Diablo Swing Orchestra - Swagger & Stroll Down The Rabbit Hole (Candlelight/Spinefarm Records) [Matt Bladen]
Essentially what would happen if The B-52's, Yello, System Of A Down, Gogol Bordello and The Glenn Miller Orchestra all went into a musical blender, Diablo Swing Orchestra are a multi-faceted, experimental Avant-Garde musical force made up of eight members that play a multitude of instruments the most prominent though being the brass which is the key weapon in their arsenal. There are 15 guest musicians on the album as well mainly comprising a choir and strings. No band really sounds like DSO they are very much in genre of one as you will experience when you listen to this record from the lilting Celtic flavours of Sightseeing In The Apocalypse and Jig Of The Century, the Argentinian tango meets thick riffs that is Celebremos Lo Inevitable, the swing meets EDM offering that is Speed Dating An Arsonist and through several other musical genres all of which are based in jazz, swing and classical but with modern flourishes like electronic and rock.
It's truly a sort of listen that you'll either just get or you'll shout "what the hell" loudly. Swagger & Stroll Down The Rabbit Hole is nothing that would shock you if you've heard anything from the band before. Some of you may have seen the Postmodern Jukebox where new songs are turned into older genres, well DSO are the antithesis of this playing their own pre war style of music but with modern elements as I said earlier. Kristin Evegård's vocals are ideally suited for the swing songs while Daniel Håkansson and Pontus Mantefors both deliver their singing parts in fine style. Musically though is where DSO are at their most interesting whether it's some synth heavy industrial vibes on Out Came The Hummingbirds, or romantic string laden shoegazing soul of Les Invulnéables, Diablo Swing Orchestra's fifth album is as batshit as their previous albums with a fully cinematic experience. It'll be the weirdest album you'll listen to this year but also one of the most rewarding. 8/10
Heads For The Dead - Slash N Roll (Transcending Obscurity Records)
Probably a little late to review a horror themed record but hey them's the breaks in this biz. Slash N Roll is an EP of horror themed death metal which features two covers. Establishing their sound over two full length records the band have always been fans of blood and guts so the three original tracks are reinterpretations of horror movie themes. They are barked out by Ralf Hauber over the thunderously heavy death metal sound created by Jonny Petterson who handles pretty much everything except for vocals and drums, which are destroyed by Ed Warby.
Out of the three main tracks my favourite is Halloween which utilizes that original John Carpenter theme on top of the buzzsaw death metal riffing. The two covers are Skulls by The Misfits and Pet Sematary by Ramones both punk classics are brought into the Heads For The Dead style with lots of sound effects added to make it more death metal styled. Anything featuring members of Wombbath, Gorefest, Revel In Flesh, Hail Of Bullets, will be full on death metal explosiveness but Slash N Roll is most definitely a fan release for sure. 7/10