Opera Diabolicus - 1614 (2012)

With a very powerful and eerie atmosphere, Opera Diabolicus delivers a very powerful and theatrical Gothic Metal release that should not be taken lightly. “1614” features a wide variety of vocal appearances by Snowy Shaw and Mats Leven from Therion, Niklas Isfeldt  of Dream Evil, Jake E of the yucky Amaranthe, and Camilla Alisander-Ason. Focusing more on the theatrical aspect of things, the band (a two-person unit) crates very eerie moments that will haunt your dreams.

After the creepy “Overture”, “The Gates” fully deliver a very familiar Therion-esque vibe minus the overly pretentious approach that Christofer Johnsson has decided to take in the last few years. The somber atmosphere is top notch and this song really made us picture a musical/play setting for this album. The over-the-top keyboards and choir sections are magical and the dramatic vocal performances make this song plain genius.

With more of a King Diamond/Merciful Fate edge, “Blood Countess Bathory” and “The 13th Guest” keep the creepy atmosphere going. The ‘fast’ paced sections are nicely contrasted by lush vocals and very melodic guitars. It is exciting to hear a release that mixes both Metal and theatrics to perfection and never abuses any of these elements.  The multiple vocals used are excellent, but the female vocals are our favorite ones. Snowy Shaw’s vocals are clearly distinguishable and very well used, particularly in “The 13th Guest”.

The instrumental “In Memoriam” nicely provides a little breather and keeps the eerie atmosphere going; we will surely be playing this album on our Halloween party to set the mood. The Heavy Metal piece “Mythos Lamia” delivers more chills with some haunting female vocals and very intricate guitar work. Our favorite track of this release is “Stone by Stone”, a track that while sounding a lot like Therion, the theatrics behind it make it more effective. The guitars are powerful and the bass guitar pounds away while the whole story fully unravels.

In general, we greatly enjoyed “1614” and its very dramatic and theatrical edge. This two-man project has managed to craft over 54 minutes of music that transports the listener to a completely different place. While the similarities to bands like Therion and such are very evident, Opera Diabolicus rises above all things and features some of the best vocal moments we have heard in a release of this nature. We are excited to hear what the band decides to tackle on next and hear how they bring it to the masses via excellent Metal music.

Release: February 28th, 2012

Country: Sweden

Sometimes some albums that are quite not our cup of tea make it to our review queue and surprise us a bit. Sep7ember’s “Strange Ways of Going Home” is the latest entry in this category due to its super catchy guitar work and very solid songwriting. We are no experts on Alternative Rock or even Hard-pop but this album is pretty good since it kept us interested from beginning to end.

Hailing from Frankfurt, Sep7ember opens this release with the very catchy (and pop-ish) “View into Blur”. The dreamy guitar work is pretty appealing and the bass guitar is super catchy in this piece. Sometimes we can even say that the band bleeds a bit into Post-Rock territory in songs like “Run”, “Remaining Days” and “So”, but with a commercial REM and Live touch. The vocals are very whiny, but in a good way since they deliver the emotion behind these powerful songs.

With a very effective combination of emotions with excellent musicianship, the band rips through very catchy and emotive tracks like “Gods are Laughing”, “All Quiet”, and “Rocket to Somewhere”. It is very hard to actually pick a favorite song out of the bunch since all of them feature their own uniqueness that makes them engaging and interesting.

With 13 songs in this release clocking between 5 and 2 minutes, “Strange Ways of Going Home” indeed has a very strange way of getting into your skin and be enjoyed. We can see this band delivering this material to a wide variety of audiences and actually making a few bucks due to their very radio-friendly sound. If you are looking for something to listen to with your girlfriend/boyfriend that does not fully like Metal, this a good release to have around.

Release: January 17th, 2012

Country: Germany