SACRILEGIUM

DEVIL DOLL has to be one of the most bizarre, frightening, confronting and satisfying bands in existence. Their music is a chilly assault on your senses possessing unique tonal atmospheres and very ecletic epic songs. There is simply no way to explain in details the feelings and emotions DEVIL DOLL's music possesses. 'Sacrilegium' begins with a bang, soaring organs and seventies prog slowly overtaken by a demonic choir chanting some sacred rites. Then, Mr. Doctor, the high priest of DEVIL DOLL, begins his serpentine recitation, of mysteries and tales of horror with his warbling raspy falsetto. I personally find "Sacrilegium" to be themost theatrical (if that is possible) of all the DEVIL DOLL recordings and really acts out in a vaudevillian manner. Truly possessed and haunting art rock. The unusual and unpredictable music of DEVIL DOLL is an elaborate tapestry of styles, a surreal exploration of the unknown territory that is the 'theatre of the mind'. Intense and dramatic, the DEVIL DOLL experience spans the broad spectrum of music and emotions. Essential music for your expanding brain.

Perhaps their best effort, not completely original, but by developing the music ideas, finding their achievement within the following "Dies Irae" two years ago (without regarding of the album "The Sacrilege of Fatal Arms"). They demonstrated a good skill and a definite personality as well!! Besides they took care of the arrangements and some interesting music colors too, a bit better than the majority of the other issues!! Moreover you can find a certain maturity and the right balance between such classic prog and dark metal: well I don't get crazy for this particular music genre, so you could also erase one star if you're not too much into this "Gothic" style...make your own choice!

Sacrilegium is the my favorite álbum of Devil Doll. The long title track is a morbid exemple of insanity mind of Mr Doctor (the mastermind of band). The music is a dark symphonic prog, with great passages of choir and orchestra, or funeral music of hell. If you like dark and dramatic atmophorics, Sacrilegium, is mandatory parade for you!

Good luck.

The start to a beautiful composition.

If you ask me, this version is much poorer in terms of arrangement than its re-released version, although much of the music is the same. The biggest difference being the procession at the end where a man seems to have been buried, perhaps alive as there is a beating heart. I much prefer the extended and more gripping version of this "song".

The first 5 minutes of this album should be able to grip you, and if it can't, then its unlikely that this music is for you. The first 5 minutes has pretty much every element that Devil Doll has become known for. It is bombastic, dark, ethereal, and much of the like, with Mr. Doctor's peculiar vocal antics. Call Devil Doll the prog antithesis of the bright and cheery Genesis.

If my rating seems low given my liking for the music, let it be of note that I rarely if ever listen to this, given the superiority of the following release. Just shows how much good music can be affected by placement.

A vision unrefined. Though I found this before The Sacrilege of Fatal Arms, it is not my personal favorite, it feels as if Mr. Doctor was trying to cram as much into the 'song' as he could, which doesn't give the subject justice. The transitions feel awkward, such as towards the end where it abruptly concludes with the choir - never really worked for me. Its refinement in the reworking shows just how important pacing is in the working of musical pieces such as Devil Dolls. Musically, all the potential of a great piece is there, it just needed reordering and proper pacing to give it the musical direction of Devil Dolls follow up masterwork.

Welcome to Sacrilegium, the fourth album of one of the best prog-rock bands of the 90's!

Every Devil Doll is a whole and complete experience by itself. The style of the band was more or less the same throughout its whole career, but that means that every album has thousands of influences, styles and colors very well mixed and intertwined with Mr.Doctor's unique style of singing. Sprechgesang, to be exact.

And Sacrilegium is no exception!

It is another excellent composition by the mastermind Mr. Doctor, who was also in charge of the production of this record full of intricated passages, obscure lyrics, and their typical heavy metal guitars mixed with Gregorian chants, classical music, folk, cabaret, Bernard Herrmann's influenced passages and even tango.

Everything fits in Devil Doll's music and the result is just incredible!

Best Tracks: Sacrilegium has only one long song, just like every Devil Doll album with the exception of Eliogabalus.

Conclusion: the third Devil Doll opus is maybe not so surprising as their debut The Girl who was Death and not so outstandingly good as their last and best album Dies Irae, but it's another excellent record by one of the most unique, personal and unrepeatable prog bands in history.

My rating: ****