DIMMU BORGIR: New Album Title, Complete Artwork Revealed

Norwegian symphonic black metallers DIMMU BORGIR have set "Abrahadabra" as the title of their ninth studio album, which will be released in Germany on September 24, in the rest of Europe on September 27, and in North America on October 12 via Nuclear Blast Records.

The word "abrahadabra" (which roughly translates into "I will create as I speak") first publicly appeared in Chapter III of "Liber AL vel Legis" (commonly referred to as "The Book of the Law") written by Aleister Crowley in Cairo, Egypt in 1904.

DIMMU BORGIR singer/songwriter Shagrath shares the following about the new album: "After eleven months of total focus, dedication and professional team work, Darkness has been reborn. Some people have expressed their concern about the future of the band since the departure of some members of the clan. Let me assure you that things happen for a reason. The black flame burns brighter than ever before. With the mixture of our different musical preferences and the personalities involved, I will dare to say we have created a BEAST, the most detailed work to date out of our 17 years of existence. I know it's too much of a cliché to brag when you have a done a new album, but to put it short and simple, it's a fist in the face to all the doubters out there. Forward – Onward – March… ENTER THE SUPREME UNKNOWN."

For the second time in the band's career (i.e. 1996's "Stormblåst"),a one-word album title breaks the tradition of a three-word album title for a new studio release dating back to DIMMU BORGIR's 1994 debut, "For All Tid".

Guitarist/songwriter Silenoz has this to say on the topic: "We knew there would be some big changes with this album in more than one way and since we've had the three-word-title tradition for many years now, we thought it'd make a lot of sense for us to move on from that. It has served its purpose. We are a band that's all about change and moving forward. An album title consisting of one word goes hand-in-hand with the new material — it describes both the musical and lyrical content in a more imaginary way, not to mention the unity and the everlasting flame which is DIMMU BORGIR. Expect the unexpected!"

When asked about the central figure in the artwork and who/what he's supposed to represent, artist Joachim Luetke responds: "I think that's obvious. Since the whole 'setting' is located in an icy, bleak, winter-y, post-industrial era, we're pretty close to H.P. Lovecraft's nameless elder gods. They're represented by the mask's tentacles. In short: the mask/face personifies dominion of powers far beyond mankind. The nameless gods witnessed the birth of our universe and they'll watch it implode. To them, the age of mankind is but a blink of an eye."

In early June, DIMMU BORGIR announced its collaboration with Norwegian composer and Berklee College of Music summa cum laude alumnus Gaute Storaas in addition to the 51 members of KORK (the Norwegian Radio Orchestra) and the 38-member Schola Cantorum Choir. To date, over 101 musicians have contributed to the making of the new CD.

Composer Gaute Storaas has said of DIMMU BORGIR: "Their music is epic, thematic and symphonic already from the creation; they are clearly having an orchestral approach to composing."

Luetke's artwork and layout art also graced two other DIMMU BORGIR albums: 2003's "Death Cult Armageddon", which has sold 130,000 copies in the U.S. (according to Nielsen SoundScan) and debuted at No. 7 on Billboard's Heatseekers chart, No. 10 on the Top Independent Albums chart, and No. 170 on The Billboard 200 chart; and 2007's "In Sorte Diaboli", which has sold over 75,000 copies in the U.S. (according to Nielsen SoundScan) and debuted at No. 2 on Billboard's Top Independent Albums chart and at No. 43 on The Billboard 200 chart.