''Enthrone Darkness Triumphant'' is the third studio album by Norwegian

symphonic black metal Symphonic black metal is a subgenre of black metal that emerged in the 1990s and incorporates symphonic and orchestral elements. History One of the earliest forerunners in what would come to be the sound of symphonic metal was Celtic Frost ...

band

Dimmu Borgir 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 lang ...

, released on 30 May 1997 through

Nuclear Blast Nuclear Blast Records is a German record label with subsidiary, subsidiaries located in Germany, the United States and Brazil. It was founded in 1987 by Markus Staiger in Donzdorf. Originally releasing hardcore punk records, the label moved on ...

. It was the band's first release through Nuclear Blast and also first recorded and produced in Abyss Studio, Sweden by

Peter Tägtgren Alf Peter Tägtgren (born 3 June 1970) is a Swedish musician and record producer. He is the founder, main songwriter, lead vocalist, and guitarist of death metal band Hypocrisy as well as the industrial metal band Pain in which he is the only m ...

. It is also the last Dimmu Borgir full-length album to feature keyboardist

Stian Aarstad Stian Aarstad is a Norwegian pianist and keyboard player best known for his four-year (1993–1997) stint with the symphonic black metal band Dimmu Borgir during which he played keyboards and synthesizers Dimmu Borgir's second album Stormblå ...

and the first with bassist Nagash. Even though the album is not that different to its predecessor

Stormblåst ''Stormblåst'' (English: ''Stormblown'') 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-re ...

in terms of composition and songwriting, it marks major upgrade in quality and aggressiveness of their overall sound. Together with the marketing effort of their new recording label it is one of the key factors that contributed to the major success of this record and breakthrough of the band in general.

Release

The album has been released on many formats, including a limited edition

vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl ...

(300 white and 1000 black). In 2002, a deluxe CD version was released with bonus material. ''Enthrone Darkness Triumphant'' was also the band's first album to display their second logo, though the old "black metal" logo is seen in the back cover artwork on the original printing. Due to concerns from Nuclear Blast, the lyrics of "Tormentor of Christian Souls" were omitted from the disc's liner notes. "Master of Disharmony" and "Raabjorn speiler Draugheimens skodde" are re-recorded versions of older, already released tracks (from '' Devil's Path'' and ''

For all tid ''For all tid'' ( Norwegian: "For All Time") 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 B ...

'' respectively).

Critical reception

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

praised the album, writing, "One of the most important Scandinavian metal discs ever, Dimmu Borgir's ''Enthrone Darkness Triumphant'' is the group's unquestioned masterpiece." In 2005, ''Enthrone Darkness Triumphant'' was ranked number 298 in ''

Rock Hard Rock Hard may refer to: * "Rock Hard" (song), a 1984 song by the Beastie Boys * ''Rock Hard'', a 1980 album by Suzi Quatro * ''Rock Hard'' (magazine), a German music magazine ** Rock Hard Festival, a heavy metal festival sponsored by the above maga ...

'' magazine's book of ''The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time''. In 2020, it was named one of the 20 best metal albums of 1997 by ''

Metal Hammer ''Metal Hammer'' is a heavy metal music magazine and website founded in 1983, published in the United Kingdom by Future, with other language editions published by different companies available in numerous other countries. ''Metal Hammer'' featu ...

'' magazine. In 2021, the magazine ranked it as the 7th best symphonic metal album of all time. The album has occasionally faced some criticism. Death Metal Underground labels it "a ripoff of bands that were new when these musicians were born," noting that it lacks a sense of theme and that it is essentially "a

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

album with heavy metal

riffs A riff is a short, repeated motif or figure in the melody or accompaniment of a musical composition. Riffs are most often found in rock music, punk, heavy metal music, Latin, funk, and jazz, although classical music is also sometimes based on ...

," which wants the "neoclassical orchestration that made he previous album''

'' brilliant."

Track listing

Charts

Personnel

;Dimmu Borgir *

Shagrath Stian Tomt Thoresen (born 18 November 1976),Shagrath
at Encyclopaedia Metallum known professiona ...

– lead vocals, rhythm guitar *

Silenoz Silenoz (born Sven Atle Kopperud, 1 March 1977) is a Norwegian guitarist who is a founding member, along with Shagrath and Tjodalv, of the symphonic black metal band Dimmu Borgir, of which he is the primary songwriter. He is also guitarist fo ...

– rhythm guitar * Nagash – bass, background vocals, lead guitar (uncredited) *

– synthesizer, piano *

Tjodalv Ian Kenneth Åkesson (born 1976), known professionally as Tjodalv, is a Norwegian drummer. He is a founding member of the black metal bands Dimmu Borgir and Old Man's Child. He now plays in Black Comedy and Susperia. Tjodalv played guitar on th ...

– drums ;Additional personnel *Bente Engen – female vocals (track 5) *

– engineering, mixing

References

{{Authority control Dimmu Borgir albums 1997 albums Nuclear Blast albums