Diabulus in Musica – Euphonic Entropy
Album Review By Rainer Kerber
Diabulus in Musica are back. It has been more than three years since “Dirge for the Archons” (November 2016). These were certainly eventful years for the two masterminds of the band Zuberoa Aznárez and Gorka Elso. You became parents. The singer released the solo album “Beyond the Threshold” (2017). The band was founded in 2006. They played at various festivals and made extensive concert tours. I was able to experience the musicians from Pamplona live at the Metal Female Voices Fest in Belgium, at the Autumn Moon in Hameln and a few years ago in Hamburg as support for Leaves ’Eyes. Five studio albums have been released since 2006, including the “Euphonic Entropy” released in February.
As on (almost) every Symphonic Metal album, you will find an instrumental intro here. But “A Lucid Chaos” is pleasantly different from many others. Quiet, worn, little bombast and vowels by Zuberoa Aznárez’s golden throat. One of the better album introductions. “Race to Equilibrium” then starts with a little more bombast. But with the DiM typical heavyness, especially the drums. The singer moves more in the mezzo-soprano. This is also typical of the band. Only the choruses shine with high to very high tones. The growls from husband Gorka Elso should not be missing. A good tradition is to give the mother tongue a chance too. So, the text for “Nuevo Rumbo” is written in Spanish. The bombast was also somewhat reduced here. The musicians from the Basque Country also like to experiment with the sounds. So to hear on “The Misfit’s Swing”. Here metal elements are mixed with swing. You have to listen to it first, it sounds too unusual. There is a little cabaret feeling. Again it will be native speaker. In “Otoi” Zuberoa sings in Basque. Here, lively and catchy melodies alternate with bitter growls. “Blurred Dreams” is a beautiful ballad. Piano, calm rhythmic drums and strings are the accompaniments of a bewitchingly beautiful voice. Some industrial gadgets can then be heard on “On The Edge”. The driving drumming is decisive, to which the choruses and solo part can easily adapt. One of the album highlights is probably the epic “Our Last Gloomy Dance”. The song could well serve as a soundtrack for a phantasy film. The quartet then goes to “One Step Higher” in Speed Metal realms, but of course not without that little bit of bombast. “In The Vortex” is an epic ballad at the end of the album.
The wait was worth it. With “Euphonic Entropy” Diabulus in Musica have released the most varied and probably the best album in their band history. Musical experiments can be heard here as well as high-class symphonic metal. Zuberoa Aznárez once again proves that she is one of the best singers in metal.
Diabulus in Musica – Otoi: https://youtu.be/BnwxISrZVJ4
Lineup:
Zuberoa Aznárez – Vocals
Gorka Elso – Keyboards, Growls
David Carrcia – Drums
Alexey Kolygin – Guitar
Label: Napalm Records
Out: February 14th, 2020
Playing time: 56:33
Track list:
- A Lucid Chaos
- Race to Equilibrium
- Nuevo Rumbo
- The Misfit’s Swing
- In Quest Of Sense
- Otoi
- Blurred Dreams
- On The Edge
- Our Last Gloomy Dance
- One Step Higher
- Blind Muse
- In The Vortex
Rating : 8.5/10
MHF Magazine/Rainer Kerber
