Atmospheric Metal Symphonies with Intellectual Depth - A Review of Opera Diabolicus' Death on a Pale Horse

Opera Diabolicus is a diversified symphonic metal project that meanders from smooth progressive and psychedelic rock vibes in the key of Ayreon over gritty atmospheric heavy metal stylistics such as Mercyful Fate to extreme metal sections reminding of Mayan.

The project's second release Death on a Pale Horse has grown on me with every spin. My first impression was that the album was at times overloaded and I had to think twice about purchasing it. I'm glad that I have decided to give it a shot since the record has gradually become one of my very favourite releases of the past year.

This album offers a lot of diversity. There are songs with a menacing calmness based upon smooth orchestrations dominated by enchanting piano sounds, melancholic violin sections and the combination of ominous clean female and male vocals as witnessed in the concise and short ''Little Sister''.

Other songs however develop cinematic atmosphere with epic lengths that explore numerous progressive shifts and changes. They can evolve from soothing passages over energetic heavy metal to destructive symphonic death metal outbursts. The song that represents this impressive diversity best without sounding overloaded in the slightest is ''Second Coming'' that feels much shorter than its ambitious running time of ten minutes and offers much replay value.

Some other tracks yet again quicken up the emotions and the pace without sounding chaotic or overwhelming. ''Bring Out Your Dead'' for instance might need a few spins to grow with its multiple changes and shifts but is very rewarding as it opens up further with every single exploration.

The final result works particularly well because the project involves many veterans who have acquired valuable experiences in similar projects. Singer Mats Levén for instance has shown his outstanding qualities in groups such as epic doom metal veterans Candlemass or in individual projects such as the neoclassical power metal stylistics of Yngwie Malmsteen. Andy LaRocque is the guitarist of atmospheric heavy metal veterans King Diamond but has also been invited to perform for groups such as melodic death metal veterans At the Gates or experimental black metal outfit Shining. One also has to note the excellent Snowy Shaw on drums and vocals whose charismatic presence makes a very good record excellent as he has been able to develop his very own style by being involved in bands such as symphonic metal masters Therion and symphonic black metal group Dimmu Borgir. The creative influences of these numerous excellent artists are kept together by the project's two Swedish masterminds Adrian de Crow and David Grimoire, with the latter also being in charge of the surprisingly balanced production with some help of veteran sound engineer Jens Bogren who has been involved in numerous masterpieces released by influential bands such as diversified veterans Amorphis and progressive metal masterminds Haken.

As you can read, Opera Diabolicus' Death on a Pale Horse unites some of the very best musicians, producers and singers in the metal genre. However, the sum of this release is even greater than its excellent parts. This album oozes with atmosphere, offers much fascinating diversity and entertains thoroughly with intriguing concepts and lyrics. Anyone who values atmospheric metal music with intellectual depth should definitely purchase this wonderful effort that has been unfairly overlooked by numerous clueless experts, journalists and magazines.

Final Rating: 95%