๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ - ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐จ๐ย ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ & ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐โฆ
On this day (June 16) in 2009, Graveworm released their seventh full-length studio album Diabolical Figures via Massacre Records.
The album was recorded at Stage One studios in Borgentreich, Germany with producer Andy Classen, and features a guest appearance by Karsten "Jagger" Jรคger from Disbelief.
Overview:
Diabolical Figures is Graveworm's seventh studio album and it is as enchanting as it is savage. Incorporating a well balanced mix of heaviness and melody, the band has left behind much of the Gothic sensibilities and have added more Melodic Death undertones to their Blackened edge. Diabolical Figures is chock-full of blast beats galore, and rounded out by precision drum-work by skin-basher Martin Innerbichler.
The guitars of Eric Righi & Thomas Orgler are chunky, but not too thick, fitting nicely into the mix while letting bassist Harald Klenk carry the bottom end. Vocalist Stefano Fiori delivers a wide array of Death growl techniques, proving that he is more than just a one-dimensional vocalist. Keyboardist Sabine Mairโs symphonic passages work well within the context of the songs, adding textures and layers that are more complimentary than overpowering, thus ensuring that the music remains as malevolent as it is beguiling. โ E.N. Wells
Critical Reception:
Writing a review for AllMusic, Eduardo Rivadavia stated;
โItaly's Graveworm have been churning out Symphonic Black Metal albums for some 17 years now, with their "lucky" seventh full-length, Diabolical Figures, arriving like clockwork in the fall of 2009. And it must be said that the only major novelty at hand was the band's transfer from the Massacre Records label to the suddenly metal-friendly confines of Koch/E1, because the band's six-person lineup has remained intact for some time now, and the singular ferocity with which Graveworm propel their songs persists unabated, leaving only the increasingly paucity of once dominant goth metal tendencies to foment discord among their fan base.
Blastbeat-driven numbers like "Vengeance Is Sworn" and "Hell's Creation" burst out of the belfry like bats out of hell, and thus provide precious few footholds for synth orchestrator Sabine Mair to layer her parts into. Even when she does get her chance to make a mark on the album's slower, more spacious compositions (see the title track, "Forlorn Hope," etc.), one must admit that these strictly synthetic symphonics sound a little, well, cheap. Mind you, it's all still technically impressive enough, but the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra it is not. And with the exception of the album's astonishing wild card, an apocalyptic cover of the Police's "Message in a Bottle," the harsh reality is that Graveworm's latest is neither groundbreaking nor all that surprising -- just competently executed.โ
Links to Artists, Albums, and Music Videos:
Click this link to listen to โDiabolical Figuresโ via Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/diabolical-figures/1456956524
Click this link to follow Graveworm on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gravewormofficial/
Note: The reviews shared here are for historical reference. The views and opinions expressed within are not always supported (in full or in part) by Into the Wells. โ E.N. Wells
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