Enthrone Darkness Triumphant

Enthrone Darkness Triumphant is the third studio album by Norwegian symphonic black metal band Dimmu Borgir, released on 30 May 1997 through Nuclear Blast. It was the band's first release through Nuclear Blast and also first recorded and produced in Abyss Studio, Sweden by Peter Tägtgren. It is also the last Dimmu Borgir full-length album to feature keyboardist Stian Aarstad and the first with bassist Nagash. Even though the album is not that different to its predecessor Stormblåst in terms of composition and songwriting, it marks major upgrade in quality and aggressiveness of their overall sound. Together with the marketing effort of their new recording label it is one of the key factors that contributed to the major success of this record and breakthrough of the band in general.

Enthrone Darkness Triumphant
Studio album by Dimmu Borgir
Released	30 May 1997 (1997-05-30)
Recorded	January 1997
Studio	The Abyss, Pärlby, Sweden
Genre	Symphonic black metal
Length	56:38
Label	Nuclear Blast
Producer	Dimmu Borgir
Dimmu Borgir chronology
Devil's Path (1996) Enthrone Darkness Triumphant (1997) Godless Savage Garden (1998)

Release

The album has been released on many formats, including a limited edition vinyl (300 white and 1000 black). In 2002, a deluxe CD version was released with bonus material. Enthrone Darkness Triumphant was also the band's first album to display their second logo, though the old "black metal" logo is seen in the back cover artwork on the original printing. Due to concerns from Nuclear Blast,^{[citation needed]} the lyrics of "Tormentor of Christian Souls" were omitted from the disc's liner notes. "Master of Disharmony" and "Raabjorn speiler Draugheimens skodde" are re-recorded versions of older, already released tracks (from Devil's Path and For all tid respectively).

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
The Metal Review	[2]
The Metal Observer
Chronicles of Chaos	[3]
Rock Hard	9/10[4]

AllMusic praised the album, writing, "One of the most important Scandinavian metal discs ever, Dimmu Borgir's Enthrone Darkness Triumphant is the group's unquestioned masterpiece."^[1] In 2005, Enthrone Darkness Triumphant was ranked number 298 in Rock Hard magazine's book of The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time.^[5]

In 2020, it was named one of the 20 best metal albums of 1997 by Metal Hammer magazine.^[6] In 2021, the magazine ranked it as the 7th best symphonic metal album of all time.^[7]

The album has occasionally faced some criticism. Death Metal Underground labels it "a ripoff of bands that were new when these musicians were born,"^[8] noting that it lacks a sense of theme and that it is essentially "a pop album with heavy metal riffs," which wants the "neoclassical orchestration that made [the previous album] Stormblåst brilliant."^[9]

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Mourning Palace"	5:13
2.	"Spellbound (By the Devil)"	4:08
3.	"In Death's Embrace"	5:42
4.	"Relinquishment of Spirit and Flesh"	5:32
5.	"The Night Masquerade"	4:25
6.	"Tormentor of Christian Souls"	5:39
7.	"Entrance"	4:47
8.	"Master of Disharmony"	4:15
9.	"Prudence's Fall"	5:56
10.	"A Succubus in Rapture"	5:59
11.	"Raabjørn speiler Draugheimens skodde" ("Raabjørn Reflects the Mist of Draugheimen")	5:02
Total length:		56:38

All tracks are written by Dimmu Borgir.

Bonus tracks on Russian 2001 Irond Records reissue IROND CD 01-46 (taken from Godless Savage Garden)

No.	Title	Length
12.	"Moonchild Domain"	5:24
13.	"Hunnerkongens sorgsvarte ferd over steppene" ("The King of the Huns' Sorrowful Black Journey over the Plains")	3:05
14.	"Chaos Without Prophecy"	7:09

Charts

Chart	Peak position
German Album Charts[10]	75
The Official Finnish Charts[11]	26

Personnel

Dimmu Borgir

• Shagrath – lead vocals, rhythm guitar
• Silenoz – rhythm guitar
• Nagash – bass, background vocals, lead guitar (uncredited)
• Stian Aarstad – synthesizer, piano
• Tjodalv – drums

Additional personnel

• Bente Engen – female vocals (track 5)
• Peter Tägtgren – engineering, mixing