Dimmu Borgir are great musicians and exhibit such throughout this outing, many of my favorite parts on this release are the instrumental performances, which 'speak' louder then the words attached to them.

The music sometimes becomes unpredictable, not in a good way, often times a great musical composition will be ruined by a sudden change of direction, while if listened to as a whole it works well and can go un-noticed, break the songs down into 'singles' and the effect is severely lessened.. Shagrath has a decent vocal approach, it fits the music, he doesn't use clean vocals, which is a good thing, as a clean vocal approach probably would not mix well with the music. The keyboards are often times well-placed, and for the most part, well used and played.

A good use of keyboards, combined with a piano, Shagrath's blackened shrieks, and a more then worthy guitarist make this release worthy of at least a listen, for the individual to decide whether this is to their tastes or not. Symphonic metal with a strong rock twist.

© 2000 alasdor