Eight years after reshaping the symphonic black metal landscape with Eonian, Norwegian titans Dimmu Borgir emerge once more from the abyss — this time bearing a work of colossal scale and intent. Their new album, Grand Serpent Rising, is set to be released on 22 May via Nuclear Blast Records, marking a fierce and triumphant return for one of extreme metal’s most influential forces.

Comprising thirteen tracks, the album stands as a vast, multi‑layered creation in which the band’s trademark orchestral might collides with sharpened black-metal ferocity. It is a record that looks backwards and forward simultaneously — a summoning of every era of Dimmu Borgir, reforged with renewed purpose.

Frontman Shagrath reflects on the journey behind the album: “I truly feel we’ve outdone ourselves musically on this album. It’s been a long and demanding process, but seeing how it all came together makes it incredibly rewarding. Grand Serpent Rising carries echoes of every chapter of Dimmu Borgir’s legacy — I believe our fans will recognize that, and find something within it that resonates.”

Guitarist Silenoz expands on the significance of the album’s title, a phrase that feels as heavy as the music it represents: “It fits perfectly. Dimmu Borgir is a leviathan of a band on a grand scale, and we are rising once again. While the serpent represents evil to some, for us it symbolizes renewal, growth, knowledge, and liberation — shedding our skin, so to speak. And let’s not forget that February 2026 marked the end of the Year of the Snake, roughly the same moment this album was completed.”

The band recorded the album in Gothenburg with renowned producer Fredrik Nordström, whose previous collaborations with Dimmu Borgir helped shape the monumental sound of Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia and Death Cult Armageddon. Their reunion captures the band at full strength — expansive, venomous, and meticulously orchestrated.

To accompany the announcement, Dimmu Borgir have unveiled a cinematic video for the track “Ulvgjeld & Blodsodel”. Sung entirely in Norwegian, the song is a towering, blood‑stirred hymn rooted in heritage, lineage, and the transmission of something primal from one generation to the next. Visually and sonically, it stands as a powerful first glimpse into the world of Grand Serpent Rising.

As if a new album weren’t seismic enough, October 2026 will see two of extreme metal’s most commanding forces unite for a devastating live offensive. Dimmu Borgir and Behemoth will embark on the “In League With Satan” co‑headline tour, sweeping across Europe and the UK with unrelenting force. Joining them as special guests are Swedish black metal icons Dark Funeral, ensuring a lineup as merciless as it is historic.

With Grand Serpent Rising and this monumental tour, Dimmu Borgir reaffirm not only their legacy, but their continued evolution — a band still rising, still transforming, and still capable of shaking the foundations of the genre they helped define. Link