Band Origin: Norway
Genre: Symphonic Black Metal
Release Date: 2026
Album downloads only available to members
Album Info / Review
Eight years after the heavily layered, choir-dense experiment of Eonian (2018), Norwegian symphonic black metal kings Dimmu Borgir returned in May 2026 with Grand Serpent Rising. Following the 2024 departure of longtime guitarist Galder, the core engine was left entirely to Shagrath and Silenoz. Instead of stumbling, the duo treated the lineup shift as a catalyst to shed their skin.
Rejoining forces with legendary producer Fredrik Nordström at Studio Fredman—the architect behind their landmark early-2000s opuses—the band created a record that successfully anchors their signature cinematic bombast to a vicious, straightforward metal skeleton.
The Album: An Alchemical Thaw
Grand Serpent Rising feels like a deliberate calibration. Where Eonian occasionally got bogged down in symphonic excess, Grand Serpent bites. Named symbolically around the concept of renewal, ego death, and the Ouroboros, the album marks the first time since 2005 that Shagrath has snarled in his native Norwegian on multiple tracks. It balances modern widescreen theatricality with the cold, jagged guitar-driven malice of the band’s golden era.
The Sonic Pillars
The Return to Fredman: The guitar tone here is the star of the show. Nordström brought back the dry, cutting crunch that defined Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia. The orchestration doesn’t bury the riffs; it frames them.
The Norwegian Vernacular: Hearing Shagrath slip back into his native tongue provides an immediate, icy atmospheric shift. It adds a sinister folk-tinted gravity that English tracks occasionally miss.
Daray’s Unchained Performance: Session drummer Dariusz “Daray” Brzozowski delivers his most relentless work for the band yet, injecting frantic thrash-and-roll grooves and dizzying blast beats that keep the 69-minute runtime moving.
Key Tracks to Absorb
“Tridentium” & “Ascent”: The opening duo function as a single statement. “Tridentium” lays down the ominous, alchemical spoken word intro before “Ascent” explodes with a vicious, cyclic riff and a blazing solo from Silenoz that sets a frantic, high-stakes pace.
“Ulvgjeld & Blodsodel”: The lead single and the album’s spiritual anchor. It is a more measured, mid-tempo stomp rooted in old-school Norwegian black metal, instantly evoking the freezing spirit of Stormblåst.
“The Qryptfarer”: A total wild card. It kicks off with a spacey, progressive synth intro before descending into straight hellfire, punctuated by unexpected, eerie Victorian piano breaks.
“Slik Minnes en Alkymist”: The second Norwegian-sung track. It is a dense, ritualistic song dealing with the eradication of the self, balancing massive choir backing with an apocalyptic rhythm.
“The Exonerated”: Pure, unadulterated speed. This is straightforward, legacy black metal that feels like a modern update to the For All Tid era, features exceptional vocal dynamics from Shagrath.
The Review: A Rejuvenated Leviathan
Reviewing Grand Serpent Rising means confronting a band that has long been accused of prioritizing Hollywood theater over extreme metal substance. On this record, Dimmu Borgir proves they haven’t forgotten how to draw blood.
The Production:
Fredrik Nordström’s mix is arguably the best the band has had in two decades. The low end sits heavily without becoming muddy, and the symphonic elements—though still massive—function as an atmospheric fog rather than a suffocating wall. You can actually hear the pick scraping the strings, giving the entire experience a physical grit that the band’s mid-2010s material sorely lacked.
The Verdict:
Is it perfect? Not quite. At nearly 70 minutes, the album is a demanding listen, and a couple of the mid-album tracks like “Phantom of the Nemesis” linger a bit too long in their 80s horror-synth influences.
However, as a statement of survival and reinvention, Grand Serpent Rising is an absolute triumph. It stands as their most cohesive and urgent work since In Sorte Diaboli. It doesn’t run away from the symphonic identity they built, but it filters it through a leaner, meaner, and far more focused lens.
Final Thought: Dimmu Borgir didn’t just survive the eight-year wait and a major lineup fracture; they used the crisis to remember exactly who they are. The result is a theatrical, brutal, and thoroughly rewarding record that reclaims the symphonic black metal throne.
