If you’re a fan of symphonic black metal, you’ll be happy to know that Dimmu Borgir is officially working on a brand-new album (and even recording it here and there) — their first full-length release since 2018’s Eonian. The news came straight from guitarist Silenoz during an interview with Phoenix Akuma Six at this past weekend’s Wacken Open Air festival in Wacken, Germany. For fans who have been eagerly awaiting the follow-up to Eonian, this update is the clearest sign yet that new Dimmu Borgir music is finally on the way.
Silenoz spoke openly about the creative process and how the band knows when it’s time to unleash a new record. “Well, it’s always that time where you can work and work and work on it, but at the same time you have to let it go. It’s the same when you have a kid and it grows up. You have to let it out of its shell somehow, and once that’s done, yeah, then it’s done,” he said.
“But certain albums, we live with the songs for so many years before we actually record them. So we can go back and forth, back and forth, and when we finally then go to the main studio to record all the parts again, then we pretty much have everything set.”
He explained that Dimmu Borgir often develops songs for years before heading into the studio. The band meticulously records demos down to the smallest detail, living with the material and tweaking it even months or years later. “Even after months and maybe even years, you can go back, and it’s, like, ‘Yeah, let’s tweak it a little bit there.'”
The partnership between Silenoz and frontman Shagrath is central to Dimmu Borgir‘s sound and vision. When asked if leadership is split evenly between them, Silenoz responded, “You know what? I think there’s very few things that we disagree on. I tend to look at all the other stuff that we actually do agree on. And we have the same drive now more than probably ever… And I think we have the respect for each other and for our brand and for our history and legacy to not mess it up. So, yeah, if there’s a hard decision to be made, then we do it together.”
This new album marks an important chapter for Dimmu Borgir. In June 2025, Dimmu Borgir introduced guitarist Kjell Åge “Damage” Karlsen, who many fans will recognize from his previous work with Shagrath in Chrome Division. Karlsen made his live debut with Dimmu Borgir on June 27 at Tons Of Rock in Oslo, Norway.
His arrival comes after the departure of longtime guitarist Galder, a key figure in the band since 2000. Galder announced last year that he was leaving to focus on his long-running project Old Man’s Child. He played his final show with Dimmu Borgir on August 17, 2024, headlining Dynamo Metal Fest in Eindhoven, The Netherlands. Whatever comes next will be the first Dimmu Borgir album without him since 1999’s Spiritual Black Dimensions.
Silenoz confirmed earlier this year that the writing process has been ongoing for some time. “We are working on new stuff. We have been working on and off [on the] new stuff for quite a while. During the pandemic there was some downtime where we worked on stuff on our own, like individually, and then we meet and [are] trying to concoct a new brew, so to speak,” he explained.
For fans eager to get their hands on new music, patience will still be required. Silenoz emphasized that Dimmu Borgir prioritizes quality over speed. “We’d rather take our time and even take one year extra to make it better than good, if you know what I mean. So obviously we would also like to have an album out as soon as we can, but we’re not going to do that.”
He went on to say, “We hope to be active and hope to have more new music out to share with the fans – new fans of course, that’s also our aim – but yeah, it takes us a while. I think it’s safe to say that the longer people have to wait, the better the result is going to be.”
The combination of new material, a refreshed lineup, and the band’s careful perfectionism suggests that this upcoming Dimmu Borgir album could be one of their most ambitious projects to date. Or at least they’ve certainly got a lot riding on whatever comes next.
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