reviews
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......................................................................................................................................................... Being the band of KATATONIA's Blakkheim and the bustling Dan Swanö, DIABOLICAL MASQUERADE were asked to conduct a soundtrack for the upcoming horror-movie "Death's Design". Blakkheim gladly accepted- he stated in some interview that he had always wanted to compose a soundtrack to some movie. So he went to work, recorded this style-busting Death/Black/Heavy/Power/Gothic/whateveryoucanthinkof- Metal Symphony together with sound-wizard Swanö and when finished, the two were told that there would probably be no movie. Blakkheim, slightly pissed, decided to release the soundtrack anyhow, even without the film and never spoke a word with the movie people again... Or so the story goes. Now, a few years later, people wonder if all this was some kind of PR-gag by Blakkheim and if he fooled the world with this fairy-tale. But whatever the truth- movie or not- this album manages to invoke shadows of the film anyhow. This starts with the track list, which is admittedly quite long due to the fact that Blakkheim wanted to divide the "real" 20 songs so they would fit to the corresponding scenes of the film. If read thoroughly, it reveals a story which actually makes some sense and ignites interest in this movie (let's assume for the rest of the review that there would have been one). And most of the time the music fits to the track titles, the summoned associations applying perfectly to what should happen in the film now. So, what about the music then? This is really hard to say, for 1) this was written as a soundtrack and mixes many elements/ moods/ styles and 2) Blakkheims creativity seems to break borders of every Metal genre and even beyond the borders of the parts which are not Metal. The basis seems to be a dark and moody form of melodic Death/ Black Metal, crouching, menacing mostly, like some predator waiting to jump in your back. Sometimes it jumps, engulfing you in aggressive up-tempo parts with shredding guitars and Blakkheim screaming and growling at you. Sometimes it vanishes, leaving you with your hair upright in suspense, wondering if it will strike again while you listen to ambient keyboard. Then again, there is no predator- Heroic, symphonic tunes with clean vocals and upbeat melodies announce the arrival of some kind of superhero. And though you might think that way while reading this: these parts sound not at all cheesy (more like BAL-SAGOTH, if you know what I mean). When reaching the 16th Movement with a clearly Arabian background, the music changes to what could have been a soundtrack for the next Tomb Raider- game, exactly as suggested in the titles. There are even jazzy and prog parts to be found in this, tribal parts, some short string ensemble melodies, acoustic guitar, and so much more; it is simply impossible to put everything into this review. Just so much, it doesn't matter which style Blakkheim uses, the overall atmosphere stays the same, and that is not only making an album with so many styles listenable but a huge achievement which separates the genius from the wannabe as well. Take WALTARI's "Yeah! Yeah! Die! Die! A Death Metal Symphony in Deep C" and multiply the complexity by at least three, then imagine it being more of one piece and you get somewhere near "Death's Design". The ambitions are the same- although Blakkheim wanted to do a score, without the film, this album stands alone as a Metal Opera, and a marvellous one with an extremely long half-life period. I own this album for at least five years now and every once in a while it finds its way back into my CD-Player where it manages to fascinate me every time anew. Too bad DIABOLICAL MASQUERADE are no more- If they had proceeded this way, what a great album the successor to "Death's Design" could have been... Tentakel P.
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