Here we go! Part EIGHT of my Favorite Albums Series!

I’m just gonna start diving into each album from here on out!

This time – I’m sharing three more of my fav albums!

Dimmu Borgir – In Sorte Diaboli – 2007

When I first heard Dimmu, I wasn’t sure what I thought of them. I didn’t mind their music, but it also didn’t connect much with me. That was on their 1999 album ‘Spiritual Black Dimensions.’ But then when ‘Death Cult Armageddon’ hit and their song ‘Progenies of the Great Apocalypse’ was playing everywhere, I became super intrigued. I went back and though I still enjoyed their early work – ‘Stormblåst’ in particular – Dimmu remained an adjacent band. One that I enjoyed but didn’t frequently spin. That changed with ‘07’s ‘In Sorte Diaboli.’ That album grabbed me by my throat and didn’t let go and though I also loved follow up albums ‘Abrahadabra’ and ‘Eonian’ (yes, I love ‘Eonian,’ and very well might be one of the few people I know who love it, lol!), ‘In Sorte Diaboli’ stands head and shoulders above the others. Each song has a musical muscle to it, the compositions flowing from extreme to quiet to melodic and brutal. This was the last Dimmu album to feature ICS Vortex on bass and vocals and Hellhammer on drums, and you can’t understate the role they play in bringing these songs to life. If I’m looking to listen to dark, brutal Norwegian metal, this album is my usual go to.

Key tracks – ‘The Serpentine Offering,’ ‘The Chosen Legacy,’ & ‘The Sinister Awakening.’

Live – Yes! It was actually on their North American tour supporting this album where we managed to see them at the Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver. Though my wife isn’t a fan of them at all, we watched most of their set and I loved it! Prior to the show, we even ran into ICS Vortex at a store just down the street from the venue, but he was in the process of paying for whatever he was buying so we didn’t bother him.

Above & Beyond – We Are All We Need – 2015

Outside of Buckcherry’s ‘Time Bomb’ album, I’d guess that for folks at home seeing my posts of my all-time fav albums, the inclusion of Above & Beyond’s ‘We Are All We Need’ might be the biggest surprise. Beyond this album being a perfect electronic album (and just barely beating out Moby’s ‘Play’ album when I was making my list), it’s also an album that takes me back to when my son was little and he LOVED this album. Whenever we’d play this, he’d stand and do his adorable little dance, that up-and-down knee bob one- and two-year-olds always seem to master.

I’m not 100% if I ever heard Above & Beyond prior to this album, though I suspect I did, as I used to listen to Armin van Buuren’s ‘A State of Trance’ frequently when I used to a pizza delivery driver, but somewhere around 2016 this album came onto my and my wife’s radar and we loved it – and I still love it. Every single song is uplifting and listening to these tracks makes it feel like the sun is shining down on you, no matter how dark and cold out it is.

Key tracks – ‘We’re All We Need,’ ‘Peace of Mind,’ & ‘All Over the World.’

Live – sadly, no. They did come through Edmonton at one point to play a New Year’s Eve show, but we couldn’t get to it. I’m not sure if they do much global touring anymore outside of big electronic festivals, so I’m not sure if I ever will see them.

Gorgoroth – Ad Majorem Sathanas Gloriam – 2006

Of all the bands I’ve ever discovered, Gorgoroth just might be the most random. Way back maybe 1996 (?) in either a Metal Maniacs magazine or Metal Hammer – though I can’t recall which one, though I think it was Metal Maniacs – I saw a posting in the back for someone in Norway who wanted to do an anonymous tape trade. In essence, I send them a letter – this was WAY before Internet my younger friends – stating my intent to trade. They’d mail me back to confirm. Then, on the date they listed in their return letter, we both mail each other a tape. That way we both knew something was coming, but neither had any idea. I can’t remember what tape I sent them. I’ve wracked my mind and just can’t remember. But I do remember they sent me back Gorgoroth’s ‘Promo ’94.’ But not the actual cassette. It was one they’d taped onto a blank cassette tape, and they hand wrote the names of the two songs. I didn’t like it, lol. It was poorly recorded – at least the tape I got, and it just sounded like indistinct noise.

Years later, when ‘Carving a Giant’ dropped into music video rotation, my ears perked up. It was visceral, brutal and for lack of a better word – evil. I loved it. The entire album ripped and though their ‘Instinctus Bestialis’ is also absolutely phenomenal, ‘Ad Majorem Sathanas Gloriam’ connects more to me because of Gaahl’s masterful vocals. On each and every track he seems to conjure new and exciting vocal accents and combining that with his live presence, this album is my pick if I’m going to listen to Gorgoroth. Add in the cover uses the amazing ‘Dante and Virgil’ painting by William-Adolphe Bouguereau, this one’s a winner.

Key tracks – ‘Wound Upon Wound,’ ‘Carving a Giant,’ & ‘Sign of an Open Eye.’

Live – No, I’ve never had the chance to see them live. They seem to be fairly sporadic with activity these days, with very few shows scheduled.