The untouchable past is not to be touched – 61%
gasmask_colostomy, November 14th, 2019
Written based on this version: 1997, CD, Nuclear Blast (Reissue, Remastered, Digipak)
I’m not entirely sure of Dimmu Borgir’s significance in developing black metal as a genre, given that they formed in 1993 after much of the philosophical punch had been brewed, quaffed, and vomited by the arsonists and murderers. In any case, this debut album arrived in 1995, fairly hot on the tail of Emperor, who – lest we forget – were the most impressive of the early black metallers to incorporate keyboards into their sound. At times, For All Tid seems obviously influenced by Ihsahn and company, quite apparent when a song such as ‘Under Korpens Vinger’ mixes together sweeping synth lines, expansively rattling riffs, and a similar gnarled growl from Silenoz to that of Emperor’s In the Nightside Eclipse. However, there’s a lot more to this album than that, mixing up most of the contemporary black metal methodologies with an inkling of something new. If that sounds at all interesting, do yourself the favour of picking up the colourful Nuclear Blast reissue that makes the cover artwork my favourite from the entire second wave. Feast your eyes on that untouchable past.
Your ears may be able to pick up the same themes from Dimmu’s cacophony, although it won’t take many listens to comprehend the messiness and immaturity of some of the music. I feel it isn’t mentioned often enough how young a lot of the early black metal musicians were when making their first recordings, and the average age of 18 or 19 in the Dimmu camp may not have helped matters. Nor did the scattered duties of the band, which saw members swapping instruments and sharing roles, such as Tjodalv turning up on drums for one track, Shagrath handling three separate responsibilities, and Silenoz singing the bulk of the songs, which would change over to Shagrath by the time of Enthrone Darkness Triumphant. Factor in that Stian Aarstad was officially only a session member and the confusion of the music seems justified. Quite often what happens with the songs on For All Tid can be summarized in the same way as the line-up of Dimmu Borgir – they didn’t know how everything should fit together.
Since I’m listening to the remastered edition, I feel a little uncomfortable about how loosely the instruments gel on some tracks, quite obvious when the title track separates bass and keyboards entirely from guitars that are indecipherable with distortion. Heavy use of clean sections there saves the day, conjuring a melancholy and contemplative mood, yet other songs confuse all the more when juxtaposing the mystic clarity of the keys with supposedly attacking rhythm guitar, particularly as the guitar fails to provide a punch to any riffs, due in part to the dislocated bass, which is played quite sedately. Often that means that bandmembers are working against one another, as ‘Stien’ proves in an unnerving 2 minutes, the band blasting away at a grimmer version of their ordinarily relaxed black metal, then Aarsted popping up suddenly for a nostalgic folk melody every few bars. The idea didn’t really make sense in the first place, but added to the awkward mix and inane structuring (‘Stien’ almost exactly repeats the same movement 4 times and then just finishes) it comes close to an outright travesty.
Moments certainly come and go during For All Tid when Dimmu sound much more convincing. Though plagued by slightly irritating transitions, ‘Raabjørn Speiler Draugheimens Skodde’ approaches the majestic territory of Emperor, especially in the slower section towards the end where the simple riff has magnitude added by the keys and some atmospheric clean guitars, the vocal complementing the dark aura with a brief snarled verse. In fact, the slower sections that include more varied instrumentation come out more strongly than the black metal riffing, the band’s use of clean sounds building up some of the crippling antiquity hinted at by the cover art. The feeling hits me strongest during ‘Den Gjemte Sannhets Hersker’ and ‘Over Bleknede Blåner Til Dommedag’, the latter of which features a conspicuous guest role for Aldrahn (Thorns, DHG) warbling and narrating over lilting riffing that holds itself together notably well in the context. The grandiose vocals are joined by soaring violin synths and reach for the same goal as one another, until a pleasantly surprising burst of scorn ambushes the close of the song. Quite a trip, though unfortunately one of quite few places where Shagrath gets the blasting right, inserting a lot of messy stumbles and over-compensated cymbals elsewhere.
I don’t especially want to go into detail on upsets like the song with punk riffing or the unseemly length of ‘Det Nye Riket’ (for all intents and purposes, just a very long intro), partly because I would be repeating what other reviewers have said and partly because they constitute an element of this album’s charm. I’m very happy to grant that Dimmu Borgir made a few mistakes with For All Tid, not least in terms of songwriting and production, though we end up with a second wave album that feels quite different in tone to most others. Heaviness is not overly apparent, the non-metal additions prove satisfyingly atmospheric, and an unusual sense of defeatist struggle hangs over some of the best cuts. You shouldn’t have too many expectations about the norms of second wave black metal going into this, then For All Tid might begin to show its value.
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