Dimmu Borgir at Stubb's photo by Jeff Barringer - Staff Photographer |
by Nokturnel Tom
club kingsnake staff
Dimmu Borgir
Hometown: Oslo, Norway
http://www.dimmu-borgir.com/
Dimmu Borgir Concert Photos
Monday, April 21st, 2007
Stubb's Bar-B-Q (Austin, Texas)
Also:
Keep of Kalessin,
Behemoth
Ah, it seems like yesterday that these three bands were "new." Here I am standing in a sea of hundreds of people on a Monday night. Now understand, Austin is not bad for national acts as far as metal is concerned, but it's not often the famous Stubbs BBQ hosts a night of black metal.
This tour would have been considered underground ten years ago; now it has come full circle. These bands are veterans and this is considered mainstream by most. It's safe to say these are bands that may have lost their original fans and gained ten times as many new ones.
This is not my idea of "true black metal," nope, not at all -- though I will give respect to Dimmu for keeping the theme evil. Dimmu has always been pretty much the same, although the sound of the records gets better with every release and they have really perfected their style of metal.
Behemoth at Stubb's photo by Jeff Barringer - Staff Photographer |
Behemoth is a different story, as they have become an entirely different band from what they started as. For them, however, I think this change was for the best. They went from a sloppy under-produced band to an extremely talented ferocious entity that has won over a huge fan base.
Though many probably looked at Keep of Kalessin as the new guys, they've also been around for many years and have some solid releases under their bullet belts. This was one hell of a show. Back in the day, Keep of Kalessin didn't strike me as Dimmu-esque wannabes. After seeing them perform I think now they are, but this is not a negative. The thing that impresses me most about Dimmu (and for the record I am not really a fan of this band) is their professionalism. The sound, stage presence and set list covering all their records leaves people feeling they got their moneys worth.
K.O.K. had a very short set but they played excellent and sounded decent, but they look to me like they are going for this mainstream approach now. Dimmu paved the way for bands like them and they are extremely fortunate to have opened a tour like this one. I didn't recall ever paying attention to what K.O.K. looked like but now they have that in between goth and metal thing going on. Metal used to be dominated by jeans and t shirts, now in this genre it's leather pants, vinyl and mesh along with some corpse paint -- if you can call it that. Now it seems more like an elaborate costume -- in Behemoth's and Dimmu's case that is. I didn't get close enough to really get a look at K.O.K. but seeing some recent pics on the net has me wondering if they always wanted to be the band they are now, or did they see an opportunity to join the ranks of bands like Dimmu and Behemoth by leaning more towards that image?
Behemoth at Stubb's photo by Jeff Barringer - Staff Photographer |
Regardless, K.O.K. is a great fucking band. High speed drumming pounds through their set and the crowd seems to be into them. Their records have always been in my collection and it was great to see them, I honestly never thought they'd make it to the US. There they were with two bands at the top of this genre, and they were kicking ass, too. I think many of the headliner's fans will want to buy their records, and I have to wonder how are they doing in other countries at the moment? Something tells me these guys are going to be huge. I hope so and encourage you to check them out. Keep of Kalessin are fucking awesome!
Behemoth somehow exploded a decade ago. They went through this change and left their past way behind them. I have lost track of how many releases they have but noticed many people not really into the underground are now supporting them. A few tours with some very popular bands did wonders for them, the same way Dimmu benefited from Ozzfest. This band goes all out in the costume department, and it's pretty fucking cool actually. I have heard they're very cool people and they play masterfully. So fucking tight and with much enthusiasm. The crowd eats them up and they play a great set.
The only thing that bothers me about their set was the talk between songs. Frontman Nergal is a popular guy, he is well respected and deserves to be worshiped. However, the sound of his voice and the things he says reminds me much more of a rock concert, and this bothers the shit out of me. You sing about these extreme topics and are supposed to be unleashing utter chaos and mayhem, and then say shit like, "Are you guys ready for another song? Let me hear you! Are you ready for the headliner?!" Fuck all that. I hate that to my core....it's fucking annoying and the mood is way too fucking happy. This band rages like a technical precise machine of destruction and they are just incredible, but it seems when bands like this achieve success they lose the anger that most metal heads have inside. The anger that explodes when they hit the stage. Instead you get these guys who smile too fucking much and the reality hits....that these are not unholy superheroes....they're just some guys in a band. Other than that, you really just cannot pick Behemoth apart. They rule. End of story.
Dimmu Borgir at Stubb's photo by Jeff Barringer - Staff Photographer |
And then it happens. The lights dim and Dimmu hits the stage. I tell someone we'll see what kind of performance this will be in the first 30 seconds by listening to the drums. They begin, the drums are tight, the sound is incredible and there they are. The undisputed kings of their genre, Dimmu Borgir. Hot Topic kids, Ozzfesters, metallic goths....all bow. Us metalheads who are there to see friends and party are paying attention but you can see a small percent of the crowd are people who prefer much heavier and less commercial music; many of us prefer Behemoth over Dimmu. The mood is much darker and I cannot believe how much I enjoyed them.
My wife is a huge fan and always has been, so I have seen them a few times. They're always good, but this time I was really impressed. They should be commended for playing what seemed to be a long set. Too many fucking times headliners don't even play an hour and that infuriates me. The bands are here, on tour, fucking play! Don't watch the clock; give your fans something to remember you by, and seriously...Dimmu absolutely delivered. Song after song, they just effortlessly play their music with their haunting melodic keyboards, charismatic frontman, impressive drumming and the unreal backing vocals that showcase one of the best clean voices in metal. It is almost as if they're so good it annoys me.
One thing I did notice was the biggest crowd response was for one of their most commercial songs. If memory serves me correctly, this band has always made it clear they wanted to bring black metal to the mainstream and achieve commercial success, but they insisted they would not compromise their dark and even satanic image. I congratulate them, and actually respect them now since they seem to have done just that. Their main competition over a decade ago was Cradle of Filth, who may be the breadwinners and gone on to become a seriously huge band, but they went downhill in the heaviness and went overboard on the goth shit and well fuck, I hated them from day one anyway!
If you have never heard Dimmu Borgir and have a chance to go see them, by all means go. This can be said for all three of these bands, but Dimmu will stick in your head as a very memorable experience. You won't bitch about the sound, or that they take the imagery too far, or that all the songs sound the same; it's a damn good show. I'd much rather hear Darkthrone and many other bands from their part of the world, but I can honestly say being dragged to one of their shows is no longer something I dread. I can actually enjoy myself. A phenomenal set and incredible performance by Dimmu that night at Stubbs will not soon be forgotten.
I don't often see crowds this huge for a show like this, especially on a Monday night. Friends of mine seemed confused as I was obviously having a good time that night and kept asking me what I think. It's practically traditional to talk shit about the bands playing and try to cut them down, and for guys like me not really into this, it had always been easy for me to do so. Not this night; my reply was "Why would I want to cut them down, they're undeniably incredible." Though my friends seemed let down as I usually have comical smart ass put-downs to entertain them with, I could not bring myself to do it. Horns up for Dimmu Borgir. There's no denying be it commercial or not, this black metal band is doing great things for metal in general, and I hope they keep at it.
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Dimmu Borgir at Stubb's - more photos... photo by jeff barringer - staff photographer
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