DIMMU BORGIR have started their summer 2026 North American tour, opening at the Palladium Times Square in New York City on Friday, August 7. Fan-filmed video of the full concert has since appeared online.
The symphonic black metal veterans built the set around "Grand Serpent Rising", their first album in eight years, and gave three of its songs their live premiere: "Ulvgield & Blodsode", which opened the night after the intro, plus "As Seen In The Unseen" and "Ascent". They also pulled "Reptile" back into rotation for the first time since 2009.
The rest of the set drew across the catalogue — "Mourning Palace", "Kings Of The Carnival Creation", "Council Of Wolves And Snakes", "Stormblåst", "The Insight And The Catharsis", "The Serpentine Offering", "Puritania", "Gateways" and "Progenies Of The Great Apocalypse".
Support on the ten-date trek comes from SUFFOCATION and HULDER. HYPOCRISY had been on the bill but announced on August 3 that they were forced off the tour over visa issues, as we reported at the time. The run wraps on August 23 at The Novo in Los Angeles.
"Grand Serpent Rising" arrived on May 22 via Nuclear Blast Records. "I truly feel we've outdone ourselves musically on this album," frontman Shagrath said of it. "It's been a long and demanding process, but seeing how it all came together makes it incredibly rewarding. 'Grand Serpent Rising' reflects every era of DIMMU BORGIR. This album carries echoes of every chapter of DIMMU BORGIR's legacy."
Guitarist Silenoz explained the title. "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 something else: renewal, growth, knowledge, and liberation. Shedding our skin, so to speak. And let's not forget that February 2026 marks the end of the Year of the Snake, roughly the same moment this album was completed."
The album was recorded in Gothenburg with Fredrik Nordström, whose history with the band goes back to "Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia" and "Death Cult Armageddon".
There is more coming this autumn. In October, DIMMU BORGIR and BEHEMOTH launch the "In League With Satan" co-headline tour across Europe, with DARK FUNERAL as special guests.
The current lineup is Shagrath on vocals, Silenoz and Damage on guitars, Victor on bass, Gerlioz on keyboards and Daray on drums. Kjell Åge "Damage" Karlsen joined in June 2025, replacing longtime guitarist Galder, who left in the summer of 2024 to reactivate his OLD MAN'S CHILD project and played his last show with the band that August at Dynamo Metal Fest.
Source: blabbermouth.net