28/11/05

DIMMU BORGIR / STORMBLAST

The merits of re-recording an old album are highly debatable; there are valid points of view on both the artist’s side and the fans side but what it comes down to in the end the reasons behind the project itself, the music.

"Stornblast" is a Black Metal Classic to those of us who like the genre, so when I read the band were un happy with the original and were re recording it, I must admit to being a little apprehensive, however I need not have worried, Dimmu Borgir have done it well, all the songs have been updated without losing their original feeling and I have to admit that the production on the original was not as good as it could have been. It is nice to have the old songs sounding so pristine and the 2 new tracks on here fit in well and don’t sound as if they’ve just been added for the sake of it and they are sung in their native tongue so they fit in.

This is probably the most sympathetic re-recording of an old album I have heard and it does come with a bonus 5 track DVD of their 2004 Ozzfest appearance that is worth getting, if you’re a fan.

TOTAL PLAYING TIME = 51 mins + 11 TRACKS