The year 2010 ended pretty good with Dimmu Borgir hitting the Gothic Theater in Englewood, CO the beginning of December. I was really excited, not because it was Dimmu, but because my buddy Daray (Vesania, ex-Vader) took over the drumming duties for Shagrath & Co. Also Enslaved was part of the package which was more then a bonus.
It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon. The sun was warm and bright, for once the interstate not packed with idiotic drivers and yours truly heading up to Denver for a blast of Nordic Air.
No, I was not going to ski or snowboard, silly you!
I was heading to the Gothic Theater in Englewood for the manifestation of the greatest symphonic Black Metal act in modern history. Yap, ladies and gents, Dimmu Borgir was in town.
It has been a couple of years since I last saw them and once I found out who the supporting bands are it was a no brainer to see them live again.
The Darkness Reborn Tour was the name of the spectacle which featured Dawn of Ashes (US), Blood Red Throne (NO), Enslaved (NO) and Dimmu as the headliner. Now with three Norwegian bands on the bill it could only mean the audience was getting some value for their money. And yap they sure did!
As usual, I was at the venue way early in the day. Let’s face it people, I know and am friends with half of the western hemisphere. (laughs)
It was pretty interesting to see how much work and detail goes into the pre-production for a Dimmu Borgir show. All hands were on deck. The entire road crew did an amazing job to transform the stage to the bands specifics. I was watching the sound check and not enough can be said about the amazing abilities of the light engineer aka illumination master Martin Müller and FOH sound guy dude extraordinaire Sascha "Mon" Helmstädt. They had their own equipment, not using the house stuff, and it really paid off during the show. Holy crap! For a medium size venue this was by far the best sound and lights I saw in a while. And speaking of venue, I would say about 700 plus people made the Gothic Theater an instant sweat box for the night.
The horror themed black metal (and I am using the word lightly here) LA based guys from Dawn of Ashes made their way to the stage in front of a fairly decent size audience. Really not my cup of tea and I heard someone call them “mini-gwar”, but I am pretty sure only because of the outfits and not of their musical abilities.
Next up was the Norwegian death metal outfit Blood Red Throne. Now they kicked some serious ass, everyone really got into them right from the top. The vocals were beyond great, melody in the music while still keeping that brutal vibe. And a shout out to their drummer, this kid is barely 19 years old but already a fucking mad man behind the kit. I will defiantly keep my eyes open for the next time they are in town.
Quick set change and one of my favorites that evening was heading toward the stage. I have not missed a single Enslaved show ever since they have been touring our shores. Last time they toured with Opeth in Boulder and I can still hear Grutle (vocals, bass) asking the crowd: “You want something older, Boulder?” Gee, still makes me laugh to this date. This time around they focused more on songs from their new album Axioma Ethica Odini which was released in September of this year. Now for those of you who are not familiar with Enslaved, they are an extreme metal band from Bergen, Norway. Their earlier material was music wise more leaning toward Black Metal, but they never incorporated satanic lyrics into their songs. Enslaved still uses a keyboard, which Herbrand, as the newest member, is in charge of since 2004. And just this element makes them stand out among their peers. Melodic but still extreme all wrapped up together. Cato (drums) is the master of disaster behind his kid and executed the blast beats with such ease that it was a delight to the ears. Just by cheer statue Mr. Grutle on bass and vocal duties fronted this great band fabulously and the audience rewarded them with relentless cheers and their metal horns high up.
Ivar and Ice Dale flanked the whole outfit and their guitars were sound and crisp. Oh what a night! There was some time left over and they actually were able to play a bonus song which put the icing on the cake. Overall it was a great performance and I can’t wait for Enslaved to come back next fall to hopefully headline a tour.
Then it seemed like forever to get the stage ready for the mighty Dimmu Borgir. Holy crap, the crowd was getting restless to say the least. I am not a huge Dimmu fan but their stage performance was always great and this time I was actually looking forward to seeing them, in part because my buddy Daray (Vesania, Black River, Masachist, ex-Vader) had been tagged with drumming duties.
The intro “Xibir” was coming out of the speakers and one by one this enormous mammoth called Dimmu Borgir was taking their spots on the stage. Daray behind his drum kit, Geir right next to him on keyboard, Cyrus snuck in with has bass axe holding high and followed by guitarists and original members Silenoz and Galder. And last but definitely not least band founder Shagrath appeared thru the fog which filled the stage and probably the first 10 feet of the room.
And so it began! Shying away from their elaborate stage outfits of prior tour the guys wore rather simple clothes this time around. Well, as simple as one can imagine, heck we are talking about Dimmu after all.
See more pictures of the band right HERE
The band had numerous line up changes, most mentionable the departure of clean vocalist ICS Vortex so I was really looking forward to see how they can pull this one off live. But let me tell you, Dimmu didn’t miss a beat. Some stuff was filtered in with modern technology but other then that, they sounded better then ever.
The band had numerous line up changes, most mentionable the departure of clean vocalist ICS Vortex so I was really looking forward to see how they can pull this one off live. But let me tell you, Dimmu didn’t miss a beat. Some stuff was filtered in with modern technology but other then that, they sounded better then ever.
The set list was really good as well. Songs like “Spellbound (by the devil)” and “Vredesbyrd” from their earlier albums went down like oil and the newer songs “Gateway” and “Dimmu Borgir” almost brought the house down.
A lot of been said about the theatrical approach of Dimmu Borgir, but in all honesty, it really works for them live. Shagrath is an awesome frontman and he made sure everybody in attendance had a great time.
I would say that Galder by far had the most fun on stage, gee, he was cracking me up with his faces he made. Him and Silenoz made sure that all of the bases were covered while they whipped out their solos and rhythm section to such perfection that one could wonder if they are playing live or a CD was running. Excellent!
And with the addition of Daray to their fold, Dimmu really set themselves apart. Not only does he play and look the part, he is just an enjoyment to watch while he is beating those poor drums almost to death.
In all it was a good night for Symphonic Black Metal at the Gothic Theater. Everybody, including the band had a great time and hopefully we will be able to watch this spectacle again, sooner rather then later.
Related Article:
You can also read the review on MileHigh Feedback
Related Article:
You can also read the review on MileHigh Feedback