DIABOLICAL

The Gallery Of Bleeding Art

Vici Solumn Productions/ CD 2008

After a nearly six-year silence Swedish black death metallers DIABOLICAL are finally back with the new assault entitled "The Gallery of Bleeding Art". Prepare yourself for listening to this piece of shit by having lots of analgesic pills near at hand. The consequences can be extremely painful. And remember, don't set volume to the max, otherwise seven songs (plus intro) featured on follow-up to „A Thousand Deaths” will immediately reduce your brain to a bloody pulp.

First of all, the production. The guys recorded and mixed the album at Necromorbus Studio & Studio Underground and it sounds in a typical Swedish way, I mean especially that raspy, guitar-driven groove combined with pulsating bass, rumbling drums and clashing cymbals. Aggressive, massive yet still very legible sound of „The Gallery Of Bleeding Art” will allow you to appreciate the complexity of music featured on this CD. As befits a Swedish death metal band, DIABOLICAL plays metal in very melodic and offensive way. Don't expect any industrial samples, female whispers and other fashionable crap. Some tracks feature a guest appearance of The Necro Quartet but it doesn't play any siginificant role on that album. Just tune your ears to a metal record, fucking intense and evil to the bone. Stockholm and Gothenburg styles mixed on that album in a very democrative way led the concept of DIABOLICAL music to great results. I have to admit this is an extremely consistent, well-though-out and powerful album, from the first tune of the piano-based intro „Caedes Profana”, till the last note of almost ten and half minutes long (!) final track „Ashes IV”. Each of the songs featured on "The Gallery of Bleeding Art" stands out. Each of them can impress you in its own way. Rhythmic dynamism at the core of the structures, mature arrangements and crushing heaviness combined with tons of typical Swedish „doleful melodies” and fantastic solo parts just blow away. Furthermore all those straightforward, hateful blastbeats attacks are mixed with some undefined occult- satanic atmosphere shining through (such feelings culminate in slow and gloomy parts of the album, like the middle of „Extinction”, „Religionism” or „Ashes IV” which is probably the darkest track on the album). It makes the whole effort not only aggressive and ruthless, but also very dark and unpredictable. Swedes managed to achieve a brilliant balance between power and soul. Apart from mighty NECROPHOBIC I'm not sure if there's another band out there that could do it in so brilliant way.

DIABOLICAL are passionate, confident and fully devoted to what they do. Their proficiency in the art of slaying is overwhelming. "The Gallery of Bleeding Art" is an extremely successful record and with a bit of luck it should garner a big attention and help DIABOLICAL to enter Swedish death metal hall of fame. Are you stunned? You shouldn't be. Yesterday even the Devil himself was listening "The Gallery of Bleeding Art" with a big smile on his face.

10/12