ELIOGABALUS

Maybe the problem is that this album is too similar to The Girl Who Was... Death, so it's not so surprising. It also lacks the incredible quality of the last symphonic Devil Doll's opus, Dies Irae. Nevertheless, this album is special in the Devil Doll's discography... It's divided in two songs! The rest of the Devil Doll's albums are just one track.

This fact gives Eliogabalus some variety... The first song, Mr. Doctor, is a bit heavier than the second, with splendid heavy riffs greatly accompanied by strings and a great drums sound. The last part of this song is brilliant, having a bizarre circus feeeling, and with a really proper ending marked for the accordion played by Mr Doctor himself.

The second song, Eliogabalus, is even darkier, slower and more ambiental... The piano is the dominant instrument in this part, with long instrumental passages, being the Mr. Doctor's voice not so present. This is also a fact wich is different from the first album: the Mr.Doctor's vocals are not so variated, and not so strident as the first band's album... And I miss it. There are people who hate the Mr.Doctor's way of sining, the sprechgesang, but I love it... And I wish in Eliogabalus it would prevail like the other albums, but it doesn't.

Nevertheless, the quality of the album is sublime... And if you've heard other Devil Doll album, and you like it, you'll also love Eliogabalus.

Conclusion: even darker than The Girl Who Was... Death, this two sided album is maybe a bit under it in terms of quality. And maybe it's too similar, despite it has a different structure, a different use of instruments, and Mr. Doctor sings in a bit different way. But the ususal Devil Doll's quality is still here, and so are the catchy melodies, and this irresistible mixture between classical music, horror film soundtrack, gothic and heavy metal. But if you have not heard any Devil Doll album yet, I think that their true masterpiece, Dies Irae, is their best point of entry. But if you choose Eliogabalus, you'll also be happy with your purchase, because this album is excellent.

My rating: ****

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