QUINTA ESSENTIA

Dismal is an Italian gothic band formed in 1995. Their debut album was released in November 1998 for Pagan Moon Records, 'Fiaba Lacrimevole', and this resulted in Dismal signing to Aural Music Group. Together they formed a new division of Aural Music, Dreamcell11, to promote the band artistically and commercially and Dismal have stayed there to this day. Over the years there have been line-up changes and these days they comprise Rossana Landi (vocals, double bass), Bradac (piano, synths, orchestrations, percussion), Daniel Porfido (8-string electric guitar, classic guitar) and Lautaro Acosta (violin). This is their sixth album in 25 years, and Dismal claim to have combined all their previous works in this one place, keeping their signature Gothic and theatrical sound constant while the lyrics are developed on cultural, philosophical, and alchemical themes.

To my ears they are mixing symphonic metal with doom and also combining darkwave, neofolk, waltz, electronic and theatrical elements with classical vocals which bring in elements of Björk and Kate Bush. In other words, this is something which should be right up my musical street, and when I saw the artwork and read the press release, I was excited to give it a listen, but it did not take long for my illusions to be shattered. There are bits I really enjoy, such as the clips from films discussing philosophy, and there are some wonderful performances from all involved, yet when it comes together it becomes messy and hard to listen to. The separate elements do not come together as they should, and instead one finds far more fault than joy. The production is wonderful, with real clarity of sound, but there is little here which works well when combined with all the other elements. Some of the vocals are in Italian, others in English, and it is when they keep it at its simplest such as on the introduction for "Alma Mater (Alchimia della Natura)" that the beauty of the album shines through, and for me if they had kept it more like this then it would have been a far more interesting release. But when they open it up it loses the impact and feels far more like a dark stage show which needs the visual elements to keep the audience involved. For fans only.