Metal Reviews
Metal Reviews
DISMAL EUPHONY |
| Just as the name
suggests, Dismal Euphony, hailing from up north and inspired
by the black metal surroundings, paint a bleak musical portrait on “All
Little Devils.” In so doing, they also release an aura of inspiration
thanks in part to a pretty vocal performance by Anja Natasha and a charming
blend of pop, Goth, and traditional metal culture lending to the overall
picture that might otherwise consist of a full black background, spattered
with bright colors. “Victory” leads the charge into a full blown attack against indifference, all guns blazing amidst a glorified chorus and promising guitar work that comes out of nowhere from the distance, sending the opposition hurtling in the other direction. “All Little Devils” as a song almost starts out in a manner that can only be, and shouldn’t, described as “sweet,” later dominated by a barrage of double-bass and dramatic orchestration, while again utilizing a strongly backed chorus led by Natasha, ultimately bringing this one into the forefront as one of the album’s best. What I’ve noticed, rather sluggishly, here I am by the fifth song in, is that Dismal Euphony is a truly standout performer when it comes to creativity, because with each subsequent song, there’s a different element to direct your attention to. First it’s the chamber music and synthesized echo which are always present but to different stages of effect, then the awesome intensity coming from the guitar, overdubbed at times, but easily verifiable in the traditional metal sense. Then of course, we’ve got the singer, who’s not dissimilar to many female fronted Goth/black metal bands, but it’s her delivery that grows quickly from a soothing whisper to a fear-inflicting scream that’ll captivate your nervous system before returning to a calming effect at the start of the next song. The album ends quietly with “Dead Words,” a highly orchestrated piece led out slowly with piano before fading into the fast approaching darkness, an antithesis to how “All Little Devils” began nine songs earlier… Released by Metal Blade Records GmbH, P.O. Box 1332, 73054 Eislingen, Germany. Metal Blade Records Inc, 2828 Cochran St. Suite 302, Simi Valley, CA 93065-2793, USA Website : http://metalblade.iuma.com/ Email : mtlbldrcds@aol.com Review by Vinnie Apicella. |
Python ZeroDismal Euphony |
|
Dismal indeed, and without the slightest regard for pleasantness this record turns out to be somewhat more distraught than I expected. Thought I remembered them as being more among the Gothic droning variety, very slow, dark and creepy and yet I'm receiving a great amount of reverb and static-not in an industrial sense but highly electric. "Critical Mass" leads the charge and does so with a barrage of unsettling guitar riffs, cavernous screaming vocals and double bass kick at the conclusion as the warbled wailings of the presumed subject left behind still echo forth… "Python Zero" the song comes up next this time with a male/female vocal tradeoff, slightly melodic surroundings but ultra heavy in the traditionally Metal formula yet anything but old school… old school however if we're dealing with the abundance of Northern-bred Black Metal and Goth crossovers where this might fit quite comfortably however leaning no more so in one direction or another. This follow up to '99s "All Little Devils," their well-received Nuclear Blast debut sees slight progressions mainly in production quality though none so obvious within the songs themselves as they've retained their consistency and I'd swear turned the volume up a notch and became further committed to the more sinister tendencies akin to those trying early years where a bands' fortunes seemed built on total darkness and bottom end density… While I'll stop short of calling this a new step in originality, there's a fresh vibrancy that hits me in tunes like "Zentinel," or the sinister "Plasma Pool," which is right up there with the Emperor's of the world for sheer speed and obsessive compulsive instrumental dissonance-an eight minute monster seemingly broken apart, oft changing direction as it leads the listener down a perilous path they might never return from. A more challenging listen than before as "Python Zero" is an evolvement from before and one not easily absorbed at first however all in all a surgically skilled strike into the heart of darkness… Released by Nuclear
Blast Records, Haupstrasse 109 - 73072 Dusseldorf. Germany Review by Vinnie
Apicella [va85@columbia.edu] |