Dimmu Borgir Will Tear You Apart

Norwegian metal Gods Dimmu Borgir have been one of the best black metal bands in the world for years, releasing several great studio albums over the past decade and enjoying surprising commercial success for a band of their intensity. Dimmu's live performances, as demonstrated last April 26 at the Nokia Theatre, are enjoyably over the top; symphonic without being overblown, campy without being gimmicky, and musically intricate without being convoluted. The Nokia show featured three relatively good opening acts, but there was never any doubt as to which band owned the evening.

Kataklysm started things up nicely, playing a solid set of death metal that needed no bells or whistles. Their spirited, confident performance displayed a band in no fear of being overwhelmed by the headliners or linked to the their feud with the band about to take the stage after them, and I look forward to seeing these guys on other metal bills. If anything, they proved that Canada has better metal to offer than Kittie.

Devildriver were next onstage, and their performance was unexpectedly engaging for a band that featured Dez Fafara, whose forgettable previous band made it big on a song that was written by Peter Gabriel and featured vocals by Ozzy Osbourne. Here Fafara was given a thrash metal makeover which served him better than his previous band’s gothic nu metal, and if his Phil Anselmo-esque barking (“Anyone who’s not in the mosh pit right now is a fucking pussy!”) wasn’t anything new, it suited his derivative but enjoyable new band.

Like the first two bands on the bill, metalcore heroes Unearth were an odd choice to take the stage before Dimmu Borgir. But having just come off a tour with Slayer, the band knew how to win over a shrewd metal audience anticipating the more renowned headliners, and their vigorous, crowd-baiting set saved them from the boos a lesser band would have received (see Trivium opening for Lamb of God). Unearth made full use of the stage, jumping off the drum riser and running into each other with an energy too rarely seen in modern rock music, and I hope the band manages to conjure the same energy on record. I'll be especially interested to hear what they come up with now that Strapping Young Lad drummer Gene Hoglan has jumped onboard.

Dimmu Borgir finally emerged from behind a black curtain and launched into "Progenies of the Grand Apocalypse," off of 2003's fantastic Death Cult Armageddon. Decked out in spikes, leather, and face paint, Dimmu were a sight to see, but the rabid fans barely had a chance to digest all this while the band barreled through their set, heavy on Death Cult and more recent album tracks, and featuring little from their excellent new release, In Sorte Diaboli. They did play Diaboli's excellent first single, the epic "Serpentine Offering," which features an orchestrated opening, pummeling double bass drums, traded vocals between screamer Shagrath and melodic vocalist/bassist ICS Vortex, and an absolutely amazing lyrical rejoinder ("I am hatred, darkness, and despair!") If it ain't broke...

Decked out in spikes, leather, and face paint, Dimmu are too campy to be genuinely scary, but never campy enough to not be taken seriously. Their performance never fell prey to bombast or self-parody, and the band's ardently-performed, multi-part compositions couple a certain beauty with their aggression and campiness. If Dimmu Borgir were a filmmaker, they would probably be Dario Argento.

Dimmu's set was relatively short, culminating with an absolutely mind-blowing rendition of "Mourning Palace," but my guess is that no one left thinking they didn't get their money's worth, or that any of that Dimmu had been upset by any of the openers. Dimmu guitarist Silenoz recently stated that he "wouldn't mind touring with a band like Marilyn Manson," and if Dimmu's Nokia show were any indication, such a tour would see Silenoz's band outshining the most infamous performer in rock today.

If you weren't already convinced how sweet this show was, check out these photos at Piercingmetal.com.