adg211288 I've got the impression that the symphonic metal genre may have stagnated. Not because there aren't artists out there that are pushing the genre forward, because there are, notably Epica, but because most symphonic metal bands seem content to follow the same formula and lack any real identity of their own. One band that stood out when I first heard them with their second album The Wanderer (2012) was Spanish act Diabulus in Musica. While the album wasn't on a level with the best works of other symphonic metal bands and some comparison to Epica was valid, it stood out as one of the more varied symphonic metal releases from a newer act to the scene. It had gothic and power metal influences as is typical for this kind of band, but also influences from folk music and went beyond the usual beauty and the beast vocal approach to have a few tracks that were more like actual death metal. The band still seemed willing to try to push the boat out with their next album Argia (2014), though the amount of other elements was noticeably smaller and I personally didn't find the album to be as good.

Dirge for the Archons (2016) is their fourth album. As is typical for this kind of release, we have to get a minute's worth of intro track Battle of Atlantis out the way before things get going proper. Earthly Illusions then quickly bursts into life, showcasing heavy and speedy guitars alongside a powerful symphonic element. Lead vocalist Zuberoa Aznárez has a great voice for the style. In fact Dirge for the Archons kicks off just as well as any of the best Epica albums do. However the further we get into the album's thirteen tracks the clearer it becomes that once again a new release from Diabulus in Musica features less variation on their ideas than their previous offering did.

That sounds like a bad thing on paper and it is to a degree, but it's also what makes Dirge for the Archons comes across as a more consistent symphonic metal release than the preceding Argia, where I felt that not every track worked as well as it could have. Here Diabulus in Musica feel as if they are playing things safe and to their strengths. It's a better album because of that and they do offer some variation still. Every now and then a symphonic power metal part will burst forth. Sometimes there are death growls used here and there such as in Marble Embrace and The River of Loss. The track Hiding From You features clean male vocals duetting with Zuberoa Aznáre. Bane and Zauria feature a small portion of the folk elements I've heard on previous albums. But style wise this album is basically just symphonic metal with a bit of power metal, the kind of thing that I've heard bands such as Sleeping Romance, Midnight Eternal and (later) Edenbridge play.

My only real issue with the quality of its songs though is that when they do turn to growls, which are performed by keyboardist Gorka Elso, they don't seem as strong as they did on either of the two previous albums, especially during their first use on Marble Embrace. Fortunately compared to other bands in this genre that mix female vocals and death growls Diabulus in Musica allow their female lead to shine much more often, so it's not a major detraction to my enjoyment of the release. And the songs in general are very good. I tend to prefer the band in their faster, power metal influenced moments like Earthly Illusions, but other highlights include the slightly circus sounding Ring Around Dark Fairies' Carousel, while A Speck in the Universe is actually quite a nice semi-soft ballad, though Bane eclipses it for me. I like those folk sounds and Zuberoa Aznáre sounds especially great on it. Two or more softer songs on a metal album is not something I normally appreciate, but the band did two good ones here. I think that's an achievement all on its own.

Dirge for the Archons comes across as a typical sounding symphonic metal album based on current standards and it would be nice if Diabulus in Musica could work their way towards more of their own identity. The bottom line with this album though is that it's one of the better typical symphonic metal albums I've heard and in terms of songwriting it's actually the strongest bunch of songs I've heard from the band so far. I'd probably be even more into the album than I already am if the latest release from Epica wasn't still so fresh.

adg211288 Argia (2014) is the third full-length album by Spanish symphonic metal act Diabulus in Musica. Since the release of The Wanderer (2012) the line-up of the band has largely changed with only lead vocalist Zuberoa Aznárez and keyboardist/harsh vocalist Gorka Elso appearing on both albums. Like with The Wanderer Argia features some guests vocalists, namely Ailyn (Sirenia) and Thomas Vikström (Therion).

Although The Wanderer did not impress me to the same level as other bigger name acts in the symphonic metal genre that Diabulus in Musica can be compared to (Epica have always come to mind when I listen to their music), it certainly showed the band to have a lot of promise in regard to becoming one of the major players of this style. Their symphonic metal showed off an unusual level of variation, including not only the usual suspects of gothic and power metal elements but also some more melodic death metal orientated work, allowing the then double team of growling vocalists to take the lead from Aznárez and the album also had a pure folk song. Expectations for the album's follow-up therefore were riding high on where Diabulus in Musica may take the genre next.

Unfortunately the end result of Argia is a step backwards for Diabulus in Musica. As far as symphonic metal goes it is a solid album, but it's much less remarkable in terms of the elements going into it than The Wanderer. The most obvious additional element is power metal and the band produce some excellent music when playing this way as in Furia de Libertad but it seems that they either cut down on or completely got rid of everything else that The Wanderer had, and they haven't really compensated by exploring any fresh territory. From the Embers has some surprising riffs which put me in mind of thrash metal but that really is about it. There is still a folksy presence as in Maitagarri though, in fact it's probably the one element that has been explored a bit more this time. The use of growls have also been cut down somewhat so I wouldn't really say that there is any sort of a death metal element this time around, not more than the average beauty and the beast vocal team act have anyway, and there are actually a lot of songs where growls aren't featured at all. I don't so much have a problem with that though, as Zuberoa Aznárez is an excellent singer, but overall Argia does come over as somewhat more bland and generic than its predecessor.

There's also something of a repetition issue on Argia, in that it tends to follow similar patterns to The Wanderer, like in the first three tracks where both albums use a pattern of prolonged intro, beauty and the beast style track, and then electronic influenced catchy track that just happens to be the lead promo track from the release. Inner Force sounds a bit too close to The Wanderer's Sceneries of Hope for comfort, especially in that electronic intro. I actually revisited The Wanderer prior to writing this review for Argia and even had to check I hadn't put the wrong album on in my media player, that's how close the early stages of the two albums are.

I suppose it's testament to Diabulus in Musica's skill as composers than despite everything, Argia still manages to seem more or less on par with The Wanderer in terms of quality. A very slight step down but round about the same rating tier. Argia has been a disappointment to me though, no getting around that, as I fully expected Diabulus in Musica to up their game with this one and if anything they seem a bit less inspired and in some ways stuck in a rut. My 4 star range rating should let you know that there's still hope for Diabulus in Musica realising the potential that is obviously there, but they did come closer to it on their last album than they do on Argia.

77/100

(Originally written for Heavy Metal Haven: http://metaltube.freeforums.org/diabulus-in-musica-argia-t3443.html)

Warthur On the basis of The Wanderer, at least, it doesn't sound as though Diabulus In Musica are a band who are likely to change many minds about the merits of symphonic metal. Beauty and the beast vocal delivery? Check. Mediocre metal with elements of mediocre symphonic music added here and there in an attempt to add flavour? Check. Cheesy choir effects and a creeping power metal influence? Check. Generally rather unoriginal music which forces me to wonder what people see in this subgenre? Very much check. On the whole, Diabulus In Musica don't come across any different to me than the likes of Epica or Nightwish - purveyors of a style of music which to my ears at least seems excessively based on a very limited and rather cheesy set of stylistic motifs and gimmicks.

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))