vinger is a song that allows you to enter the dark castle that you've been waiting for after hearing the first track of the album.

Over Bleknede Blaner Til Dommedag brings some clean operatic vocals to the table along with the return of the sad strings from the first track. The mix of Aldrahn's singing with Silenoz's and Shagrath's shrieking is a great feature as it pioneered the use of operatic male vocals into black metal. Just by closing your eyes while listening to this song you will find yourself in the land of fjords in the middle of a winter storm, ready to cross the high mountains, and quite ironically, the following 2 songs add more to the theme. Stien, which was originally planned to be an instrumental, creates a more joyful atmosphere with its flute and gives you the feeling of walking through a silent and peaceful forest as the sun slowly sets. Glittertind, however, adds a more epic feeling with its synthesized choirs and fast-paced guitar riffing and drumming. Even though this track is an instrumental, Shagrath and Silenoz still decided that they would shriek a bit on it, as if they were on the top of a mountain and had nothing better to do than to scream... after all, Glittertind is the second highest mountain in Norway.

Moving on, we reach the title track of the album which happens to be one of my top favorites from this band. The clean guitars in the intro create the perfect atmosphere for the battle which is about to follow. Overall, you have the feeling of sadness, fear, and subsequently, anger. As the black metal part begins, we are greeted with great tremolo-picked riffs and haunting strings. Silenoz's growls are as powerful as ever and contribute to the atmosphere created by the keyboards. The simple listen of this song makes me imagine an empty battlefield through which an army of black demons march toward what shall be an epic battle. They rage, they are sad, they are bloodthirsty, and they know they will win and reign For All Tid.

Hunnerkongens Sorgsvarde Ferd Over Steppene starts with some fast drumming and guitars which soon are joined by the orchestral strings. The rest of the track will sound pretty much like the intro. This song tells the story of Attila the Hun and how he crushed entire cities under his wrath. A fitting character for a black metal song, though I think that Vlad the Impaler would have been a better choice. Raabjorn Speiler opens with another haunting keyboard passage which soon is joined by the melodic guitars in order to create yet another ghostly feeling song. The riffs are very well written and are sure to catch the listener's ear. Den Gjemte Sannhets Hersker sounds like a mix of the title track and Hunnerkongens, but is still an awesome song. It features another sad piano near the end and then the song ends with an even sadder guitar.

And thus come the final tracks of the album, Inn I Evighetens Morke (parts I and II), which completes this dark spiritual journey in an epic way. The first part is a haunting instrumental with a piano intro and catchy guitar and bass melodies, whereas the second part is filled with brutal black metal and loud shrieks which will make you sure that even though the album has ended, the darkness is there to stay.

Overall, this is an amazing album and I would strongly recommend it to black metal fans, but also to dark ambient ones and to new Dimmu fans which would like to try a taste of the band's roots.
Favorite tracks: Det Nye Riket, Under Korpens Vinger, Glittertind, For All Tid, and Raabjorn Speiler Draugheimens Skodde.

It may be cliche to praise a black metal album for it's atmosphere, but in the case of "For All Tid" it's absolutely necessary in my opinion. It's not so much that it's more atmospheric than the numerous other classic BM albums released in the 90's, nor is it strictly better, but it certainly is very unique. It's not very heavy, nor is it particularly aggressive or dark but than again neither is a lot of black metal so that's not what makes it distinct. No, I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say it's honestly because of the keyboards.

Yes I said it. Granted, all the instruments on this album play their part well, and there are cases where a different instrument leaves a bigger impression on a certain song, but for the majority of "For All Tid" we are treated to one of the most melodic, melancholy, and sentimental keyboard performances in metal courtesy of the great Stian Aarstad. I don't know if he wrote most of these parts, but whoever did, did an amazing job. The keyboards intertwine with the guitars in a traditional way, but while the guitars play rather openly and "ringy" for much of the album, Aarstad applies either gradual melodic development(usually emphasizing the shifting song structures of the album) or complentary chord progressions that usually give off a somewhat sad feel, and in combination with the rest of the music creates a divine feeling.

Certainly Dimmu have never been better in terms of songwriting than they are here, with standout tracks being "Under Korpens Vinger", "Glittertind", the title track, and the haunting "Den Gjemte Sanhets Hersker". The former of which features the best riffs on the album, surprisingly strong vocal delivery, and is overall the most straight ahead track on the album. It's also perfectly preceded by "Det Nye Riket" which has a lush but dark sounding keyboard melody accompanied by some admittedly cheesy "grim" narration, but since it's in Norwegian, it's much more effective than if these lyrics were in english (which is basically the case for the entire album).

"Over Bleknede Blaner Til Dommedag", "Glittertind", "Stien", and the title track work together rather nicely as the melodic focal point of the album, with the former featuring bleak sounding clean vocals by Dodheimsgard's Aldrahn and a trudging tempo typical of this album, while the aforementioned "Stien" features a very folky keyboard melody that's just a joy to listen to in contrast with the darker verse sections, and the title track distinguishes itself with the slow and haunting opening guitar solo, and glorious symphonic mid section. And of course the instrumental "Glittertind" is interesting do to it's frequently shifting song structure and again powerful keyboard melodies. These four tracks as I said are more melody oriented than the others for the most part, and stay in the head for a while.

But the best song on here for me is the closer "Den Gjemte Samhets Herkser" which is Dimmu Borgir's masterpiece. Well at least one out of three (the other two are found on the following two albums), but this is still certainly the greatest song here. The intro builds up to the perfect combination of simple yet effective riffs, gorgeous keyboard melodies, and powerful vocals which continues for most of the track until 4 minutes in we get an almost tragic sounding piano section that leads into a great melodic solo that closes the album off in perfect fashion. I named this review "Textures" for a reason and it is because when listening to this song in particular, I am able to constantly create arias of great visuals in my head when I close my eyes which, though similar things have happened with other metal albums, it happens with much more frequency with this particular album amongst a few others.

The album varies itself just frequently enough so that it isn't predictable, but is very consistent in style. It's a very melodic and soft album which may turn off some people, but it's truly a captivating one. The members of Dimmu Borgir at this time were masters at creating enchanting melodies, and songs that always amounted to something, and would at least leave something in each song that would make it stand out. Whether it's the narration of "Det Nye Riket", the melodies of the clean vocals in "Over Bleknede Blaner Till Dommedag", or riffs in "Under Korpens Vinger" the songs always remain distinct but related. Sometimes too related once in a while however. To be fair, this is also a problem and why I had to take a few points off. The album does get a tad predictable after a while and due to this I don't revisit it that frequently, but whenever I do I never regret it.

When I listen to the first two Dimmu albums, the music too me feels like a reflection of the past atmospherically, even if the lyrics are just as satanic as you would expect, and admittedly this does detract from the consistency of feel, but it's still a brilliantly made album. Multiple textures are present as I have mentioned yet they are certainly all connected, and I hope that soon people will give more respect to this album and early Dimmu in general because, though it isn't the greatest black metal of the era, it's certainly in that area up there with "Anthems To The Welkin At Dusk" or "Bergtatt". Definitely give it a listen if you haven't already.

You ever notice how every single review of an early Dimmu Borgir album starts off by saying that the band is now crap, but allegedly “once produced great masterworks”? You know, like when they praise Stormblast, which was so soggy and worn down that it was practically transparent. Yeah. Baffling, isn’t it? But what really always puzzles me is the almost unanimous praise for this album, For All Tid.

The music by itself, in terms of the sonics, sounds like typical 90s black metal, with rasping and tremolo riffs and bargain-bin production and the whole rodeo show of expectations. Except here – and I’m not going to mince words – it’s done exceptionally poorly. The guitars jangle like poorly packaged Christmas lights, the vocals gurgle like a cat with a sore throat and the production sounds like it was done in a wet box on a street corner in the rain. It’s just so limp-wristed and soggy, with that mildewy smell of wet cardboard to boot...

The album begins with a synth intro, which I would be willing to accept if not for the fact that it’s 5 minutes long and is incredibly stupid. Listen to those sound effects in the beginning; it’s so silly it’s like the beginning of a comedy album. It’s like a cuckoo clock in a Looney Tunes cartoon. The actual album begins with the lurching, shapeless mess that is “Under Korpens Vinger,” which is sort of like wandering through the bowels of a giant tree frog. The guitars belch and roar with no focus and the band moves through transitions that are clumsily done and poorly written. Other points of particular horror include the worthless “Stien,” “Glittering,” which has an actual decent intro ruined by the band’s apparent aversion to playing with finesse, and the god-awful mess of the title track, which is probably the worst song I have heard in quite a while with its hapless construct of loopy synth melodies and carnival-esque beats that comes out to something that sounds like it came from my digestive system. Putrid, execrable music by any standard.

The band just can’t seem to get their shit together on here. One minute they’re putting out a soothing synth melody, then they’re churning out some tremolo riffing and then another time they’re blasting out punky riffs, as on “Hunnerkongens.” But the point isn’t that they’re trying too many styles, it’s that they’re trying too many styles and absolutely sucking at all of them. Like in “Stien,” where they do an already poor rendition of hyperfast, blasting black metal, except here they layer over it a stupid little folksy melody – it’s just chaotic. Even in the passages where they really do just stick to a generic black metal template, it sucks. The sloppy playing just feels sloppy, as opposed to the primitive, evil kind of feel it gives off when done right. Here it’s just like…learn how to play your instruments, dudes. There are maybe one or two moments on here that create any kind of tension or atmosphere, and those are quickly squandered in the rest of the album’s directionless meanderings.

People will tell you up and down that this is a lot better than the band's recent material, but I'm not sure anymore. This album’s quality in relation to the newer stuff is actually debatable, as after listening to this I’m just praying for some stupid-ass commercial jingle music like later-era Dimmu. That would be heaven compared to this shit. I can probably chalk a lot of this up to these guys just being amateurs when they made For All Tid, as it was their debut after all, but still, that doesn’t make it a good album. It sucks. It’s badly written, badly executed and fails to accomplish any of its goals. And the band didn’t go on to produce anything worthwhile afterward either, so I guess I can rest peacefully knowing that I’m not missing anything when it comes to this band. Fuck ‘em. There’s plenty of better shit you could be listening to instead.

Hi there, I’m back doing another review, and this time it’s one of my favorite albums from my favorite genre: Dimmu Borgir’s For All Tid.

Now, I know that there’s always been a big argument with fans about Dimmu Borgir. The band is pretty much blacklisted and shunned in black metal culture, and it’s really unfortunate, because back from ’93-’97, their music really packed a wallop, both by metal standards and emotional standards. After getting my first taste of black metal with Dimmu Borgir’s 2001 release Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropy, I decided to listen to Dimmu’s early music. What I discovered soon became my favorite sub-genre in metal: early Norwegian black metal. I was surprised that I didn't instantly hear the musical chaos I thought of when remembering songs like “Puritania” or “Hybrid Stigmata”. What I heard was my first experience of black metal that was both tasteful and moving.

The album starts with something very rare to black metal: A melodic and mournful piano and keyboard song, accompanied by sad, clean vocals. It may not be traditional black metal yet, but it splendidly sets the tone: eerie, dark, and powerful. I remember that the first time hearing this (being 14 years old) I was shocked, but not disappointed. I remember hearing this song for the first time and thinking “Is this really Dimmu Borgir?”

Now, if you think from what I’ve written so far that Dimmu’s old music wasn’t “bad ass” or “heavy enough”, think again. The next song is “Under Korpens Vinger”, and it is the perfect precursor for the album and also one of my favorite black metal songs, right up there with “Dark Medieval Times” by Satyricon or “My Journey to the Stars” by Burzum. Stylistically, I think it’s in the same ballpark as "In the Nightside Eclipse" or "Lunar Poetry". It has its great tremolo-picked guitar riffs, speedy and aggressive, as well as slow, calming sections of keyboard. Best of all, the vocals are done by Silonoz, raw and pure, and unlike the more recent Dimmu vocals, they are uncompromised by cheap vocal effects and sterilized production. The guitars (played by Tjodalv and Silonoz) do their job well, and considering that this is a debut album, they are very good. Shagrath does the drums, and this is the only album he did drums for, because he isn’t more than an average drummer. Fortunately, there isn’t a lot of emphasis on the drums anyway, and they keep in the background most of the time.
This album does not try to over-impress, but instead keeps you interested in each song.
Each song on this album sets itself apart from the song previous, giving a wide range of ideas into the mix, from the mid-tempo title song to the medieval-styled “Stien”.

I love the theatrical approach utilized in this album. It isn’t at all cheesy like it is on Enthrone Darkness Triumphant and onwards. The synths are subtle, gentle, or powerful, depending on the mood of the songs. I will say that if you’ve gotten used to the more recent Dimmu Borgir albums before giving this a try, you won’t get used to it right away. For those not used to this album, I recommend starting with "Glittertind”, a great instrumental that interlaces all the instruments and gives you a great, uplifting feeling that Dimmu Borgir now seem incapable of demonstrating (I defy you to find a song on "In Sorte Diaboli" that can lift you up like that).

As the album progresses, I get more and more into the atmosphere of the album. I always end up remembering my first thoughts of hearing this album and being entranced by how radically different it was from the new material. I would recommend this to any black metal hound that prefers the old Norwegian scene from the early and mid 90s to the garbage we keep hearing like Cradle of Filth or the modern Dimmu Borgir.

This is one of the too few albums where you hear Dimmu Borgir as what they were meant to be. They weren’t afraid to create originality or make songs that were quiet and calm, and still stay within black metal boundaries. They're music was heavy, but it knew when to just take things slow. If Dimmu Borgir had stayed a good black metal band, they would probably be my favorite band in the genre. This is the first true black metal album I every heard, and even now it remains one of my favorites.

Originally written on spirit-of-metal.com under the username InfinityZero.

“For All Tid” is the first effort from the infamous band, Dimmu Borgir. Although the band grew for “Stormblast”, this album is very solid.

“For All Tid” is an album that kind of grows on you. At first, you will notice the great amount of instrumentals on this album. However, once you really listen to the instrumentals you will realize that they are beautiful. “Det Nye Riket” is an instrumental dominated by snyth and piano. It has a nice medieval-like melody that lasts for five minutes. A perfect opener for this album. “Glittertind” is an amazing instrumental. It has all the regular metal instruments played very atmospherically. It really does not miss the vocals.

Speaking of vocals, Silenoz, Shagrath and Aldran of Dodheimsgard are present here. Silenoz handles the duty most of the time. He is a very good vocalist with passionate screams resembling a demon. His rasps are atmospheric and fit the medieval sound of the music satisfactorily. Shagrath sounds very similar to Silenoz on “For All Tid”. He does not suck just yet here. His nasal computerized vocals are not present yet. He has a nice high-pitched rasp that is so similar to Silenoz that you can barely hear a difference. Aldran gets lead vocals on one song here; “Over Bleknede Blåaer Till Dommedag”. He performs clean vocals and harsh vocals. His clean vocals is typical Viking baritone singing. Low-pitched and not so powerful. He sounds good singing but he is no Garm (Arcturus, Ulver). Aldran’s harsh vocals are his usual gruff shouts. He has very unique shouting vocals that work on this album.

Guitars are provided by Shagrath and Silenoz. Shagrath really should have stuck with guitars because he is a horrendous vocalist nowadays. His guitar playing here is very adequate. He has a nice atmospheric sound and he can carry a mean medieval tune. Silenoz and he wrote superb riffs for this album. They are not heavy or in your face at all. They are effective due to their atmosphere. Silenoz is the other guitarist and he can not really be depicted from Shagrath. Together they kick ass!

The drums are solid, but not the best. The drummer uses blast beats a lot and they are kind of in the background. They are not prominent, but in an album like this, they do not have to be. He uses 12/8 and 4/4 as well and performs them well.

Keyboards are present like they always are in Dimmu Borgir albums. They are very pretty. They clearly are influenced by folk or medieval music and it sounds really good.

The band’s only problem in this album is songwriting skills. I love the sound here, but they do not execute it as well as they could have. Songs like “Under Korpens Vinger” and “Den Gjente Sannhets Herpker” are poorly written with a few highlights. Some riffs stand out, but most of the melodies run together. These two songs are very unmemorable.
The best songs here are “Stein” and the instrumentals. “Stein” is only two minutes but it crushes! There is a folk flute that has a sick melody in it. It is very fast-paced and does not last long enough. It is a straight out folk song with metal instruments. It is seriously a masterpiece.

I recommend this album to real black metal fans. Dimmu Borgir were once a very good black metal band that was very elite at the time. They might have sold out, but a purchase of “For All Tid” is probably a good idea.

Although Dimmu Borgir recently (I'd say during the past 5 years) fell prey to the mainstream and started creating shite, overproduced symphonic “extreme” metal, they once were an original and inspirational band. “For All Tid” is definitely their best release to date, combining a distinctive raw sound with incredibly good folkish riffs and quite sentimental black metal melodies. The cover art is also their best, depicting a vast kingdom and a sorrowful knight on his noble steed…Very black indeed.

The keyboard/synth is utilized perfectly, by not overpowering the rest of the instruments, but following the guitars and building a breathtaking atmospheric sound around them. Songs like “Raabjorn Speiler Draugheimens Skodde” and “For All Tid” make use of brilliantly crafted keyboard melodies, and create a truly majestic sound. Stian Aarstad is a genius and it is a pity that he is no longer part of Dimmu Borgir.

The drumming is nothing special in terms of technical skills, but Shagrath gets the job done, and his performance is actually quite admirable, as it does suit the more minimalistic music very well. Silenoz provides very grim vocals, and he should have definitely continued this duty for the band, as they sound extremely grim, cold and passionate. The bass is done well, and has some outstanding moments of harmony and walking riffs by Brynjard Tristan.

The songs are well structured and progress brilliantly. Overall they sound very dramatic and depressive. The album opens with “Det Nye Riket” , which is also my favourite track on the album. It begins with an epic and dramatic synth, and later breaks down to spoken vocals of hatred over a melancholic, slow piano piece. This is what Dimmu should sound like! The rest of the album follows the mood set by the epic opening track, sounding less brutal and more melodic. But don’t get me wrong – This album is not a watered down, over the top orchestral cacophony…Oh no! This is pure, undiluted Norwegian black metal, and captures an exquisite sound that is very grim and depressing.

The masterpiece instrumental track “Glittertint” never ceases to amaze me with it’s awesome harmonizing riffs and tempo changes. The acoustic guitars in the title track are top-notch and deliver a sense of dynamics to the album. The clean vocals/chants is “Over Bleknede Blåner Til Dommedag” are a bit dodgy, but at the same time quite epic and huge. Other great tracks are "Inn I Evighetens Mørke, Part 2" and “Stien”. They are short, impressive songs that sound very folkish and complement the rest of the album, as they are quite fast. “Hunnerkongens Sorgsvarte Ferd over Steppene” is another fast melodic track with awe-inspiring riffs and chord progressions. All of the songs are brilliant and the solo’s on the title track and “Den Glemte Sannhets Herskar” are very impressive and filled with dark emotions.

Although some have criticized “For All Tid” of being sloppy and inconsistently arranged, I find this a brilliant aspect of the album. The technical skills aren’t perfect, and that is what captures the raw talent and ability of these once young and aspiring musicians perfectly. This album is truly unique, and is a must have for any fan of melodic/folk/depressive black metal along the lines of Taake and Nokturnal Mortum. “For All Tid” is a black metal landmark and has stood the test of time impeccably.

These are the Dimmu Borgir I use to like. This band is surely well known for the more recent and bombastic albums that sound more like a movie soundtrack than real examples of symphonic black metal. Here, in this For All Tid the black metal is present, in the modern ones no. The years are the one of experimentations and the very first melodies were added to a primitive form of black metal to create something new. Cradle of Filth were great in England and Dimmu Borgir was the response in Norway. Anyway, despite many put the two bands on the same level talking about the “symphonic black metal”, there are various differences in their sound. If Cradle of Filth were bounded to themes about the vampirism, here the darkness reigns supreme on the Dimmu’s debut album and they were into a more evident form of Satanism.

By the way, this debut album can show a primitive approach to the genre, can be imprecise in the execution of the parts and can show also still embryonic forms of the genre…it’s evident. But the fact that I like it remains. Maybe sometimes I’m too fascinated by the underground realities and CDs because to me they express the real pureness of a band trying to do something personal and new. I despise the modern production and so often I find a shelter under these low budget, but awesome to me, sounds. Dimmu Borgir through these 40 minutes makes their presence know in the underground and their start is very good. “Det Nye Riket” is a long intro made of just keyboards parts and they are not so melodic, but quite doom and obscure.

“Under Korpens Vinger” is easily the best track of the CD. The tremolo picking at the beginning is repeated so often during the song and, along with the arpeggios and the carpet of the keyboards, creates a really obscure but somehow epic and melancholic song. The screams made history and they are so raw compared to the music. You see, these oppositions are so pure and genuine…exactly what I like. Everything is still primitive but with a will of change. The following song displays faster parts by the drums but the production in these cases doesn’t help and it’s too chaotic. The mid-paced parts are evocative and the keyboards are not too invading. The clean, epic vocals are perfectly mixed with the infernal screams.

“Stien” has something reminiscent of the typical folk music in Norway and it can be seen as one of the very first examples of nascent epic/melodic black metal. The keyboards are awesome and the screams are alternated to clean vocals by the end. The tempo here is faster but soon we fall again into mid-paced parts. “Glittertind” is utterly fantastic. The melodies, it’s all about the melodies and the play between slow parts and sudden restarts. Everything sounds a bit medieval too and dark with sudden more melodic and “dreaming” overtures. The title track is a slow march of the drums that accompany the arpeggios and a desolating lead guitars work. When the black metal part enters the tempo is still slow but the atmosphere is more pompous and epic.

The guitars distortion is very buzzy and the bass is well audible and probably to high compared to the guitars’ distortion. Once again, who cares? It’s fantastic like this. The arpeggios are mixed with black parts and the keyboards are always present to add something more. “Hunnerkongens Sorgsvarte Ferd Over Steppene” has inside more or less everything that is in the middle between Hellhammer and the primordial black done in a Dark Throne demo like Land Of Frost. It’s faster but never without the right melody, even if this time is more obscure. “Raabjørn Speiler Draugheimens Skodde” is almost surreal, featuring great melodies and heavy guitars tunes to break them for more dosages of epic/black metal.

The last “Den Gjemte Sannhets Hersker” follows the same style with more melodies inside and fast restarts under up-tempo by the drums. The rest is quite mid-paced and this mixture of tempos and melodies is the most fascinating characteristic of this dark and melodic piece of early symphonic black metal. I always liked it and it’s recommended especially to those who love modern Dimmu Borgir. Wash your ears.

Dimmu is one of the bands that fulfills the stereotype of a band getting worse as time went on. This being their first album, it's also their best. Stormblaast was good, but not great, and everything after that was a slow spiral downhill.

This was before they got ahead of themselves and let their egos get out of control. What we have is a forgotton gem. There are many things present here that would end up being lost on future Dimmu releases (actual riffs, good vocals, striking melodies, etc...) and it makes me sad. The band had much potential. Anywho, back to the album.

This album is composed of sentimental, folkish melodies with keyboards backing the myriad of guitar riffs. The melodies are maidenish, with a heavy melodic influence, but are still driven by the guitars (as they should be) with the keyboards simply following the guitars. It's a simple formula, but it works. There's no pretension here, no overbearing keyboards. It may not have a sparkling production, but such a production would've hurt For All Tid. It works because it's simple and the melodies, while being slightly cheesy and sentimental, WORK. Dimmu stick with what WORKS here, and don't try all that nonsense that they attempted on later works. To quote Manowar, this is for people who want to rock, not pose. The vocals are also better than future works, being venomous screams, not the nasally, overproduced, underperformed vocals of Shaggy.

None of the instruments overpowers another; they're all present, and they do just enough to move the songs forward. While that would ordinarily be a minus, here it works, because the songs are simple folk melodies, and this is a simple album. There's no wankery here; the drums drum, the guitars ring, and that's that. The bass peeks out every so often, but for the most part follows the guitar. DB attempt no gimmicks or pageantry here. This is simple folk/black metal, and it works. It evokes images of vast, fog covered conifer forests on the Norwegian mountainside. You wouldn't find a vast theatrical production on a rugged norwegian mountainside, would you?

Get this as your first Dimmu Borgir album, then get Stormblaast (the older one, not the newer one) and stick with those two. They are all you'll need, everything else is unnecessary and will only lower your opinion of Dimmu Borgir.

I, like many people I know, started off on the later versions of Dimmu. It was actually not bad at first, because I had not heard the earlier releases.


I am used to basically no creative riffs from them, and keyboard fills that are decent, along with raspy non-BMish vocals. Forever I was confused at why so many people hate Dimmu Borgir. I knew there HAD to be a reason for this, so I went back to their roots. All the way from their recent release to this gem of a buried album I am about to review.


Here we are: What I would consider an amazing piece of art. This is what is considered true black metal vocals: violent sounds that are not passable for all these nu-metal posers who think "IM SO HARDCOR3XZ I LISTEN TO DIMMU". You have to really like Black Metal (Burzum, Mayhem, and the rest of famous ones we all know of) to fully enjoy this experience. Like most bands at this time, drumming is not a huge key point (In fact, I dont think there is any blast beats around here-- unless I forgot about them). Of course bands like Death were pushing the boundaries of heaviness and complexity with Human and Individual Thought Patterns with the amazing drumming, this album brings black metal and symphony together beautifully. I've seen people complain about certain volumes of music, and personally I say they are fine in all the songs.


The factor of the music that made this album a hit from the get-go is the guitar. It actually has riffs! Not only riffs, but catchy riffs that aren't pop-bound Power Metal ones where you get tired after overlistening to it. Whoever dropped out of the band that played these genius riffs should be brought back. Serious.
Keyboards are always huge in symphony bands (I think they are basically mandatory in 99% of them). Anyways, the bottom line of the keyboards is: Good keyboards are good. They revolve around the guitar riffs perfectly, neither dominating each other or cancelling each other out. Its absolutely horrible to hear symphony and riffs colliding in a bad fashion-- a real bad taste can be left over. Though if done properly here, the product is well worth the listen! I won't devote a whole paragraph to the vocals, but just trust me that they are appropriate and much more 'tr00 kvlt' then their other releases (Now, I did not say at this point they are, as I cannot make out their lyrics as I speak only english).


The clean vocal interludes are sometimes atmospheric, giving us a Lord Of The Rings feeling. I guess you can get that from the cover.
The guitar soloing is also nice and in some parts "Emotional" as some people want (Aka, memorable, enjoyable to listen to, not a wall of notes [Dragonforce]).
What was also consistent is how each solo on this album has a meaning... has a feel... fits in the place like a correct puzzle piece. I dont give out high marks (I don't believe in 100%, but I do believe in 0%), and an 88% is pretty damn good.


I recommend anyone and everyone who enjoys their later stuff, or even hates it, to check this album out. I am quite thrilled at how well everything blends together. I usually am bored after a whole album is complete, and almost never do I listen to an album going "First time is a charm", but this did it. It ages with time, and only grows better.

Dimmu Borgir were certainly a different entity in their early days. No one now could call their music black metal by a long stretch, and even though For All Tid is very naive and undernourished in its full presentation, it shows a very different side of the band that may not be totally black metal by standard definition, but is definitely Norwegian. Before they became the international poster boys of extreme metal, Dimmu Borgir were just a group of guys who took to making rough, but atmospheric Norwegian metal.

For those who may have not heard early Dimmu before, you're in for a surprise. The production on this album is a far cry from the polished sound they now; instead, it's a suitably dry and hollow mix, with heavily reverbed vocals and thin, buzzing guitars. It's hard on the ears at first, but its charm eventually does grow on the listener and helps things out in the long run. After all, it is a debut album, so there's some natural growing room for just about everything. The biggest difference, however, is the music itself: primitive but atmospheric metal that is only defined as black metal by the vocals. Everything here has a very Gothic and yet folkish flair here, as illustrated in the heavy use of synthesizers here. There is a definite natural Norwegian element to this album, almost a nocturnal and melancholy atmosphere. It could be the entire use of Norse language for the lyrics, somewhat cheap-sounding but ghostly keyboards, or the power-chord driven riffs that echo of the old-school black metal wave. The band's skills as musicians and composers were clearly underwhelming; the drums remain on the edge of sloppy throughout, the keyboards only playing what the guitars play, the vocals coming off as a hoarse and underdeveloped croak, and the very typical and predictable song structures are a definite throwback to the vast scope of even what we would see on Stormblast.

Though the guitars are painfully simple in their approach, there are some fairly good rhythm passages; "Glittertind" has near-aggressive sections driven by fast picking accented by folkish leads, and both the slow, soft title track and "Den Gjemte Sannhets Hersker" feature highly atmospheric solos. "Hunnerkongens," which would be re-recorded, shows the more metal side of the band with a more upbeat tempo with charging riffs. There are a lot of clean-picked passages, and even some acoustic guitars to add more homeland flair to the sound. Other than that, it's power chords all the way. Which is forgivable, as the band was young and was unsure of their instrumental skills.

Brynjard Tristan's bass sticks out quite a bit in the mix here, which is very much a good thing. Sometimes he'll accent the more powerful passages by following the guitars, or he'll strike off on his own and weave some lines around the existing parts, creating a rich, warm atmosphere. This is best seen on the beginning of the title track; the guitars softly pluck at minor chords, while the bass plays a lower octave of the same thing. It may not seem like much, but it helps to wrap the listener in the dusk-like feeling of the song.

Stian's keyboards are what create the atmosphere here; it's pretty crude in production, sometimes adding a cheap-sounding wall of sound to the existing problem of underproduction. But for the most part, cheese factors aside, the keyboards create a very open atmosphere that could only come from Norway. The cover art can best explain it; it's like seeing wide open fjords and mountains, and entering a vast castle, where melancholy takes the role. All of this can be summed up in "Den Gjemte Sannhets Hersker," where a 4-chord sequence repeats itself over an almost tear-jerker solo. "Det Nye Ricket" sets the standard for the rest of the keyboards on the album, which wash and drone their way through gothic chord progressions, the occasional folk instrument, and quasi-classical pianos.

As previously mentioned, the drums are really nothing special. There's some pretty driving double bass on "Glittertind," and the occasional mid-paced blast beat. Otherwise, it's fairly tepid timekeeping that is too out in the air for its own good. The beats aren't really consistent, and it's clear to see that there are some struggles are staying in time with the metronome. But, again, this can be somewhat forgivable due to a general lack of experience. Furthermore, most bands in the genre only use the drums for the sake of being "there." The problem is, the drums use a fairly good, kettle-like sound; maybe too good, and too obvious in the production.

The vocals are really one of the bigger negative aspects. Silenoz definitely wasn't ready to step up to the mic; "Under Korpen's Vinger" is almost painful to listen to with its grating, nasally vocals, which stay at the foreground of the mix. Later songs do get better thankfully, with the title track being one of the smoother, more tolerable things to listen to. And to further this paragraph, I'll say that the clean vocals on track 3 are definitely an acquired taste, and will probably cause many to hit the skip button with urgency. So, beware of Norse opera singers...

All qualms aside, it isn't a bad album. Dimmu showed themselves competently on this album, and though it's incredibly undernourished, the atmosphere given off beats out the lack of skill in musicianship.

Favorite tracks: "For All Tid," "Raabjorn Speiler Draugheimens Skodde," "Den Gjemte Sannhets Hersker."

This was the first release from Dimmu Borgir and maybe it's their best until now. What Dimmu shows here on this album is a lot different than on their following albums. Even Stormblast is much different. The thing that makes this album so great is the melodic volkish aspect, which you can compare to the sound of Satyricon those days. The guitar riffs are, so to say, very simple and basic, but that isn't abnormal for black metal, and also are the drums.

Three other things that are different from their later albums are the vocals, the keyboards and the amount of lyrics. The vocals are done by Silenoz instead of Shagrath (just like on Stormblast) and are lot better. Silenoz has a more raw and less nasal voice than Shagrath, so I can't understand why Shagrath replaced him as a singer later on. The keyboards are less prominent than nowadays. On For All Tid they seem to have chosen the parts where keyboards fit very well, when on their latest albums you here keyboards from the beginning until the end. And what about the lyrics? The musical aspect on For All Tid seems to count more than the textual aspect. For instance on Death Cult Armageddon or Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia the songs are packes with text, which makes it sometimes irritating. But here, and also on Stormblast and Enthrone Darkness Triumphant, the text is less important.

It's a pity that Dimmu didn't use this sound anymore after Stormblast, because than maybe when they would have done, they wouldn't have the modern "poser" image they have now. This album is a great epic album and a milestone for the melodic black metal. Highlights are: Under Korpens Vinger, For All Tid, Raabjorn Speiler Draugheimens Skodde and Inn I Evighetens Morke.

For All Tid marks the debut of Dimmu Borgir into the world of black metal. It should be established straight away this is a long time ago in terms of the evolution of Dimmu, and squarely removed from the band we think of now. It’s also been a fair while since I’ve put on this cd because, quite honestly, there’s good things happening but there’s a critical problem. The production on this album is nowhere near as good as it became later and that’s the main problem with this release. Some of the tracks are actually nigh on laughable because the vocals are disproportioned in the mix to the point that you can hear way too much of one part and it obscures the other. The vocals also sound cringe-makingly bad at points because Norwegian should never be spoken softly in a sing song accent if you’re trying to sound mean. There are points, for instance, during “Det Nye Riket” where I wince so hard my kidney nearly flies out! And I don’t care what you say aboot it being purer black metal, shit is still shit, even if you dress it up in mysticism and a language only spoken by aboot 8 million people worldwide. Seriously, something does not become instantaneously good because its more difficult to comprehend. If Christina Aguilera sang in Welsh or Swahili would it make her sound any better aside from the benefit of not having to understanding what she was saying? No! It’d still be god awful shite.

However, aside from the weakness of the vocals and the general shoddy production, this is by no means all bad. The mixing and performance of the guitar is vastly improved over the Stormblast release, which is chronically mismanaged to the point of absurdity, and there are times when you do begin to nod your head here and there. At the end of the day you have to bare in mind that this album was made with limited budget and experience. At the point of recording this is an under developed band lacking the know how, vision and just plain musical competence of later releases. A piece of evidence for this is the track “Raabjørn Speiler Draugheimens Skodde”, which is in it own right a fair song but is markedly poorer in comparison to the updated version that’s on Enthrone Darkness Truimphant as a bonus. At this point in their career Dimmu are infantile and lack the technical finesse to play this song at the speed it deserves, and by comparison the original is like hearing a sedated stoned version after the band have taken a valium each.
Like I said; this album isn’t bad as such, it’s merely inferior to what the band have achieved with later releases. For what it is its reasonable but if you want a really decent Dimmu album try something else with passable production and doesn’t sound like it was recorded in your neighbour’s garden shed. When you get down to it, if you’re into Dimmu’s based on what you’ve heard more recently sound wise you’re probably not going to listen to this very often (like I said its been a while since I’ve put this one on). This is really only for die hard fans who really need to hear everything Dimmu have ever released, and black metal purists. Otherwise, you’re better off trying something else.

To start off, we all know Dimmu Borgir today as sell out peaces of shit. However, back in the day the used to actually be something. Along with Dimmu's cousin Satyricon, Borgir began playing typical Black Metal, but with a touch of essence. While I don't generally like raw, straight-up Black Metal, Dimmu really hit the debut nail with For All Tid. The cover art drew me into this, but the music blew me away.

“Det Nye Riket” displays the soft, melancholic, and dreary tone of Dimmu’s music, while the double guitar-charge of “Under Korpens Vinger” and “Glittertind” between Silenoz and Tjodalv kicks into heavy gear. Balance of both melody and riffage comes to terms on the title track and “Den Gjemte Sannhets Hersker”, both of which are far from the corny operatic orchestras shown on their later albums. The record really never reaches a climatic point because no track truly stands out more than another by far. Dimmu Borgir effectively keep the music simplistic while incorporating whatnot here and there, and in the end creating successful tracks.

Silenoz provides guitars and he lays down his grim throat on the mic, creating the ideal vocals for any Black Metal band (much more low-key than Shagrath’s). This, combined with Shagrath's on-key drumming and Aarstad's ever-enchanting keyboard playing and effects, creates an atmosphere that lasts for all time. Many would complain about the production, but it really isn't that bad, especially since there has been a re-released version for over ten years. It solemnly fits with the music extremely well anyways, which adds pleasure to the sound.

Although the album completely fixes around the keyboard melodies and the riffs, I still highly recommend picking this up, as it steers clear of their cheesy, over-the-top later crap in all aspects; you won't be disappointed.

Din Tid...Er Kommet...

Once upon a time Dimmu Borgir still created black metal inspired by the spirit of the landscape of their Norwegian homeland. Influenced by the Volkish spirit that also touched other bands like Burzum, Enslaved, Satyricon, etc. they created two albums of darkness and epicism, before degenerating at the exact same time as so many other bands in the Norwegian scene (1996 to 1999 was the end period of most Norwegian bands). This particular album is very raw, the keyboards are left lower in the mix and used to add epic feeling to parts of songs, rather then the over indulgence of Stormblast (my only criticism with that beautiful recording). The guitars are left with the raw trebble blast, while the bass is loud and clear in the mix. And most surprisingly the drums are given a very raw live sound, that fits in very well and illuminates the feeling behind this music. The vocals (done by many people on here) are always very well done, and at times very haunting. The clean singing is done by Aldrahn from Ved Buens Ende and Dodheimsgard, except on here he goes for a sound more like In the Woods... then his usual strange singing voice. His vocals fit much of this material, as it highlights the epic quality of this music that would obviously go on to influence many bands.

The band also brought in some interesting aspects, a lot of acoustic guitars, used much like Immortal on Diabolical Fullmoon Mysticism and Satyricon on Dark Medieval Times, with a bit of the Bathory influence (i.e. Blood Fire Death), that combined with very good dynamics and solos creates an always interesting listening experience. However none of this would mean anything if it wasnt for the deep feeling listening to this that you are taking part in something epic and very enchanting. Though not perhaps as good as Emperor's In the Nightside Eclipse, this album does indeed bring up some good points in the symphonic genre, as it does not over do anything, unlike nearly everything else by this band. There are no flashy piano pieces ontop of the metal, just simple chords following the music, and sometimes some extra melody. Sure the keyboards sound a bit cheap, but they do even more so on Enslaved's Hordanes Land EP and that is always called a classic. One has to get past what Dimmu Borgir is now and listen to what is on tap here. Many people are narrow minded about bands who ended up playing bad music, but who once were influenced by the deep archtypal spirit of the European past.

The medievalist excercise and dark Norwegian spirit that is behind this album is just as strong in any band who remained "true" simply listen and hear the brilliance contained on here by a young band who would continue down the path of commericalism. The depressive somber tones of this music will last forever, as will their next album Stormblast, which is in many ways better and more important. But lest we not forget, it all started here on this dark epic volkish recording.

Although many of us are disappointed in the direction Dimmu Borgir have headed in recent years, it does not hide the fact that they once produced very inspirational music. In the opinions of many, this release is by far the best and upon listening and comparing it to later releases, it is not hard to see why people might think this.

The album opens up with a very atmospheric and sombre orchestral synth and piano piece which sets the mood for the rest of the album to follow. Indeed, the album is rich in melancholic emotion making it great to listen to if that's your thing. The morose atmosphere created by the guitar is forever being enhanced by the accompanying synth, which unlike some later Dimmu Borgir releases, is not overpowering (see especially Enthroned Darkness Triumphant where the keyboards often drown out some of the other instruments).

The album is also commendable because of the fact that the musicians were relatively young when they produced it.

Although most of the music on the album is relatively simple, it is effective and for my money I say go for what sounds good rather than trying to be technical. All in all a great release filled with emotional melodies, and despite the band's "selling out" in the last few years, this album remains is a great melancholic and inspirational album. 92%.

Best tracks: 3. Over Bleknede Blåner Till Dommedag, 5. Glittertind, 7. Hunnerkongens Sorgsvarte Ferd Over Steppene, 8. Raabjørn Speiler Draugheimens Skodde.


Graveland84