It was not long ago that I reviewed "Nightwork", Diabolical Masquerade's third studio album, and I can still clearly remember not being particularly impressed by the majority of the compositions that were featured in that release, mainly due to their commercially-orientated nature. On the other hand, it was the more "structurally demanding" compositions such as "Cryztalline Friendz" that almost immediately captured my attention and raised my hopes regarding the potential interest of the band's fourth and final contribution, entitled "Death's Design", a re-mastered copy of which soon fell into my hands.

The first thing that one will notice about "Death's Design" is that, even though it is an album based on similar Symphonic Black Metal patterns as it's predecessor, it is a totally different beast. Far from being an ordinarily-structured album, this release consists of sixty-one tracks that are divided in twenty movements and which are influenced by such diverse musical styles as Progressive Rock and Epic Black Metal – the reason for this being the artist's original intention to make "Death's Design" a soundtrack to a film - one that was, unfortunately, cancelled. Albums of a diverse nature may indeed be quite appealing to me, but also demand plenty of attention so it took quite a few spins before I felt confident enough to express my views on "Death's Design".

It is quite unfortunate that I am not at all aware of the visual context that this music was meant to accompany, and that sadly alters the character of this release from one grand and coherent musical effort to a collection of scattered ideas - still, there are some brilliantly performed pieces in this release that soon convinced me of "Death's Design" being the most important effort ever released by Diabolical Masquerade. The first such moment of musical greatness is presented during the 4th movement, after the melodic keyboard theme of "The Remains of Galactic Expulsions" paves the way to the technically-orientated "With Panic in the Heart" and "Out From the Dark"- both of which contain strong elements of classical music and are comparable to the works of the mighty Dodheimsgard.

Contrary to the more "typical" Symphonic Black Metal themes that can be found in the 3rd and 10th movement, Diabolical Masquerade often become more daring and experimental and that is what makes "Death's Design" a better album, in my opinion, than it's predecessor. These "tendencies" cover a wide range of influences going as far back as 70's Progressive Rock and the almighty YES in "Mastering the Clock" but also looking towards the work of their offsprings, such as Dream Theater in "A hurricane of Rotten Air" and "They Come You Go". Compositions like "Human Prophecy" and "Soaring Over Dead Rooms" sound closer to what is generally regarded as soundtrack music, and so does the whole of the 9th movement which is based on the main musical theme that Basil Poledouris created for the Epic movie "Conan The Barbarian" and which appears capable of generating a heated debate with respect to the artist’s intentions behind such a decision.

I can definitely guarantee that "Death's Design" is as difficult to listen to as it is to be reviewed, but that is the reason why it stands out from the remaining three Diabolical Masquerade releases. In this release Anders Nystrom displays his unique ability to create good quality music, but those of you who decide to invest in it should be quite patient and committed before you feel that you are in real contact with what's on offer. If you ask for my opinion, I will say that it's an effort worth the wait!

***½

Review by John Stefanis