Death Cult Armageddon is the sixth studio album by Norwegian symphonic black metal band Dimmu Borgir, released on 9 September 2003. It has since sold over 100,000 copies in the United States; the first album under Nuclear Blast to do so; and debuted on the Billboard 200 chart at number 169.[3] The song "Progenies of the Great Apocalypse" was released as a single with an accompanying music video. This would also be the last album to have Nick Barker on drums.
| Death Cult Armageddon | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Cover art by Joachim Luetke | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 9 September 2003 | |||
| Recorded | March–May 2003 at Fredman Studio, Gothenburg, Sweden | |||
| Genre | Symphonic black metal | |||
| Length | 63:29 | |||
| Label | Nuclear Blast (#NB 1047) | |||
| Producer | Dimmu Borgir & Fredrik Nordström | |||
| Dimmu Borgir chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Alternative cover | ||||
 | ||||
| Singles from Death Cult Armageddon | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |  [1] |
| The Metal Review |   [2] |
The artwork within the album, done by Swiss artist Joachim Luetke, displays what appears to be an industrial factory, inside of which the band members are living out their fantasies, some of which are similar to scenes seen in the music video for "Progenies of the Great Apocalypse". Most of the songs have a common apocalyptic theme.
Release history
editDeath Cult Armageddon saw initial release on CD, vinyl and DVD-Audio on 9 September 2003 under Nuclear Blast,[4] the DVD-Audio edition featuring all three bonus tracks, the "Progenies of the Great Apocalypse" music video and photo galleries,[5] which later featured on the Ozzfest edition bonus disc, and the Digipack editions featured the Bathory cover "Satan My Master". The Chinese edition was later released on 3 November 2003[6] and the Japanese edition was released the following month on 23 December 2003 with the orchestral bonus tracks.[7]
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Allegiance" | Silenoz | Shagrath, Galder, Mustis | 5:50 |
| 2. | "Progenies of the Great Apocalypse" | Silenoz | Mustis | 5:17 |
| 3. | "Lepers Among Us" | Silenoz | Galder, Silenoz, Shagrath | 4:43 |
| 4. | "Vredesbyrd" (Burden of Wrath) | Silenoz | Mustis, Shagrath, Silenoz | 4:44 |
| 5. | "For the World to Dictate Our Death" | Silenoz | Shagrath | 4:46 |
| 6. | "Blood Hunger Doctrine" | Silenoz, Shagrath | Shagrath, Mustis | 4:39 |
| 7. | "Allehelgens død i Helveds rike" (The Death of All Saints in The Kingdom of Hell) | Silenoz | Silenoz, Galder, Mustis, Vortex | 5:33 |
| 8. | "Cataclysm Children" | Silenoz | Galder, Silenoz | 5:13 |
| 9. | "Eradication Instincts Defined" | Silenoz | Mustis, Silenoz | 7:12 |
| 10. | "Unorthodox Manifesto" | Aldrahn, Silenoz | Galder, Mustis, Silenoz, Shagrath | 8:50 |
| 11. | "Heavenly Perverse" | Silenoz | Vortex, Galder, Shagrath | 6:33 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Satan My Master" (Bathory cover) | Quorthon | 2:14 |
| 2. | "Burn In Hell" (Twisted Sister cover) | Dee Snider | 5:05 |
| 3. | "Devil's Path" (Re-recorded) | Silenoz, Shagrath | 6:06 |
| 4. | "Progenies of the Great Apocalypse" (Orchestral version) | Mustis | 5:15 |
| 5. | "Eradication Instincts Defined" (Orchestral version) | Mustis, Silenoz | 7:24 |
| 6. | "Progenies of the Great Apocalypse" (Video Clip) | Mustis | 3:38 |
Personnel
edit- Dimmu Borgir
- Shagrath – lead vocals
- Silenoz – rhythm guitar
- Galder – lead guitar
- ICS Vortex – bass, clean vocals on tracks 2 & 7
- Mustis – grand piano, synth
- Nick Barker – drums
- Guests
- Abbath Doom Occulta – backing vocals on "Progenies of the Great Apocalypse" & "Heavenly Perverse"
- Orchestration arranged by Gaute Storås
- Recorded with the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra (tracks 1–2, 4–7, 9–11)
- Conducted by Adam Klemens
- Charlie Storm – additional synthetics, sample assistance
- Technical staff
- Fredrik Nordström & Shagrath – mixing, engineering, producer
- Patrik Sten – assistant engineering
- Arnold Linberg – assistant engineering
- Peter in de Detou – mastering
- Joachim Luetke – cover concept, artwork
- Alf Børjesson – group shots
Footnotes
edit- ^ https://www.allmusic.com/album/r655155
- ^ Review by Gregory Bradley
- ^ "Dimmu Borgir's 'Death Cult Armageddon' Surpasses 100,000 Mark According To Soundscan". Blabbermouth. 26 January 2006. Archived from the original on 30 September 2008. Retrieved 19 September 2008.
- ^ Serba, John. "Death Cult Armageddon - Overview". Allmusic. Retrieved 19 September 2008.
- ^ "Dimmu Borgir - Death Cult Armageddon - DVD-Audio (#NB 1181-2)". Discogs. Retrieved 19 September 2008.
- ^ "Death Cult Armageddon [China] - Overview". Allmusic. Retrieved 19 September 2008.
- ^ "Death Cult Armageddon [Japan Bonus Tracks] - Overview". Allmusic. Retrieved 19 September 2008.