THE BUTCHER'S BALLROOM

All of the tracks on DSO's debut are compelling in some way or another. The music is a melting pot of genres with rock/metal as its foundation. Every songs have the elements of guitar, bass, drums as any other rock ensemble, but the diversity between the tracks are unheard of. Where the first track is influenced by big band/Chicago blues style, the second introduces violins and a much more orchestral sound. That is before the third track ambush you with its mariachi guitars and salsa rhythms. And thusly the album progresses, seemingly without any boundaries and limits to the band's originality. Every song has the previously mentioned rock elements in the background, accompanied by the lead vocal which is of the female operatic kind. Many metal bands have tried to incorporate female operatic vocals before though. But no one has done it like DSO. When all the melodies as climactically composed and still hummable as the case is with this album, there is not much to complain about. The production is good, every instrument come out nicely in the mix. Many songs introduce some new elements such as hammond, classical guitar, trumpet or violin, but they all are mixed tastefully in line with the rest of the production. The same goes for the vocals. Even though the female vocal is dominating, the male vocalist does a great job when he appears. Still, the star of this ensemble have to be the female singer. She brings an already clichéd style of singing within metal to new levels. It is nothing less than astounding. Favorite tracks are Balrog Boogie, Poetic Pitbull Revolutions and Porcelain Judas. But all tracks are great. The melodies have great replay value, and the album is a long lasting pleasure-bringer for those metal fans that curse the un-innovative outpour of metal bands these days. If you value terms as innovation and originality when it comes to your music preferances, DSO would be a sure thing. Call it avantgarde, call it postmodern, call it genre- breaking. This is probably the best thing to come around this side of the millennium. This band appear out of the blue with a fresh, new and invigorating take on the metal genre (they are not too heavy though) that points out a new direction within its field. And that is a rare thing. If one should try to compare them to any other band, (which I regard as an impossible task) the closest bands would maybe be Dog Fashion Disco or Subterranean Masquerade. Being that all these bands mixes genres in a highly eclectic manner. DSO is still unlike anything that I have ever heard before. In the most positive way imaginable.

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