Review Of The New Dimmu Borgir Album "Grand Serpent Rising".
Band Name: Dimmu Borgir
Album Title: Grand Serpent Rising
Tracklist:
Tridentium
The Ascent
The Cryptfarer
Ulvgeld & Blodsodel
Repository Of Divine Transmutation
Slik Minnes En Alkmyst
Phantom Of The Nemesis
The Exonerated
Recognizant
At The Precipice Of Convergence
Shadows Of A Thousand Perceptions
Gjoll
Running Time: 1:09:18
Label: Nuclear Blast Records
Rating: 10/10
Version Reviewed - Jewel Case CD
Release Date: May 22, 2026
Band Members:
Shagrath - Vocals, Keyboards, Orchestral Arrangements, Effects
Daray - Drums
Silenoz- Guitars And Effects
Victor - Bass
Gerlioz - Keyboards, Piano And Orchestral Arrangements
Damage - Lead Guitars
Additional Album Credits:
Produced By Dimmu Borgir
Lyrics By Silenoz
Engineered And Supervised By Fredrik Nordtrom
Assistant Engineer - Robert Marcko
Additional Orchestration On Tracks 1, 3 And 5 by the Bratislava Symphony Orchestra
Conductor - David Hernando Ricco
Recorded By Martin At Bratislave Studio ,2
Additional Choir On Tracks, 1, 3, 5 And 12 By Sandrin SchauI, Ingrid Margitte Narvesen, Hannah Agenthe, Pold, Simon Bredsen Horthe, Magnus Ingmund Kjelstad, Mattis Holthe And Moll Austrheim.
Recorded By Mike Hartung At Propeller Studios
Arranged By Gaute Stooras
Additional Musical Contributions By Tom Rune Anderson
Main Clean Vocals On Track 5 By Enya Thorsen
Additional Piano On Tracks 4, 5, 7 And 11 By Teresa Antinoe Marraco
Front Cover Art By Adrian Baxter
Layout, Cover Design And Tridentium Sigil By Bartek Bogalewicz/Black Lodge
Band And Portrait Photo By Stian Anderson
Costume Designer - Agnieszka Osipa
Snakes Photo By Bartek Rogalewicz At Reptiles Proznan
I got into Dimmu Borgir way back when “Stormblast” came out. It is one of the finest examples of Norwegian Black Metal there is out there. For some reason after the first two albums I stopped keeping up on what the band was doing but a friend of mine and I went smelt dipping on Lake Huron and he had just bought “Ethrone Darkness Triumphant” and brought it along for the ride. When I heard those grandiose keyboards on the intro, it changed me. I still remember hearing that for the first time. It fits so well with their music, those over-the-top keyboards. They used keyboards on their earlier albums too, but not like this. That said, for some reason I did not buy another Dimmu Borgir album except the odd one or two over the last few decades. I decided to buy the newest album “The Grand Serpent” on a whim to see how they sound now. Yeah, this is good!
Sometimes an album comes along, and you think to yourself, you think: “Self, how is it music such as this can be created by mere humans?”. Well, maybe at those times those musicians aren’t human. Maybe they are from worlds unknown to us, sent here to show us Earthlings what real music is. Uh, okay, I doubt it. All these guys had a mom and dad and that’s why they are here. Wait, but maybe… Yes! Test tube babies grown in some Black Metal Perfection lab in the forests of Norway! Okay, I’ll stop! Just know that the songwriting and musicianship on “Grand Serpent Rising” is about as perfect as you will ever hear in Black Metal. Those keyboards I talked about are still here, bigtime… and they are now accompanied by a full professional orchestra on about half the songs. Don’t let this make you think the album is weak and watered down as there are plenty of moments on the album that are just super raw Black Metal in style, hearkening back to their sound on the first few albums. Some of the orchestration has a liberal dose of brass instruments that really remind me of the old Sear Bliss albums at times. Blast beat drums, pounding bass, catchy melodies and epic and fast guitars. It’s all here, folks! The vocals are mostly Black Metal in style, but at times there are a few Death grunts and even some dark narration. The lyrics are about “renewal, personal transformation, spiritual growth and the shedding of old forms”. The lyrics alternate from English to Norwegian in an homage to the band’s early days and their Norwegian roots. The production is spectacular and everything that goes on throughout the album is easily heard with nothing being lost in the mix.
The cover art is done in hues of gold and black and is some sort of serpent… err… rising… I think they call this the “Tridentium Sigil” and it’s surrounded by all kinds of symbols and imagery. It’s classy and well-done. Inside are all of the album’s lyrics, band photos and the album and band information.
Whether you are a longtime fan of Dimmu Borgir or have not heard them yet, “Grand Serpent Rising” is the perfect album for you to pick up. I guarantee you will enjoy it as much as I did. It is the album of the year so far for this humble reviewer.
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