DIMMU BORGIR - Stormblast CD

 A mid-90s masterpiece, this is Dimmu Borgir and symphonic/classically inspired black metal before it became polished, an archaic and atmospheric work with heavy use of piano and calming passages contrasting with aggressive and epic metal aggression. A somber and immersive album that is arguably far more timeless than the later rerecorded/rewritten Stormblåst 2005 recorded a decade later.