For All Tid - Dimmu Borgir

This age-old release from Dimmu Borgir shows a much different, and in my opinion far more impressive side of the band than their more well-known later releases. Embracing the nostalgic Norwegian folk approach of early black metal, this is heavily atmospheric and melodic black metal that primarily suffers from a permeating amateurishness, a far cry from the heavily processed industrial metal the band would later produce to surprising success. Stian Aarstad is the key player here... um, literally. His keyboard and piano works underpins everything, and exudes a historical atmosphere aided by the album artwork. The guitars are standard black metal fare, heavy on ...