Dimmu Borgir had the role of hosts this cold autumn eve at Vega, and their dark, wicked show unfolded after fellow Norwegians Sahg and Enslaved had paved the way to wickedness at this Danish venue filled by a horde of fans.

Well ok, filled may be pushing it a bit, but a lot of people had shown up for this night of terror brought by the newly re-formed black metal act.
The new additions to Dimmu Borgir were the first ones we got to see actually, as drummer Dariusz ‘Daray’ Brzozowski, keyboardist Geir ‘Brat’ Bratland and bassist Terje ‘Cyrus’ Andersen came in and took their places in the dark back of the stage already during the intro, Brat and Cyrus both covering their faces with weird-looking masks.
Nothing much was said of this, but when Shagrath, Silenoz and Galder came in shortly after as the ‘real’ music was about to begin, a large shout of appreciation and anticipation erupted around the hall.

Sadly, not much was to be anticipated…
Dimmu Borgir hammered away at their songs without much interest paid to the people who had come to see them, and even though they played a long and fairly age-varied setlist, it wasn’t until the very last song before the encore, Vredesbyrd, that they managed to move their show over the edge of the stage, and get a proper audience participation.
Finally, the crowd began shouting ‘hey’ in time with the music, and the encore itself held a pretty good connection as well, with live-classics such as Progenies Of The Great Apocalypse and Puritania.
The new boys in the band played well, but kept a low profile, and it wasn’t until far into the show that Cyrus was allowed to join the old crew at the front of the stage. Say what you will of this, but I for one was terribly missing the great presence and voice of I.C.S. Vortex; they did not even use a track for his vocal-parts, they were simply removed! (ed.note: a faithful reader has pulled my attention to the fact that Shagrath sang the clean parts of The Serpentine Offering, something which I had completely missed. Thank you Allan!)
In the very last song of the evening, I saw the first, and last, crowd-surfer of the concert, and the weak enthusiasm in the room couldn’t even carry him all the way to the front, but let him fall, much as the gig itself, to the ground halfway through…

As you might have guessed, this was a disappointment beyond any and all expectations.
I can’t even point out singular things that were bad, it was all just covered in a veil of dullness. Dimmu Borgir need to pull themselves together if this is to continue…

Setlist:

Xibir
Spellbound (By The Devil)
The Chosen Legacy
IndoctriNation
Dimmu Borgir
Gateways
Chess With The Abyss
Born Treacherous
A Jewel Traced Through Coal
The Blazing Monoliths Of Defiance
Vredesbyrd
The Serpentine Offering
Puritania
Progenies Of The Great Apocalypse
Mourning Palace