Spiritual Black Dimensions | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 2 March 1999 | |||
Recorded | August–October 1998 at Abyss Studio | |||
Genre | Symphonic black metal | |||
Length | 49:14 | |||
Label | Nuclear Blast | |||
Producer | Dimmu Borgir, Peter Tägtgren | |||
Dimmu Borgir chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [1] |
Spiritual Black Dimensions is the fourth studio album by Norwegian symphonic black metal band Dimmu Borgir. It was released in 1999 by Nuclear Blast Records. A deluxe edition was released in 2004 with bonus material. There is also a digipak edition of this album which contains no bonus tracks. The digipak has reflective/holographic cover art. This release featured keyboardist Mustis and the clean vocals of ICS Vortex, as well as the departure of long-time drummer Tjodalv, guitarist Astennu, and bassist Nagash.
The album cover was part of the top 10 of Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers by Blender magazine in 2006. [2] It was inspired by The Wounded Angel , a painting by a Finnish symbolist artist Hugo Simberg.
No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
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1. | "Reptile" | Silenoz | 5:17 | |
2. | "Behind the Curtains of Night - Phantasmagoria" | Silenoz | 3:21 | |
3. | "Dreamside Dominions" | Silenoz | 5:14 | |
4. | "United in Unhallowed Grace" | Nagash | 4:22 | |
5. | "The Promised Future Aeons" | Nagash | 6:52 | |
6. | "The Blazing Monoliths of Defiance" | Nagash | Shagrath | 4:38 |
7. | "The Insight and the Catharsis" | Silenoz | Shagrath | 7:17 |
8. | "Grotesquery Conceiled (Within Measureless Magic)" | Silenoz | 5:10 | |
9. | "Arcane Lifeforce Mysteria" | Silenoz, Nagash, Shagrath | 7:03 |
No. | Title | Length |
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10. | "Masses for the New Messiah" | 5:11 |
Steve Huey of AllMusic stated that "Dimmu Borgir's arrangements continue to increase in complexity and sophistication on Spiritual Black Dimensions, improving on its predecessors and illustrating the band's musical progression". [1] In Slayer no. 13, Jon 'Metalion' Kristiansen called Spiritual Black Dimensions "a fine case of melodic, over-produced, symphonic metal. If you like this melodic style I can't really think of anyone doing it better […]. No, I wouldn't call this black metal. Read the interview with Funeral Mist for the right definition of black metal". [3]
Dimmu Borgir is a Norwegian symphonic black metal band from Jessheim, formed in 1993. The name is derived from Dimmuborgir, a volcanic formation in Iceland, the name of which means "dark cities" or "dark castles/fortresses" in Icelandic, Faroese and Old Norse. The band has been through numerous lineup changes over the years; vocalist Shagrath and rhythm guitarist Silenoz are the only original members who still remain, with lead guitarist Galder being a longstanding member.
The Kovenant is a Norwegian industrial metal band from Hamar. The band originally formed as a symphonic black metal act known as Covenant in 1993, but in 1999 were forced to change their name to The Kovenant due to a dispute with a Swedish electronic band of the same name. The band's name change also marked a change in sound/style as well, as the band from there on began to focus more on an aggrotech/industrial metal sound heavily influenced by Europe's EBM scene. Despite their style change, The Kovenant did however later reissue their early albums under The Kovenant name.
Death Cult Armageddon is the sixth studio album by Norwegian symphonic black metal band Dimmu Borgir, released on 9 September 2003. It has since sold over 100,000 copies in the United States; the first album under Nuclear Blast to do so; and debuted on the Billboard 200 chart at number 169. The song "Progenies of the Great Apocalypse" was released as a single with an accompanying music video. This would also be the last album to have Nicholas Barker on drums.
Susperia is a Norwegian melodic thrash metal band formed in October 1998 by Tjodalv and Cyrus. The band was originally named Seven Sins, but since there was another band with that name they changed it to the title of the horror film Suspiria, changing the spelling to avoid a clash with Suspiria, a gothic rock band that also took its name from the film.
Stormblåst is the second studio album by Norwegian symphonic black metal band Dimmu Borgir. It was released on 25 January 1996 through Cacophonous Records, re-released in 2001 by Century Media, and completely re-recorded in 2005, released as Stormblåst MMV.
For all tid is the debut studio album by Norwegian symphonic black metal band Dimmu Borgir. It was released in 1995 through No Colours. It was remastered and re-released in 1997 through their new label Nuclear Blast with the front cover art in full color and the entire Inn i evighetens mørke EP added. It is the band's only studio album on which Shagrath is on drums, Tjodalv on guitar and Silenoz on vocals.
Nexus Polaris is the second studio album by the Norwegian metal band Covenant, and was released in 1998 through Nuclear Blast.
Enthrone Darkness Triumphant is the third studio album by Norwegian symphonic black metal band Dimmu Borgir, released on 30 May 1997 through Nuclear Blast. It was the band's first release through Nuclear Blast. This is the last release to feature keyboardist Stian Aarstad and the first with bassist Nagash.
Mustis is the pseudonym of Øyvind Johan Mustaparta, a Norwegian keyboardist best known for his work in the symphonic black metal band Dimmu Borgir, as well as the black/thrash metal band Susperia.
Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia is the fifth studio album by Norwegian symphonic black metal band Dimmu Borgir. It was released by Nuclear Blast Records in 2001. This is the first album to feature drummer Nicholas Barker, guitarist Galder, and ICS Vortex on bass. It is also the first album upon which the band used real orchestral instrumentation instead of keyboards.
Simen Hestnæs, better known by his stage name ICS Vortex or simply Vortex, is a Norwegian musician. He is the vocalist of the similarly named band ICS Vortex, the avant-garde metal band Arcturus and the doom metal band Lamented Souls. He is also a vocalist and the bass guitarist to the heavy metal band Borknagar, and the former bass guitarist and clean vocalist for the symphonic black metal band Dimmu Borgir.
Alive in Torment is the third EP by Norwegian symphonic black metal band Dimmu Borgir. It was recorded in Stuttgart, Germany on 4 April 2001, during the tour supporting their fifth studio album Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia.
World Misanthropy is the first video album by Norwegian symphonic black metal band Dimmu Borgir. It was released on 28 May 2002 as a two disc set, with early pressings featuring the bonus CD, a VHS and the bonus disc separately as a limited edition clear 12" vinyl with white and green streaked spots with only 2000 copies pressed. The first disc was filmed during the tour to support the band's fifth studio album Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia, while the second disc is a compilation of videos from previous tours and other media.
In Sorte Diaboli is the seventh studio album by Norwegian symphonic black metal band Dimmu Borgir, released in 2007. It is the band's first concept album. A site on the Nuclear Blast website was created for In Sorte Diaboli, in which a new promotional photo can be seen and an audio sample can be heard. This would be the last album by Dimmu Borgir to feature ICS Vortex, Hellhammer and Mustis.
Lord Kaos is an Australian black metal band that formed in Sydney in 1994. For several years the group was the most prominent act of its style in the country with one founding member going on to record and perform with several Norwegian black metal bands including Dimmu Borgir. While Lord Kaos only released one album, the group was a considerable influence on the local heavy metal music scene as not only arguably the first but one of the few bands to record and perform Norwegian-style symphonic black metal.
Mirrored Hate Painting is the second studio album by the Norwegian black metal band Carpe Tenebrum. It was recorded in winter 1998 at The Abyss Studio and released in 1999 through Karmageddon Media. Stylistically the album is similar to Dimmu Borgir'sSpiritual Black Dimensions, albeit heavier and less symphonic. The album has an arguably obscure atmosphere because of the atypical cover artwork, the poetic lyrics and the bizarrely edited speech samples between some of the songs. The band again used a drum machine although Nagash is listed as the drummer.
Astennu is the professional name of Australian heavy metal musician Jamie Stinson. His name is derived from a creature in Egyptian mythology.
The Invaluable Darkness is the second video album by Norwegian symphonic black metal band Dimmu Borgir. It was released on October 14, 2008. The title comes from the closing track of In Sorte Diaboli, their eighth and most recent studio album at the time, despite the fact that the track does not appear on this release.
Storm Seeker is the debut album by Norwegian musician ICS Vortex, released on 22 August 2011 in Europe and 23 August 2011 in North America.