Diablo Swing Orchestra
The Butcher's Ballroom
self-released

Diablo Swing Orchestra start their debut with the ingenious swingmetal chant "Balrog Boogie". Crooned by an operatic soprano it can hardly fail to entertain. Their odd sound continues the album through, as does the operatic singing. No doubt they are an entertaining live band, a whole album can be a bit too much.

But the bands ingenuity in arranging their odd-shaped songs can salvage a great deal. They are certainly more inventive than most other bands and more often than not they come up with the goos. "Poetic Pit Bull Revolutions" is an immaculately named hallucinatory western on some serious drugs. Imagine Sergio Leone making a film with a mischievous David Lynch and this is a good soundtrack. "D'Angelo" plays it relatively straight and allows the vocalist to dominate against a string-laden backdrop. Soon the band whip up their usual magic and get their freak back on. When they speak of things that may be acquired tastes this is surely one of those things. It's up to you whether it's to your liking.

Copyright © 2008 Anna Maria Stjärnell