That isn't to say the previous albums were notable black metal examples, but they all had various elements that could fit in the world of black metal. If you're looking for any black metal here, you'd be gravely mistaken. The general style behind PEM follows throughout their subsequent releases, but Dimmu Borgir do a few things right here to make it a strong album on its own that is appealing enough for those with an open mind. Even the time of the album's release, 2001, was a time when more people would've managed to find out about Dimmu Borgir on the internet without much trouble. Puritanical euphoric misanthropia dimmu borgir raritan full#The album comes with a lot of controversy as it symbolizes their jump into a more mainstream approach with full blown orchestras and a more overproduced sound, straying far away from the previous keyboard-heavy black metal albums like Spiritual Black Dimensions and Enthrone Darkness Triumphant, and even further away from the more rustic classics in their early days, like Stormblast and For All Tid. "Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia" (PEM for short) will be known by many as the major turning point for Dimmu Borgir's musical path. For me, this is the best of the "modern style" Dimmu albums, and purists need to get over it. That album and this one are the two Dimmu albums I revisit regularly, which says a lot about the quality of the song-writing in both records and their status as classics. In summary, as far as Dimmu Borgir's legacy, I think this album is 2nd only to Dimmu's magnum opus, "Enthrone Darkness Triumphant", which is a true BM masterpiece - at least as far as their catalog is concerned. But, this only fuels the purists arguments even more and does detract from the album's quality. Of course, this album was released during the height of the "loudness war", so I get it. They went for loudness to the point of blowing out the mix and this does slightly harm it, overall. If I were to offer a point of criticism (and this is a strong point) is that it clips really badly. Everything is crisp and clean and mixed and mastered very well. Certainly, this record has some stellar production values. One of the things this album gets criticized for by purists is the production. Tons of passion and fire here! Unlike Dimmu's later albums, this is one album I can spin from beginning to end without getting bored. For example, ICS-Vortex's vocals come off strong in "Hybrid Stigmata - The Apostasy" and "The Maelstrom Mephisto". At one point in the song, all instruments stop except for the guitar, and Galder busts out a killer tremolo sequence. "Kings of the Carnival Creation" is the next song, and it is also well written and catchy. I find myself spinning this record just to hear it, especially if I need to supercharge my day! But, the great songs don't stop there. "Blessings Upon the Throne of Tyranny" has to be one of the most aggressive and precise songs ever devised in black metal, and both guitars compliment each other perfectly to achieve this effect. Speaking of the songs, there are some truly killer songs on this album. This makes the album flow well, while also not boring the listener. Each song stands on its own, yet, is part of a coherent theme. The lack of filler material is also apparent as compared to later material. This makes the guitars on later albums feel much more simplistic and not as well thought through. Later albums feel like quite the opposite where songs were written around the symphonic elements and the guitars were added afterward. It feels like the songs were written on guitar and then the orchestrations were added to compliment those riffs. What sets this record apart from later records is the focus on the guitar playing. Galder's playing and riff-writing ability in Old Man's Child was well-loved by many, and the infusion of his talent is immediately felt in this record. This was also Galder's first appearance on a Dimmu record, and the immediate difference shows. If you carefully research this record, you will find that Shagrath put a lot of effort into this record, being heavily involved in the songwriting. The first point of importance is the songwriting. They simply tried to create the best metal album possible and it shows. Dimmu did not try to sell out they did not try to soften the music or make a "hit". One key to that is that this record focuses on guitar riffs and stays consistently extreme. In my humble opinion, this record is the closest they have ever come to doing both without also alienating both crowds. Dimmu Borgir has struggled through much of their career to produce a consistent, quality album that pleases both black metal purists and the casual fans alike.
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