For the longest time I really despised this album. I thought the transitions were weak and despite having a couple good riffs here and there the lack of a cohesive movement from one part of a song to another turned me off to the whole thing... and that was my opinion for at least 15 years.
I revisited it maybe five to seven years ago thinking that I may have missed something. So many other people seem to think that this is a fantastic metal album, even beyond black metal circles. When I went back, I did indeed hear those transitions that made it so hard for me to get into the album in the first place... but the rest of the music. I've never been so happy to be wrong about an album.
Yes, the transitions on parts are really rough, and they do momentarily take me out of the song. Mourning Palace is particularly bad at this, the transition from the slower introduction to the faster parts in the middle of the song (especially the blasting section) really are not done well and I was afraid that I was going to have to pass on the album again. But then the song calms down again and I'm wrapped up in the wonderful interplay of the guitars and the keyboards.
Dimmu really figured something out on this album. The way that the guitars and keys work together create an incredibly compelling interaction. Where one picks up the other leaves off, when one shines the other lets off a little bit. Everything works in perfect harmony here. Listen to the beginning of In Death's Embrace and tell me that's not nearly a perfect interplay between the guitar and piano. It's so well written and gives me goosebumps when I listen to it. The album is full of moments like that!
I think I had my Dimmu albums reversed in my youth. I thought Spiritual Black Dimensions was the better of the two when I was younger, now that I'm a bit older and have taken more time with the albums I have to say that Enthrone Darkness Triumphant is definitively the better of the two. I'm very glad that I was wrong about this album.
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