Diabulus in Musica – Secrets Review

Diabulus in Musica // Secrets
Rating: 2.0/5.0 —Super derivative, some great melodies
Label: Metal Blade
Websites: diabulusinmusica.com | myspace.com/diabulusinmusicaband
Release Dates: EU: 24.05.2010 | US: 05.25.2010

Diabulus in Musica is a band that you’ve heard before dozens of times in different forms. There was a while when like every single band on Napalm Records sounded like them, but it is not a sound that is terribly popular in the year 2010. So while the band could be commended for releasing an album that sounds like Theatre of Tragedy or Epica in 2010 because they’re bucking the trend and doing their own thing, they could also be heavily criticized for sounding exactly like Theatre of Tragedy or Epica (more the latter than the former). I’m sure that the members of Diabulus in Musica are sick of being compared to Theatre of Tragedy and Epica, if they’re sick of that they should probably not read this review, because I am about to launch into a 500 word diatribe about how there has to be something new that can be done with the chick in a metal band thing, but that no one seems to be doing it.

OK, so with that lead in you’re probably expecting me to say that there is nothing good about this album: nope. There are some great things about this album. The female vocalist is not exactly the most powerful singer in the entire world, but she’s not anyone’s clone even if she is doing the operatic vocals in epic(a *cough*) orchestrated metal thing. She has good tone and she sounds pretty solid on the vocals throughout the whole album. One of the best parts about Secrets is that the melodies are very strong and memorable. So, in a sense, she really carries this band through the album.

She carries the band because the music itself is not very good. I mean, it’s alright, but it’s got this thing.. I dunno how to put it. Hmmm.. OH YEAH: whoever writes this music really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really wants to be in fucking Epica. SERIOUSLY. Complete with Barack Obama American Presidential Quotes in the songs and the whole mix of epic power metal and death metal thing going on. But the death metal vocals are really weak and unconvincing and the music is just.. second rate. There are some good things going on here and there, the catchy melodies being one of them, but honestly this record is totally forgettable from a musical perspective. The orchestrations are weak, the riffs aren’t cool and pretty much if it wasn’t for the talented front-lady this would be even worse.

So I guess what I’m trying to say is that aside from “Nocturnal Flowers,” “Evolution’s Whim” and the track “Ishtar”, this album is a total throwaway disc. There has to be something that someone can do to make this whole death metal meets Nightwish thing work out better. Because while some bands do it well, most of them really don’t and there’s a reason it’s considered to be out of vogue in 2010: because it got so goddamned overdone that everyone is totally sick of it, this Angry Metal Guy included. Now I’m going to go listen to Velvet Darkness They Fear and get angry that Theatre of Tragedy had to go and start sucking.

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