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The third Dark Funeral is as much a continuation as it is a regression. The album is but a carbon-copy of the vastly superior “Vobiscum Satanas”. “Diabolis Interium” was where Dark Funeral started its gradual descent into parody, and its valiant attempts to come across as misanthropic as possible only end up pushing them into comedic territory. Outside of a glossier production “Diabolis Interium” is as regressive as its, stronger but no less artistically vacuous, predecessor.

A Dark Funeral album wouldn’t be complete without the requisite line-up changes. “Diabolis Interium” was the recording debut of drummer Matte Modin with Dark Funeral, and the only to feature second guitarist Matti Mäkelä. It was the last album to have Bröberg pulling double duty as bass guitarist. The album was penned in its entirety by sole founding member Mikael Svanberg. Of the two major Swedish black metal units Marduk would ultimately prove the most prolific and resilient.

Dark Funeral

“Diabolis Interium” is consistent in style with the preceding album. Svanberg’s melodic sensibility is true to his Swedish heritage but his riffs remain as limited and stagnant as it had always been. Keeping up with the tradition of Latin album titles “Diabolis Interium” translates to “Devil Within”. Where in the past Dark Funeral was at least mildly interesting because of its highly misanthropic lyrics, here they seem to become increasingly toothless. Various aspects of the album conspired against the band, the production and goofy artwork most prominently among them.

The abstract nature of the album title would allow for interesting explorations of a variety of Satanic theories, yet little of note is actually on offer on the album. The band’s steady lyrical decline first manifests itself in this instance. Most of the songs revolve around depictions of hell and Satan. Other themes include anti-Christian rhetoric (‘Hail Murder’, ‘Diabolis Interium’, ‘Thus I Have Spoken’), witchcraft (‘An Apprentice Of Satan’), and vampirism (‘Heart Of Ice’). In keeping with the tradition started on the preceding album ‘Goddess Of Sodomy’ is a thinly-veiled love song (akin to ‘Ravenna Strigoi Mortii’ from “Vobiscum Satanas”) wherein Bröberg describes his want for an unspecified vampiric succubus.

The majority of the record is blisteringly fast with the kind of swirling melodies one has come to associate with Sweden. The lowpoint of the album happens early with the lamentable ‘Goddess Of Sodomy’, a midpaced track that opens with the samples of moaning women. It is the same tiring and tired trick that Tampa, Florida death metal outfit Diabolic pulled on “Vengeance Ascending” with the track ‘Celestial Pleasures’ with similar lukewarm results. Like “Nightwing” era Marduk before them the track evinces just how limited the songcraft of Dark Funeral, or Svanberg rather, truly is. ‘Thus I Have Spoken’ has a few more pronounced slower sections.

The album was recorded and mixed at Abyss Studio, Sweden with Peter Tägtgren producing and Lars Szöke engineering. It was mastered by Peter In de Betou at Tailor Maid Production in Landsvägen. As expected considering the year of release and what facility handled it the production is bass-heavy and crunchy. “Diabolis Interium” that bathes in a typical Abyss Studio digital sheen and nearly synthetic feel while being tonally rich. The fuzzy, hazy digital guitar tone is an odd choice after two records famous for their crunchy tones. The production on “Diabolis Interium” is pristine, and very much what one would expect of a death metal band, guitar tone excepted.

Instead of working with Kristian Wåhlin as on its debut Svanberg allocated artwork and graphics by Daniel Valeriani. The design choices made here would be reflected in the subsequent two albums. It was the first of three orange-centric album covers. “Diabolis Interium” chooses burnt orange which is usually associated with pride, tension and aggressive self-assertion. That the album reveals its true colors and asserts itself as being completely interchangeable with its predecessor is then only expected. Interestingly, it uses the identical template for the production notes as “Vobiscum Satanas” did, only with a different shade of color. The production notes even incorrectly spell the name of Peter In de Betou on the Necropolis edition of the album which is frankly unforgivable considering this was released on a, supposedly, professional label.

If anything “Diabolis Interium” proves that Dark Funeral’s incendiary debut “The Secrets Of the Black Arts” was solely the work of guitarist David Parland. Where “Vobiscum Satanas” at least attempted to recreate Parland’s distinct riffing “Diabolis Interium” has resigned itself to superficially imitating its superior predecessor, and has Dark Funeral at the end of its already limited creative rope. Nothing about “Diabolis Interium” is particularly engaging, and Dark Funeral was as vanilla and populist as they came at this point. The next two albums would be superficially identical but with the inclusion of non-black metal writing - and production techniques.

cover-monstrosity01Monstrosity is famous for housing members that went on to more famous regional outfits, Cannibal Corpse and Malevolent Creation most prominently among them. Missing the momentum of its more marketable regional peers and not as prolific in its output Monstrosity has established itself as a reliable act by delivering a handful of albums full of high-precision death metal that is both technical and pummeling in equal measure. “Imperial Doom”, the band’s only record for Nuclear Blast Records, is its least distinct being very redolent of Malevolent Creation.

The band was formed in Fort Lauderdale, Florida by former Malevolent Creation members Lee Harrison (drums) and Jon Rubin (guitars) with vocalist George Fisher, who had left his old band Corpsegrinder and moved from Maryland to Florida, in 1990. Mark van Erp (bass guitar) quit his other band Cynic to fully commit to Monstrosity. Jason Gobel, also of Cynic, functioned as a session musician for the “Imperial Doom” recording sessions, but never was a formal Monstrosity member. “Imperial Doom” became retroactively famous for having an all-star Tampa, Florida line-up consisting of current/future members of illustrious institutions Malevolent Creation, Cynic, Solstice and Cannibal Corpse.

‘Definitive Inquisition’, ‘Immense Malignancy’, ‘Horror Infinity’, and ‘The Burden Of Evil’ were re-recorded tracks from the 1990 “Horror Infinity” demo tape. Notable is that Lee Harrison’s work behind the drums is more straightforward compared to later Monstrosity albums, although he is far more proficient in terms of fills and flexibility than many more visible drummers of the day. ‘Ceremonial Void’ has some of best soloing of the record, and the song gives Cannibal Corpse a run for its money. The lion’s share of the record was written by Lee Harrison and Jon Rubin. Mark van Erp co-wrote ‘Definitive Inquisition’ and ‘Burden Of Evil’ with Lee Harrison. Monstrosity was the first big opportunity for George Fisher after leaving Corpsegrinder in Maryland and relocating to genre hotbed Tampa, Florida. Frank Mullen of New York death metal contemporaries Suffocation donated vocals to ‘Vicious Mental Thirst’. Fisher returned the favor by guesting on two tracks from “Effigy Of the Forgotten”, the debut of Mullen’s own band on then-relevant label imprint Roadrunner Records.

“Imperial Doom” was recorded at Morrisound Studio in Tampa, Florida with Jim Morris producing. The Morris production is typical of the era in its concrete bass-heaviness and crunchy, earthy tones. The production has a grittiness that later Monstrosity production lacked, and the imposing bass guitar tone is especially commanding. The grotesque horror canvas by Dan Seagrave is among his best – and Monstrosity would struggle on future product to match the iconic imagery by Seagrave presented here.

Jason Gobel was replaced by Mark English for the European tour in support of the album. Gobel would later feature on Cynic’s legendary debut “Focus”. English would eventually make his return with Monstrosity at a much later stage. Fisher would figure into the second Monstrosity album “Millennium” before being installed as the new frontman of Tampa-by-way-of-Buffalo outfit Cannibal Corpse. Through out all its different reconfigurations Lee Harrison (drums) would remain a constant. Easily eclipsing many of its regional peers Monstrosity never received the accolades they deserved.

For the majority of its career Monstrosity was troubled by personnel changes, and falling out of favor with the popular tastes of the day. While not exactly inferior to any of its future output “Imperial Doom” is the most stock Tampa sounding in both composition and production. Monstrosity would not develop its characteristic sound until after “Imperial Doom”, which served merely as a blueprint. Allegedly “Imperial Doom” sold excess of 50,000 copies worldwide. Monstrosity was bound for superstardom but disagreements with its label and personnel trouble would relegate it to a second-tier status despite its obviously immense technical expertise.