PHILADELPHIA — Lifelong fan of black metal Karl Donner was reportedly unsure if his fandom of Norwegian stalwarts Dimmu Borgir was acceptable among his peers, sources confirmed.
“Yeah man, I’ve been a fan of black metal for as long as I can remember,” Donner mentioned. “It started when I heard Mayhem’s ‘Deathcrush’ EP when I was in middle school, and from there I got really into old Emperor, Darkthrone, and Immortal, and now I’m really into newer bands like Whoredom Rife and Murg. I’m not sure about Dimmu Borgir, though. I enjoy a lot of their music, but can I be an outspoken fan of them? I never got a clear answer to that question. I’ve heard some fans of black metal say that they suck, but a lot of other fans say they’re pretty good. I don’t think there’s ever really been a consensus in the community on how we should feel about them.”
Donner’s friend and fellow fan of black metal Kirk Arlin expressed a more confident view on the band.
“Dimmu Borgir are a bunch of posers,” Arlin said emphatically. “They’re Ozzfest-playing sellouts with over-produced symphonic attempts at black metal. All of their albums are dogshit. Well, maybe not all of them. ‘For All Tid’ and ‘Stormblast’ are pretty good. And I actually really like ‘Enthrone Darkness Triumphant.’ Some of their newer stuff is pretty good, too. I remember enjoying ‘Abrahadabra’ when it came out. I saw them live when I went to Wacken about a decade ago, and they put on a decent show. They definitely still suck, though. Like, I wouldn’t be caught dead wearing a Dimmu Borgir shirt.”
The band’s frontman Stian Tomt “Shagrath” Thoresen weighed in on the lack of common ground fans are able to find regarding his band.
“Honestly, I stopped worrying about that decades ago,” Thoreson noted. “I love black metal and have made a career out of it, but there really is no group of people more insufferable than fans of it. The second we became the slightest bit commercially successful and recorded our music with equipment better than a Sony Walkman from 1991, fans have been calling us sellouts and posers. At least we’re not a prog-rock band, though. Those fans are even worse.”
At press time, Donner was seen debating whether to take down his early Cradle of Filth albums before having his friends over.