adg211288 With Epica getting bigger and bigger and the likes of Nightwish and Within Temptation alienating their long-standing fans more and more with each release it makes sense that the newer breed of female-fronted symphonic metal acts will be taking their cues more from Epica’s style of beauty and the beast symphonic metal than the longer standing big guns. Diabulus in Musica is a young Spanish act and The Wanderer is their second full-length, which they released in 2012. They’ve a very much textbook case of being in the same vein as Epica (they even have Mark Jansen as a guest on the album). I think that at this stage in their career Epica can’t be beaten at their own game, but Diabulus in Musica showcased how to be like Epica in the right way, that is to say by taking the core of the beauty and the beast approach (although in Diabulus in Musica’s case it’s actually beauty and the beasts, the group has two growlers) and adding their own flair to it.

Although classifiable as symphonic metal as a whole, The Wanderer also draws on various other styles, including gothic metal, death metal and power metal. Sounds familiar doesn’t it? Fortunately although their ingredients are pretty much the same, Diabulus in Musica managed to pull off an album that will sit comfortable with Epica’s music, without being a clone of said band. A main reason for that is that Diabulus in Musica aren’t afraid to release songs which see their female singer absent or at least less prominent and focus on growling vocals, such as Shadow of the Throne. Epica only did this as a bonus track. Tracks like this aren’t common, but the symphonic death metal style of them certainly gives the album an additional edge, which is in contrast to some of their others songs, which only use female vocals and just like the longer running acts in the game come across as rather commercial, especially Sceneries of Hope, the song they made a video for. I find that I like Diabulus in Musica’s sound regardless of whether they’re just using female vocals, growls, or a mix of both, although I have to say that Sceneries of Hope is my least favourite track from the album, mainly because I dislike the more electronic sounding keyboards used here. They seem out of place compared to the direction the rest of the album takes. Since this was the first song from Diabulus in Musica I heard I didn’t get the very best first impressions, but fortunately the rest of the album sets a much higher standard throughout.

Another difference from Epica is the amount of folk in the release. Not folk metal, but actual folk music parts that crop up during songs while the metal takes the backseat. Folk metal cropping up in symphonic metal acts is getting common, but Diabulus in Musica do things a little difference with this approach of only using folk where they don’t want any metal. The closing title track is the best example of the band’s folk side, a beautiful ballad driven by the acoustic guitar with sprinklings of folk melody and stunning vocals from Zuberoa Aznárez, who shines throughout the whole release. Really, as with most beauty and the beast acts the beast side of the vocal team isn’t really needed with a singer of this calibre, but at least in Diabulus in Musica’s case Zuberoa isn’t held back by unneeded growling vocals. All vocals are used to best effect in this release.

All in all I have to say this is a great album. Although the similarities to Epica and acts in that vein are numerous what we have here is a band who show all the potential they need to become an integral part of that crowd of acts. I’d say that The Wanderer is very much a highly recommended purchase for fans of the style. It doesn’t come across as being anything more that great for me, we’re not talking a masterpiece here but with The Wanderer Diabulus in Musica did deliver an album that does everything I expect of the symphonic metal style, and in all honesty even if it’s not a masterpiece, a great album is not to be sniffed at. Also although the whole beauty and the beats thing is getting a bit old due to vast overuse, Diabulus in Musica proved with The Wanderer that it’s still possible to pull it off without sounding stale.

8.4/10

(Originally written for Heavy Metal Haven (http://metaltube.freeforums.org))