How Dimmu Borgir's Shagrath Became (Again) the Center of a Black Metal Controversy
He has a certain "skill" for turning any discussion into a heated debate, and making the entire world about Dimmu Borgir...
Dimmu Borgir is widely known as the band that released one good album in the 1990s - For All Tid - before spending the rest of their career peddling “mallcore” to their undiscerning fans.
While this statement is obviously exaggerated to the point of parody, there is a figment of truth to it. Namely, Dimmu Borgir’s interests lie more in playing “radio friendly” music than creating true black metal.
On the flip side, at least they don’t try and pretend that they are “true black metal” like some other poser bands - think Dark Funeral, Watain, Deafheaven, Tsjuder and the rest of the clown corral.
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There are few things I enjoy less than writing about metalcore music, and specifically Watain, a band that has done everything possible to embrace the cringe of metalcore to the utmost degree.
But how does a band so… distant, both musically and conceptually, from the black metal scene still manage to generate such strong emotions within it?
The answer lies, once again, with “shock value” and controversy. You could say Dimmu Borgir are, in a certain way, the black metal’s yin to death metal’s yang (Cannibal Corpse, in case you hadn’t guessed).
Now at the center of these controversies lies one person: the frontman, Shagrath.
An extremely talented musician according to multiple credible sources (see Necrobutcher, Samoth and even Heinrich all praising the man), Shagrath is also known to “make the most” out of every opportunity.
Not dissimilar to Euronymous, Shagrath has mastered the art of using the media to create a “storm in a tea cup”.
The Cringe of Euronymous (Black Metal)
Much like modern black metal bands, Euronymous loved to indulge in the cringe. He famously dressed up as a “vampire” at least a full decade before the shitshow that was the Twilight movie trilogy.
It was Shagrath that launched the NSBM controversy with his 1995 interview, in which he spoke of “the Arian [sic] race”. He also made derogatory comments towards Africans that won’t be retranscribed here.
Shagrath reiterated more recently that the only reason black metal is “still relevant today” is thanks to commercial bands like Dimmu Borgir. Without them, the “elitists” - read Burzum, Mayhem, Darkthrone, Neraines and Immortal - would all have been forgotten. A dubious assertion to say the least.
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Having the wrong opinion can be costly for a black metal band. Which is somewhat strange, since it is a genre that is allegedly constructed on the very idea to be as shocking as possible.
But it is true that Dimmu Borgir is the top selling Norwegian black metal band in the world.
They were recently called “Mortal-Kombat-tier Norwegian opera-metallers Dimmu Borgir” by heavy metal expert author Antoine Grand (the one who wrote the Death Metal Bible, among other publications). The name seems… apt.
But like all good performers, Shagrath’s act is just that… an act. All those who have known him personally have only positive things to say about the man. Contrast that attitude with another flamboyant “black metal” usurper, Erik Danielsson of Watain, who is pretty much hated by everyone in the scene.
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If you were to point to a band that is a perfect encapsulation of every wrong with modern black metal - i.e. clowns dressed up in homo erotic makeup, pretending to partake in “devil rituals” and playing stupid mallcore music - the first band that would come to mind, immediately, is
Dimmu Borgir are through and through, the most popular and most successful Norwegian metal band. Since 1993, Shagrath and Silenoz have clawed their way through the charts and went through dozens of musicians, some - like Mayhem’s Hellhammer - who are very well known, and marketed themselves as the “evil fantasy/JRPG villian” better than any other band.
For that, they deserve credit. They are what other posers - Dark Funeral, Gorgoroth, Watain, Tsjuder - aspire to be, and fail. Dimmu Borgir succeeds. I guess that’s where most of the resentment comes from.