Dies Irae - Secret Veils Of Passion ...

Sometimes a reviewers life is a cruel and painful experience, people expect me to review the most awful garbage at times and usually I just refused. There is nothing worse than having to sit down to write something negative for the sake of a review. I would rather just not published anything but I keep getting requests for my opinion on this album so here we go but hang on, it is going to be a bumpy ride. This album by Dies Irae is an oddball one, it doesn't sit comfortably in any one genre. Some people say, well it is different, or it too original to fall under any banner. It is different, I will admit but no way is it good or that original in my mind. Interestingly enough, the band has had as many good reviews for this album as they have had bad ones. Headlines like "Uh, this got published?" to "Ahead of its time" goes to show you how divided people are over this album titled 'Secret Veils of Passion.'

The only reason I am reviewing it at all is at times they remind a little of Katatonia or Anathema but you can also hear traces of a Alice In Chains and some early Swedish death metal in there as well. As far as the headline, "Ahead of its time" is concerned, I don't know what that dude is on but I want some, I need it just withstand anymore than 10 minutes of this frustrating album. So lets not beat around the bush, here is why I think they stink. The music here is filled with overly ambitious passages which are sections of music they don't seem to have the talent for. It comes off as amateurish most of the time. You have to admire them for trying something a bit different but if you are going to try your hand at jazzy passages of music, at least learn how to play jazz first. The vocals are awful to the point of almost unlistenable - enough said about that.

There are some hints at strong melody here and there but the vocals destroy it and there are moments of some decent guitar playing but the tone of the guitar is extremely thin and irritating. If you dig and dig through the album, you find passages where the band have their shit together and everything works but they are short-lived moments which makes this a very un-even affair. The heavier moments are where the band shines the most but there are not many real heavy passages to speak of at all really and at times the band sounds like a post-rock experiment gone wrong. There are what sounds like alternative rock passages, psychedelia, doom but without the heaviness or the atmosphere, and then there are the aforementioned attempts at jazzy, proggy interludes so it is at least different. Some will see this as "challenging" music but for me the only challenge is listening to it without throwing the CD in the nearest dumpster.....2/10.

PS: Listen with caution if you must but it will take more than a open-mind for most people to enjoy anything about this release.

Dies Irae @ MySpace