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Band: DiabolicuM
Album title: Ia Pazuzu (The Abyss Of The Shadows)
Release date: 29 May 2015
Label: Code666
Tracklist:
01. Baxxar Ehl Uhza
02. The Void Of Astaroth
03. The Silent Spring
04. Genocide Bliss
05. Salvation Through Vengeance
06. The Abyss Of The Shadows
07. One Mans War
08. Angelmaker
09. Ia Pazuzu
First off I must say that I’m blown away by the amazing music, and secondly by Mr. Kvartforth's vocals, whose I never thought and imagined that I'll ever hear in a more traditional black metal band. Kvarforth is the man behind Shining, and that's where his position is in my mind. When I heard of DiabolicuM I was not really sure what to expect, I knew about the band from before but had not paid much attention to them. Note also that Ia Pazuzu (The Abyss Of The Shadows) is DiabolicuM's first album in 14 years, after several setbacks and delays. The music is pretty much my definition of a perfect black metal track, with its tremolo picking fast paced guitars, ultra fast blast beats, the music is dark and atmospheric, it has a slight Shining vibe at some parts, mainly because of Niklas Kvarforth vocals and I have to admit I never thought he would do this kind of music, but then again he is a musician with very varied taste, as not only, he has been doing a lot of guest appearances and vocal contributions before in various bands and projects.
I'm already used to hear Niklas sing in English language and he does a good performance on those songs with his unique vocal style as well. The sound is very raw and the drums are very much in your face! There are some not that common but still intriguing guitar solos inserted quite wisely in the background. It's hard to put it into context exactly, there are many weird elements mixed inside the sound of the band, not really sure what I'd call it, kind of space feel, ambient, I can hear a lot of industrial elements inside it. It's a nice touch that brings that cold atmosphere in, and even though I've never been much into mixing those elements, but this band seems to know how to do it properly without losing their main orientation. One of the things I instantly loved about DiabolicuM is the fact they are not afraid to play extremely fast without loosing the main essence of the sound. Some might even say this is comparable to early Mayhem, but then so will people say it's also close to any other black metal band, but they still don't quite fit in the genre definition, they have their own doomish, black industrial sound. although it's not that common to use guitar solos some bands just pull it off!
Ia Pazuzu (The Abyss Of The Shadows) is a good return for this cult Swedish demonic band. Each song has its own charm and its own sound, thanks also to some really interesting guests like Malfeitor Fabban (Aborym) and Vargher (Naglfar, Bewitched, Ancient Wisdom) who certainly added their portion in a couple of tracks. I would say that I found this album very good, a bit different but still a solid record that perhaps older fans of extreme sounds would enjoy and understand much more than todays young kids. To be honest, those industrial elements are not really my kind of stuff, but still...
Review written by: Oliver
Rating: 7/10
Disclaimer: This is a guest review and it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the Terra Relicta staff.
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