Written by Symphonic black metal titans Dimmu Borgir have announced their first album in eight years.
The Norwegian six-piece will return with Grand Serpent Rising, the long-awaited follow-up to 2018’s Eonian, on May 22 via Nuclear Blast. They’ve offered their first preview of coming attractions with lead single Ulvgjeld & Blodsodel, which you can listen to below. The album artwork is also below, although the tracklisting is still to be announced.
The band recorded Grand Serpent Rising with renowned producer Fredrik Nordström (Opeth, In Flames, At The Gates) at Studio Fredman in Gothenburg, Sweden. It marks the fourth time he’s produced the band, with their previous collaborations – 2001’s Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia, 2003’s Death Cult Armageddon and 2007’s In Sorte Diaboli – being among Dimmu’s most successful and lauded albums.
In an exclusive interview, guitarist Silenoz tells Hammer what to expect of Grand Serpent Rising, saying “it covers most of our catalogue”: “Some stuff is more stripped-down, some epic stuff is still there. We have some modern stuff and some old stuff, as well.”
When asked what is more old-school this time around, he answers: “The way the riffs have been made. I just played around and, before you know it, [you think,] ‘Oh, wow, maybe this is something we can use later on!’ Then you record it on your phone. [Compared to the typical black metal standard, the phone recordings were] almost too good! I had to put dirt and filth in there to make it sound grim enough!”
The guitarist also explains why Grand Serpent Rising took eight years to make following the release of Eonian, which itself came out eight years after its predecessor, 2010’s Abrahadabra.
“The writing process goes in cycles, basically,” he says. “Some days, you’re really creative and get a lot of stuff done. Other days and weeks and months, you hardly get anything done. It’s a give-and-take type of thing.”
Grand Serpent Rising will be the first Dimmu album since 1999’s Spiritual Black Dimensions to not feature guitarist Galder, who stepped down in 2024 to dedicate himself to his musical project Old Man’s Child.
“We did four or five albums before he came into the band,” Silenoz says of writing and recording without him, “so we went on with what we started on, as far as the writing process went. It was almost a return-to-roots way of working: just me and Shagrath [vocals], basically. That went pretty smoothly, I would say.”
To promote the release, Dimmu will embark on a European co-headlining tour with fellow black metal beloveds Behemoth. Dark Funeral will support. See dates and below and get tickets via the Dimmu website.
Dimmu Borgir and Behemoth 2026 European tour dates:
Oct 09: Zurich Halle 622, Switzerland
Oct 10: Zwickau Sparkassen-Arena Zwickau, Germany
Oct 11: Esch-sur-Alzette Rockhal, Luxembourg
Oct 13: Milan Alcatraz, Italy
Oct 14: Munich Zenith, Germany
Oct 16: Paris Zenith, France
Oct 18: Den Bosch Mainstage, Netherlands
Oct 20: Cologne Palladium, Germany
Oct 22: Hamburg Inselpark Arena, Germany
Oct 23: Berlin Columbiahalle, Germany
Oct 24: Brno Hala Vodova, Czech Republic
Oct 27: Helsinki Ice Hall, Finland
Oct 29: Stockholm B-K, Sweden
Oct 30: Copenhagen K.B. Hallen, Denmark
