ALBUM REVIEW: Inspiratio Profanus – Dimmu Borgir
It’s not often a cover version outshines the original, so approach DIMMU BORGIR’s Inspiratio Profanus as it ought to be treated: as a neat little package of classics and inspirations, reinterpreted by the band across the years. It’s most fun when their symphonic black metal stylings rub against other genres, but it also functions as a series of respectful nods to their DNA, treating each track with a sincere reverence. There are no novelties here, no Temptation by CRADLE OF FILTH, no Oops!…I Did It Again by CHILDREN OF BODOM. When they rip through VENOM’s Black Metal, it’s because they mean it, shaving away some of the pomp the band have become known for and leaning into their most evil urges.
Released in celebration of the band’s 30th anniversary, these covers span DIMMU BORGIR’s entire career, so all of them can be found on YouTube in varying degrees of quality, and most are available on Spotify, but here they receive the remastered treatment they deserve, sounding modern and massive. The industrial horror of GGFH’s Dead Men Don’t Rape is reshaped into something more blackened, more sinister, upping the violent lyricism with blast beat assaults. It’s a fascinating highlight that shows the band’s knack for taking another artist’s intention, keeping its dark heart, while casting their icy spell over it.
With increasingly long lengths of time between DIMMU BORGIR records, it’s refreshing to have a collection of songs where the band sound stripped back to basics. Their cover of CELTIC FROST’s Nocturnal Fear pays homage to the moment thrash metal upped the ante, and its punk-influenced drumming feels a world away from the grandiosity of the band’s modern epics. It’s a tighter rendition than the 80s original, melding the classic’s chaos with their finely tuned musicality without losing any of its raw origins.
Similarly, Burn In Hell by Twisted Sister, originally a bonus track on 2001’s Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia, stays faithful to the original while dialling up the intensity. From a time when ICS Vortex’s distinctive vocals brought more melody to DIMMU BORGIR’s palette, it’s an accessible cut of extreme metal, as chock full of distortion as it is infectious earworms. Their ode to DEEP PURPLE with a version of Perfect Strangers is suitably hard rock on steroids. Composer Silenoz notes DEEP PURPLE’s influence on the band’s fusion of keyboards and guitars, saying they wanted to stay close to the original while putting their own spin on it.
Which sums Inspiratio Profanus up nicely. For a band who look and sound like DIMMU BORGIR, it is not all that surprising for them to dust off their BATHORY records and give Satan My Master a spin – remastered here in such a way that it doesn’t sound like it was recorded in a cave. Their polish and sheen might remove a few beloved rough edges off these classics, but DIMMU BORGIR have always excelled at the 4K-version of symphonic black metal, appealing to those who don’t mind understanding what a band’s logo actually says. Diehards will already be familiar with most, if not all, of these tracks, but as a collection it’s a fun pitstop on the way towards their next full-length of new material.
Rating: 7/10
Inspiratio Profanus is set for release on December 8th via Nuclear Blast Records.
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