Published on Apr 11, 2002
Okay, I admit it. For as much as I have loved heavy metal since
I was 14 years old, and as much as I listen to thrash and death
metal these days, sometimes it just seems like all this stuff
sounds the same… especially the death metal. You know the
formula: a thousand beats a minute, drum work that sounds like the
poor guy is having a seizure behind the kit, crunching guitars and
vocal grunts that you’d need the Rosetta Stone to decipher. Don’t
get me wrong, I still love metal, and I still like listening to
thrash and death metal, but I was starting to get a little worried
about the genre.
The last bunch of discs I’ve listened to have caused me to be
born again. We talked about one of them yesterday with Bludgeon’s
debut release. Now, Sweden’s Diabolical help to solidify my
new-found faith in death metal, with their full-length debut
Synergy. It’s similar to a lot of metal you might be used
to, but it’s much different in many other ways. Lead guitarist
Vidar W. and crew throw several different styles at the listener,
but they make it all sound so cohesive that it’s downright
scary.
If you thought that metal this heavy had to be played at
lightning-quick speed – well, there’s some of that there, but
Diabolical prove that even a slower beat mixed in with the fast
tempos works just as well. The group (and I’m hoping I’ve put this
together right, culling the lineup from All-Music Guide) – Vidar
W., guitarist H. Carlsson, vocalist M. Odling, and bassist/drummer
(yes, you read that right) L. Soderberg – challenges the standard
way listeners think about thrash metal, and damned if they don’t
make a convincing argument in their favor.
Tracks like “Suicidal Glory,” “Caged Wrath” and “Drowned In
Blood” all demonstrate that Diabolical has worked extremely hard to
get to the point they’re at, and that they’ve earned all the
respect they’ve gotten in Europe. (
Synergy was released in America back in October 2001 – six
months after they got it on the other side of the big drink.)
Diabolical has everything going in their favor – solid songwriting
(even if I’m still at a loss to describe what Odling is screaming
about), mastery of the music and a top-notch production. (Plus, any
time you can land album cover
artiste Joe Petgano to do your artwork, it’s a master
coup.)
The only concern I have for Diabolical is that they may have set
the bar too high for themselves. I know there is already a second
full-length disc out in Europe (and, if they copy-protect it here
in the States like they did in Europe, we won’t touch it), but
Diabolical is going to have a difficult time living up to the
expectations they have created thanks to this album. Can they do
it? I don’t doubt it… but it is a tough thing for any group to
do.
Synergy is the kind of album that is great to put on when
you’re feeling pissed at the world – and it will end up making you
feel great. Diabolical is undoubtedly one of the more exciting
bands I’ve heard come down the pipe in a while, and I’ll be
expecting great things from this group for many years to come.