Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Album review: Diminished 7 - The Regal Chapters - 2014


Genre: Gothic Metal
Country: USA
Year: 2014


 Tracklist:

1. When the Heart Consumes the Soul
2. Love Erased
3. Malice Gloom
4. El Ayo Ri La
5. She Destroys
6. Demons of Cast
7. Into Dying Eyes
8. Stigmata Dolls
9. Where There Once Were Walls
10. Worm?
11. (S)unravelling
12. My Insatiable Heart


There are more Gothic Metal bands than mushrooms on a rainy forest. But, a few of those aren’t mushrooms, at all. Some of them are great bands with its own identity and particular style. Diminished 7 is one of those few bands, thanks mainly because of its last released album, “The Regal Chapters”.

The sound is average at most. The volume is below today standards, the mixing wasn’t very well done so some instruments overlap each other, and some decisions about how every instrument must sound like could be criticized. It would be unfair, however, to say the album sounds like shit, because it doesn't. 

The album structure doesn't bring anything new. It has a decent intro, an insignificant interlude, and an ugly coda. The number of songs gets then reduced to nine of the twelve tracks. That's not enough for any long play album. 

The song structure isn't to be praised neither. It's as rigid as it usually is in any pop piece, with an AABA order.

All that, summed with plain vocals and some lack of technical instrument play, should result in a bad musical product, right? But, what about the composition? It's the only star in this sea of darkness... and it shines bright.

Thanks to an almost progressive style, the band achieves to enrich largely the genre, and, while doing so, to drive far away from what may be otherwise a generic gothic metal. Every song -besides the three pieces already mentioned- is complex and entertaining in almost every segment while carrying attractive and interesting melodies. The result is then, above all, an amusing album filled with original and catchy tunes.

Harsh vocals are present in some songs (like in "Where There One Were Walls" and in "Demons of Cast”), just to add a bit more of spice to the already saucy composition.

About the audio, beyond all the flaws, the sound gives a special feel and atmosphere to the whole work that matches very well the band's particular heavy gothic metal style. 

Of course, this is an album filled with highs and lows. Some songs are better than most of the melogoth ones out there, but some others are inferior. Thus, the gap between them is huge. The best ones are “Love Erased” –the album’s first song and a good choice for it-, "El Ayo Ri La", “Demons of Cast” and "Where There Once Were Walls". The other ones aren't bad, but just not notables.

So, even though the package isn't the prettiest, the content is worthy of attention.

If you like the gothic metal style, you must be glad: the genre still lives and evolves, and some bands like Diminished 7 are the ones that make this possible.

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