Search - Dimmu Borgir :: For All Tid

A good start for a band that turned bad.

Mr_Grim | Bay Area, CA | 09/26/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I am constantly reminded about how sh*tty modern Dimmu is. I see them in interviews constantly, and those ridiculous pictures they take, where Shagrath does totally cheesy poses (like Dani Filth?), and I constantly get this hole in my gut about how good they used to be. While this effort isn't as great as Stormblaast (the last album they made before they started sucking), it does have its moments. At best, it's epic. The melodies are driven by a dark force that's more subdued and malevolent than the future DB, which is mostly "Look at me, everybody, Look at me!! I'm satanic! WORSHIP SATAN WORSHIP SATAN!" and no substance beyond that. X[ This album begins with some weird computer noises, and then goes into this beautiful piano melody, and then Silenoz (shagrath was the drummer back then) says some rant in norwegian. Song two begins with a great riff, and some awesome melodies, and has a crushing dark atmosphere, unlike song three, which has a sort of operatic feel. Although most people hate the singing, I love it. I'm a sucker for that type (Attila Csihar, Garm, etc...). The only problem is that the rest of the songs are often forgettable riffs, a.k.a. the dreaded filler. Every song has its good, epic parts, but they also have their repetitive filler parts, which is why Stormblaast is a 5 star album and this is a four star album.



Dimmu Borgir has changed a lot, though. Now, their music is a joke. The keyboard melodies are no longer intelligent and now "Look at me, I have a keyboard! I AM 'SYMPHONIC'! I AM T3H 1337!!!" In fact, most of their later sound is basically "Look at me! LOOK AT ME!". The lyrics went from intelligent stories to "Look at me, I have a large vocabulary! I are satanic!!" It makes me wanna cry. The only DB albums you should have are this one and Stormblaast. I got EDT and the more I listened to it, the more I didn't like it. I burned Spiritual Black Dimensions, and I only liked one song. I quit paying attention to DB after that."

This was a surprise!!

D. Knouse | vancouver, washington United States | 09/14/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This album resonates with the lo-fi sound of early '90s Black Metal. The production isn't great, but it isn't bad either. I've heard both sides of that argument and have come to the conclusion that this album is like watching a really good low-budget movie that has somehow been forgotten with the passing of time. An underappreciated gem that only needs to be listened to to regain its luster. The first time I heard this album was soon after hearing their masterpiece "Enthrone Darkness Triumphant," and I see now that it was not fair of me to do that. But later on I decided to try it out again and was pleasantly surprised. "For All Tid" reminded me of early Satyricon (see "The Shadowthrone" and "Dark Medieval Times") in that the lo-fi production actually added charm to the sound rather than making it sound horrible, like so many other Black Metal bands. All in all, this is worth the money I spent."

Almost brilliant.

TreyC | Australia | 05/19/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Yes back in the day when DB were once Truly seen as one of black metals elite.If you are only into New DB this sounds nothing like them.This is slow,murky,atmospheric,Keyboard based and sung entirely in norwegian.In this case its a good thing becuase this is without doubt one of their best (second only to stormblast).The low budget recording of this album really captures the time it was made and brings back the atmosphere of that TRUE black metal era.If you are after the Brutal modern day dimmu this is not it."