Questo disco si compone essenzialmente di due parti ed è il punto di incontro tra il precedente Stormblåst e il successivo Spiritual Black Dimension.
Tra l'altro d'ora in poi i titoli dei cd dei Dimmu inizieranno ad essere composti da tre parole, di cui due (spesso)sono aggettivi piú un nome (nella testa di Shagrath doveva essere scattato, o essersi staccato, qualcosa).
Non è un mistero che questo sia il cd che piú piace ai fan dei Dimmu e ai metallari in genere.
Difatti questi cinque pagani (per usare un eufemismo) norvegesi si sono infurbiti e, abbandonate le mazze ferrate, hanno mischiato un po' le carte in tavola creando un capolavoro (per me comunque inferiore a Stormblåst) per tutti i palati.C'è chi magari avrebbe voluto gli stessi Dimmu di Stormblåst, poetici e melodici, e chi avrebbe voluto i Dimmu piú incazzati con meno fronzoli classici e cupi accordi di tastiera (quasi sempre in tonalità minore) al posto del dolce pianoforte di Stormblåst.
I Dimmu hanno fatto entrambe le cose, mischiandole e creando qualcosa di unico e irripetibile. Se da un lato troviamo riff di puro black metal davvero devastanti accompagnati dall'immenso Tjodalv (ora leader dei Susperia) con blastbeats al limite dell'umano (come in Relinquishment of Spirit and Flesh o Tormentor of Christian Soul), dall'altro abbiamo le "dolci" e malinconiche melodie di Entrance o Prudence's Fall, giusto per fare qualche esempio.
Sul genere è inutile spendere troppe parole, diciamo che si tratta di un symphonic black metal molto melodico con qua e là alcuni sprazzi gothic, dovuti soprattutto alle eteree atmosfere ricamate da Stian, sicuramente il migliore tastierista che il black sinfonico abbia mai conosciuto.
Un disco da avere, sia perché vi terrà compagnia per molti mesi prima di stancarvi sia perché è un disco che cambiò il black metal sinfonico e che diede vita a migliaia di copie carbone (non ultimi i Cradle of Filth) che tentarono inutilmente di emulare questo capolavoro.
Elenco tracce testi samples e video
01 Mourning Palace (05:13)
Daylight has finally reached it's end
As evenfall strikes into the sky
Far away in the dark crimson moonlight
Sickening souls cry out in pain
Whispering voices summoning screams
Waiting for Satan to bless their sins
Blackhearted angels fallen from grace
Possessed by the search for utter darkness
Hear the cries from the Mourning Palace
Feel the gloom of restless spirits
Hear the screams from the Mouring Palace
Feel the doom of haunting chants
Eternal is their lives in misery
Eternal is their lives in grief
Abandoned in a void of nothingness
A chain of anger, a fetter of despair
In this garden of depraved beings
This unsacred place of helpless ones
Satan blessed the creatures
Inswathed them in endless night
Whispering voices, summoning screams
Waiting for Satan to bless their sins
Blackhearted angels fallen from grace
Possessed by the search for utter darkness
04 Relinquishment of Spirit and Flesh (05:33)
King of tempests and storms
Lord of innumerable figures and forms
Blessed with Thy cold I am
as I upon the shoulders of mine
bear the burden of Thine
Once I got touched by a fire from beyond
an invitation of darkness of which I colud not resist
Caressed by the feathers of the fallen
I took the fate in my hand
My raging Commander
My constant Shade
My soul's Persecutor
My eternal Divinity
Revealing Thy powers in visions and dreams
Onvoking Your magic at night
Honored I am to mission Thy word
within a creed is sworn of majestic might
An infernal allegiance in which I pay my share
An unholy awakening inside of which I intend to bear
Beholding Thy commotion
I entreat You with devotion
I subsume Your might with strength
I will carry on with You as my guardian
against the lambs of the light
Possessed by the true god of earth I am
Possessed for eternity
06 Tormentor of Christian Souls (05:39)
I could drag you to my chambers
and strip you naked in darkness
I could pull out your fingernails one by one
and rape you till you find no hope
I could rip your guts out
and let you watch me
sacrifice your unborn child
I could leave you to starve
and even bring you to total silence
For once
For I find no pleasure in your physical pain
I want your christian soul to crumble
Your fucking soul
When I have seen your church go up in flames
and you are weeping I will laugh
When I have seen you mourn over loved ones
I will feel bliss when your mortal souls is in ruins
I will grin in the shadows
for that gives me pleasure
Tormenting a christian soul
07 Entrance (04:48)
Soul(s) on departure six six six
onward unto another existence
A trip far beyond all pleasant dreams
A voyage through desolation sights
Inner transformation
Subconscious flight
In the glance fields of fires
In the distance meadows of mists
Where minds being enshrouded in complete night
The fading of love, life and light
Wandering an endless journey
Dead within a trance
Entering a lost dominion soulless and free
Visiting a foreign place but yet so known
Another dimension opens for me to see
Heaven sure ain't made for me to be
Heaven sure ain't made for me to be
Soul(s) on arrival six six six
one short step from unhallowed ground
The ground of A Kingdom Come
Dead spirits communion
Unorthodox profane void
Gardens, temples, palaces
I have seen them all
In search for insanity, sanity slowly drowns - In trance
08 Master of Disharmony (04:16)
Master of disharmony
welcome my tainted soul
Take me from the hordes of the living
into the blessed darkness
Master of disharmony
take my impure flesh
Lead me into the path of temptation
save me from cowardness
Save me from cowardness
Master of sin
take my cursed heart
Bring me where I can find salvation
dor I am the danmed
Master of death
take my pitiful life
I am enslaved
I shall never forget the pain
Master of sin
take my cursed heart
Bring me where I can find salvation
for I am the danmed
Master of death
take my pitiful life
I am enslaved
I shall never forget the pain
10 A Succubus in Rapture (06:00)
Illness and plagues, torture and blight
Is what she brings
Mocking holy standards, deceiving feeble fools
Is what she loves
Granted with powers, gifted with magic
Watching the world through raven eyes
Damned woman mischievous whore
Heretic princess
Devil's own
Her seductive elegance
Excites your weak flesh
Her diabolical beauty
Enchants your bewildered mind
You damn woman
You mischievous whore
You heretic princess
You are Devil's own
A serenade made out of black magic
She has learned to set souls afire
And makes sure that you never
Will leave it's trance
Her diabolical beauty
Enchants your bewildered mind
11 Raabjørn speiler Draugheimens skodde (05:02)
Langt der borte I m�rket
Gjennom tretopper der m�nelys driver
Langt der borte I all t�ke
Inn gjennom min sjel den sorte angst river
P� de mosegrodde steiner de seg viser
N�r nattem�rket har senket seg over
Ekkoene fra deres grufulle jamring
Endel st� du kan h�re
I horisonten langt vekk
Skimtes den sigende skodde
Horder av ild rider m�nelyset I flokk
Ved daggry de samles ved en bortgjemt odde
Den iskalde snoen
Har kommet
Denne gang
I evig fokk
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Altre recensioni
Di Fallen
Perfette nella loro purezza pianistica le note di “Mourning Palace” si schiudono come i petali di un malefico fiore.
Se davvero avete deciso di valicare la soglia di questo mondo d’ombre, vi invito ad affacciarvi e poi guardare il mondo con occhi diversi.