In the past this symphonic five-piece from Pamplona, Spain have been pilloried for their less than seamless fusion of metal, rock and orchestral elements.
Practise, however, has finally started to pay off, and Diabulus In Musica’s fourth album in 10 years – titled in reference to Archon, one of the creators of the fictional sunken city of Atlantis – pits Zuberoa Aznárez’s clean vocals against death growls courtesy of keyboardist Gorka Elso as the band turn up the heat via an exotic tsunami of chunky riffs, rhythmic tricks and slick operatic shtick. Highlights include the thrash-charged Earthly Illusions and the Nightwish-flavoured A Speck In The Universe, though Ring Around Dark Fairies’ Carousel, Bane and Invisible are all so awash with choral and orchestral enhancement as to be Disney-esque. See past that elephant in the room and you’ll enjoy this.
