20%
Diabolos—The Three Mothers EP (2006)
Details
Recorded autumn 2005. All songs written and arranged by Diabolos. Features a bonus live video of “Day of the Beast” taken from the To Appease the Beast festival, December of 2005.
Band
- Undead Torment—Vocals and guitars
- N. Eihon Fiend—Bass
- Murder Machine—Drums
Tracks
- Fall of the house of sighs
- Inferno tenebrarum
- Lacrimosa
- Day of the beast (live video)—taken from the To Appease the Beast festival, December 2005.
Review
One of the main barriers to more people appreciating metal, and particularly sub-genres like black metal is that, besides the music sounding aggressive, to many it just sounds like a bunch of shouty men, playing loud guitars, and hitting things while rattling a bag of cutlery.
Dismissing the genre out of hand so readily, the opportunity is missed for the listener to appreciate the subtleties of the music: the arrangement, the often simple melodies that weave around the pounding rhythms, how the gruff vocals add an additional layer of texture to the already abrasive music. There is no opportunity to appreciate that artist’s heritage: to listen for influences and build an appreciation for where in the great metal family tree that particular band sits.
Of course, that all said… it’s just such a shame that this particular album sounds very much like a bunch of shouty men, playing loud guitars, and hitting things while rattling a bag of cutlery.
It is an EP, though, so it’s over and done quite quickly. If you’re not forced to watch the “Day of the beast” video on the CD-ROM that is. Which is… well, much the same but with pictures.
To be fair, it’s not all shouty-loud-hitty-rattling. The first two songs begin with an extended sample each from an odd-sounding couple of films: behind the door of the first track is hell, seemingly; the second track brings you to the end of your journey where you meet the three mothers themselves. And then the song kicks in. The noisy mothers!
Conclusion
I couldn’t find terribly much to enjoy about this album, to be honest. It was just raw, thrash with black metal lyrics and a terrible production.
I hate giving bands bad reviews because I know what it takes to be in a band and there is skill there, and talent, and dedication. And I know all that and I do appreciate it. But at the end of the day, I also didn’t really enjoy the album. It’s just a shame I can’t keep the cutlery.
Review score: 20%