In Iceland, the Dimmu borgir is a lava formation that, according to folklore, connects earth and hell. In Norway, Dimmu Borgir is a band that links the operatic melodies of classical symphonies with the demonic growling and blast beats of black metal.
After a three-year absence, Dimmu Borgir will make a stop at Los Angeles’ Wiltern Theater Thursday night, as part of its North American tour in support of its latest album, “In Sorte Diaboli,” which was released in April.
“We are very happy to finally be back in the States to play. It’s been way too long,” said guitarist Silenoz.
The new release, the band’s first studio effort since 2003’s “Death Cult Armageddon,” is its first attempt at a concept album.
“We didn’t do anything very different from the regular storytelling,” Silenoz said. “Basically it’s about a priest during the Dark Ages who realizes he has a bloodline direct to the devil and while he still works for the church, he has to find his own true identity and has to fight the local authorities and community.”
The overarching theme of the album, on the other hand, is something that can be accessible to almost all listeners.
“He realizes there is a penalty for being different, for going his own way,” Silenoz said.
The album features the current touring lineup of Silenoz on guitar, Shagrath on vocals, Galder on guitar, I.C.S. Vortex on bass and clean vocals (black metal typically features harsh singing), Hellhammer on drums and Mustis on keyboard.
For “In Sorte Diaboli” the band took a more organic approach than is heard on their other albums.
“We were less prepared for the studio this time. We had all the material done but we didn’t analyze things too much for this album. It was back to the roots of making an album like we did in the past and it came out more direct,” Silenoz said.
Musically, Silenoz describes the new material as less grandiose than the band’s previous work.
“It’s probably a little more stripped down as far as symphonics go, but it still sounds very much like us,” he said.
Which is not to say the band has lowered their musical standards.
“Like every album, we try to perfect our own sound so this album is another step in that direction,” Silenoz said. “As long as we can keep doing what we do without compromising our sound or integrity and credibility, then that’s all that matters. It has worked for us so far and hopefully we’ll continue moving forward.”
But after more than a decade of making music, moving forward in the eyes of the fans is not always easy.
“For every album we release, fans have more albums to compare it with, so they’re going to be more critical for each new album. And that’s how we are, too. I guess that’s a good thing after all,” Silenoz said.
The fans seem to agree, with “In Sorte Diaboli” reaching No. 43 on the Billboard charts and selling 14,000 copies in its first week of U.S. release, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
“In the States, every tour we do and every show we do, we start seeing more and more people coming to the shows. It increases with each album, and that’s always a very good thing,” Silenoz said.
He attributes this popularity in part to the youth of the black metal scene in America.
“I think the music is still very fresh in the States, and I get a feeling of enthusiasm from American fans,” he said.
As to why American fans have this enthusiasm, Silenoz notes the greater prevalence and availability of black metal in Europe.
“I think that (American fans) show more enthusiasm, because they aren’t as spoiled as people in Europe who get this kind of music every week,” he said.
The band hasn’t forgotten that it’s these front-row fans that enable them to do what they do.
“When we started out, we never had hopes or expectations of touring the world, so this is a big bonus for us ““ to be able to do what we love most in our lives ““ which not everyone gets to do,” Silenoz said. “We are really glad people haven’t forgotten about us.”