Dismal Euphony

All Little Devils (Nuclear Blast)
by Scott Hefflon

There’s a lot of melodic, symphonic black metal (some bordering on Goth) being released these days, and while most sounds great loud, wallowing in the self, or quietly sitting in the dark with a friend discussing how practically everyone you’ve ever met would look great flayed to the elbows, hung by fishhooks from the ceiling and walls, bleeding slowly into a watering trough, there does have to be a distinction between music which is great and that which simply fills the void. While I hear Dismal Euphony comes from black roots (unlike most Goths’ hair) and they have the male “blackened shriek,” somehow they just don’t take me the distance. There’re traditional powermetal chords strummed long and dramatic, and while the layered’n’lovely vocals of Anja Natasha offer great contrast to the male vocals, I can’t help but wonder if she’s going pop like what’s-her-name from The Gathering. And while I’m lulled by the melodies of this siren, I can actually make out the words. Bad Goth poetry about going insane and all that juvenile nonsense. The guitar riffs and rhythms are old, tired, and the type of rudimentary fretwork we all begin with before we learn to “go beyond.” While taking powerchords (and the accompanying “dramatic” keyboard chords) to new places is difficult, if a band relies on them heavily, they really have to. Otherwise, it’s a modern-sounding version of what has come before with a few added garnishes. And that’s what we have here – pleasant, dark music with lovely, harmonized female vocals, contrasting male snakespit over well-used guitarwork and subtle (as in uninspired) keyboards. Decent background music, but nothing astounding you’d really want to pay attention to for any length of time.
(PO Box 43618 Philadelphia, PA 19106)