''Spiritual Black Dimensions'' is the fourth
studio album by Norwegian
black metal
Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, a shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, raw (lo-fi) recording, unconventional song structures, and an emp ...
band
Dimmu Borgir
Dimmu Borgir () is a Norwegian symphonic black metal band from Jessheim, formed in 1993. The name is derived from Dimmuborgir, a volcanic formation in Iceland, the name of which means "dark cities" or "dark castles/fortresses" in Icelandic, ...
. It was released in 1999 by
Nuclear Blast Records
Nuclear Blast is a record label and mail order record distributor with subsidiaries in Germany, the United States and Brazil. The label was founded in 1987 by Markus Staiger in Germany. Originally releasing hardcore punk records, the label mov ...
. A
deluxe edition
The terms special edition, limited edition, and variants such as deluxe edition, or collector's edition, are used as a marketing incentive for various kinds of products, originally published products related to the arts, such as books, prints, r ...
was released in 2004 with bonus material. There is also a digipak edition of this album which contains no bonus tracks. The digipak has reflective/holographic cover art. This release featured keyboardist
Mustis
Mustis is the pseudonym of Øyvind Johan Mustaparta (born 10 September 1979),https://www.metal-archives.com/artists/Mustis/9297 a Norwegian keyboardist best known for his work in the symphonic black metal band Dimmu Borgir, as well as the blac ...
and the clean vocals of
ICS Vortex, as well as the departure of long-time drummer
Tjodalv
Tjodalv (born Ian Kenneth Ã…kesson in 1976) is a Norwegian drummer. He is a founding member of both Dimmu Borgir and Old Man's Child. He now plays in Black Comedy and Susperia. Tjodalv played guitar on the first Dimmu Borgir albums '' Inn i evi ...
, guitarist
Astennu, and bassist
Nagash.
The album cover was part of the top 10 of Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers by ''
Blender
A blender (sometimes called a mixer or liquidiser in British English) is a kitchen and laboratory appliance used to mix, crush, purée or emulsify food and other substances. A stationary blender consists of a blender container with a rotating me ...
'' magazine.
It was inspired by ''The Wounded Angel
''The Wounded Angel'' ( fi, Haavoittunut enkeli; sv, Sårad ängel; 1903) is a painting by Finnish symbolist painter Hugo Simberg. It is one of the most recognizable of Simberg's works, and was voted Finland's "national painting" in a vote held ...
'', a painting by Finnish artist Hugo Simberg
Hugo Gerhard Simberg (24 June 1873 – 12 July 1917) was a Finnish symbolist painter and graphic artist.
Life and career
Simberg was born on 24 June 1873, at Hamina (in the original Swedish: ''Fredrikshamn''), Finland, the son of Colonel Nico ...
.
Track listing
Reception
Steve Huey of AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
stated that "Dimmu Borgir's arrangements continue to increase in complexity and sophistication on ''Spiritual Black Dimensions'', improving on its predecessors and illustrating the band's musical progression".[ In ''Slayer'' no. 13, Jon 'Metalion' Kristiansen called ''Spiritual Black Dimensions'' "a fine case of melodic, over-produced, symphonic metal. If you like this melodic style I can't really think of anyone doing it better �� No, I wouldn't call this black metal. Read the interview with ]Funeral Mist
Funeral Mist is a Swedish black metal band formed in Stockholm in 1993. To date, the band have released four full-length albums, three EPs and a compilation boxset. Since 2003, the band's sole permanent member has been Arioch, also known for his ...
for the right definition of black metal".[''The Great Rock & Roll Swindle!''. In: Jon Kristiansen: ''Metalion: The Slayer Mag Diaries''. Brooklyn, NY: Bazillion Points Books 2011, p. 419.]
Personnel
;Dimmu Borgir
* Shagrath
Stian Tomt Thoresen (born 18 November 1976),[Shagrath](_blank)
at Encyclopaedia Metallum known professiona ...
– lead vocals
* Silenoz
Silenoz (born Sven Atle Kopperud, 1 March 1977) is a Norwegian guitarist who is a founding member, along with Shagrath and Tjodalv, of the Norwegian symphonic black metal band Dimmu Borgir of which he is the primary songwriter. He is also guita ...
– rhythm guitar
* Astennu – lead guitar
* Nagash – bass guitar, backing vocals
* Tjodalv
Tjodalv (born Ian Kenneth Ã…kesson in 1976) is a Norwegian drummer. He is a founding member of both Dimmu Borgir and Old Man's Child. He now plays in Black Comedy and Susperia. Tjodalv played guitar on the first Dimmu Borgir albums '' Inn i evi ...
– drums
* Mustis
Mustis is the pseudonym of Øyvind Johan Mustaparta (born 10 September 1979),https://www.metal-archives.com/artists/Mustis/9297 a Norwegian keyboardist best known for his work in the symphonic black metal band Dimmu Borgir, as well as the blac ...
– keyboards
; Guests
* ICS Vortex – clean vocals on tracks 1, 3, 7 and 9
; Technical staff
* Peter Tägtgren
Alf Peter Tägtgren (born 3 June 1970) is a Swedish musician, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. He is the founder, main songwriter, lead vocalist, and guitarist of death metal band Hypocrisy as well as the industrial metal band Pa ...
– mixing, engineering
Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...
, producer
References
{{Authority control
Dimmu Borgir albums
1999 albums
Nuclear Blast albums
Albums produced by Peter Tägtgren