Melodious Deite – ‘Demonology’

Epic metal quintet, Melodious Deite now offer up their 5th album, ‘Demonology’, a magnum opus metal opera, out now, on Art Gates Records, globally.

Known for their accomplished sound and rare, cross-genre combo’s, MD features Max Cruz (vocals), Biggie Phanrath (guitars, keyboards, orchestra, session drums), Diego Zapatero (piano, keyboards) and Chanin Shinken (bass).

Demonology follows ‘Episode 1: Dream On’, ‘Episode II: Voyage Through The World Of Fantasy’, ‘Episode III: The Archangels and the Olympians’ and ‘Elysium’.

MD was founded in 2007. Acclaimed in the rock/metal music press, MD have toured the world, including their native Thailand and played at Masters of Rock 2023, in the Czech Republic.

Prologue Of The Devil – Chilling, yet entertaining intro. Very theatrical. Much in the vein of an old black & white silent film, with a gothic comedy emphasis.

Lucifer (The Fallen Star) – Right into an upbeat power melody)! Retaining that dramatic slant, with an uplifting speed rhythm. Vocals just a bit too low, in volume, on and off. Quite classic melodic vibes. The epic focus is clear. Those vocals do need to rise, though. Definitely more instrumental emphasis. Enjoyable accompaniments. Very enthused sounds. Lots of pressured beats. Well pitched screams, but again, the vocals need a volume boost. The arrangement works well. Reaching a Baroque phase, just before the end.

Knights Of Heaven – Even better opening)! Louder and faster, with even stronger energy. The classical influence hits, here, in a very Malmsteen-esque manner. A bit more palpable. More focused physicality to the beats and riffage. Perhaps verging on slight overkill, now, but even so, it’s wonderfully vibrant. Just a very slight delay, after the ending.

Prince Of The Nightfall – Changing down, to a folky, mediaeval sense, now. Then dramatically segueing, into a much heavier style. Celtic and vampiric, all at once. Speeding it up and here, the chorus is comfortably conveyed. Veering between different genre sounds and styles, touching the wah pedal, slightly, around the bridge and intensifying the speed riffs. The male/female duet works well. Excitement factor ramped up, towards the end.

Warrior’s Heart And Soul – Down, into a gently sombre piano intro, now and quickly building up the background support, with strong defensive structures, accompanying. Scale ascents and descents with just the right physical emphasis. Powerful choral sections. Moving between rhythms, tensions and evocative senses, easily.

Full Moon Howls – Careful, physically atmospheric opening tones. Combining various instrumentals; unfolding, into versatile, unpredictable sounds. Darkening and lightening the atmosphere, as necessary. Utilising melodic elements, enthusiastically. Moving between sung and spoken vocals. Lifting the tone, timbre and tension, at the end.

Heroes Strike Back – Opening on a high point, with strong neo-classical aspects. Bright tonality. Suddenly laying down a thunderous drum roll, then breaking it down, into a frantic flurry of speed riffage. Again, that lightning fast era-jumping effect comes into play. Rising high and sustaining the colourful melody. Impressively dizzying scales. Even throwing in a couple of church bells and ending on a barely perceptible echo.

Witchery – Straight into melodic rain). A very classic symphonic style coasts in, with some pointed drum beats. Melancholic vocals, merging male and female voices. Boosting it up, with even stronger percussion and some faint growls. Piano sections providing more physical palpability. It’s a very strong vocal combo and driving instrumental force. Screeching riffs and a particularly pressured rhythm. Rarely used growl and sung vocal call and response, just before it ends.

March Of The Empire – Deeper synth tones and darkened atmosphere intro. Whilst it’s a softer delivery, the tribal warrior shouts are pressing ever forward, as the accompaniments join them. Still, it doesn’t quite rise to the expected level. Still, it builds the imagery well. A faint glockenspiel’s audible, in the background. Closing on a male/female choral vocal.

Overture Of Silence – Right back up and into a full volume, full power riff intro). Speed section in place). Here, the vocals are well projected and as prominent as hoped. Again, it’s a male/female combo and it works well. There’s a strong sense of ease, comfort and chemistry, here. Just the right emphasis. Light, glassy glockenspiel solo, leading into a frenetic riff section. Very Dragonforce-esque sound. Employing a combo of textures and gauging the tense and release, just right. Exactly on point, all the way, this is the stand-out track.

Prepare For Battle – A darker shade opens, in a very dramatically cinematic fashion. Huge riff emphasis, with a rainbow of colour. Big drum beats and entrancing keyboard sections. A large helping of enigma. Very much riff-centric, with huge drum rolls, adding a wall of power. In fact, it’s a pure instrumental and one definitely well worth its salt. Such enthused sounds. Fading out, gently, but very palpably.

Lament Of The Banshee – A wintry feel to this intro solemnity. Here, the piano and vocal sections meet, in melancholic mood. Beautifully emotive, but perhaps straying a little too far into sad poignancy. Luckily, it lifts, at around 2:18, with crashing drum waves, but the sadness returns and overtakes. Even with the drum boosts, the riffs take on a noticeably ‘Parisienne Walkways’-esque tone. In theatrical terms, it certainly succeeds, but at the expense of continued listenability. Still, no denying the power of expression behind it. Just a bit too depressive, at the fade.

Infinite Battle Cry – Big drum beats open, with a distinctly apt warrior sense to their sound and structure. Building that emphasis, as it continues. A complete instrumental, led by large percussion.

After The Rain (New Version) – Opening with a Baroque, mediaeval focus. Speeding riffs still strive forward. Once again, it’s very atmospheric. Vocal duets add more power to the sound. Lots of light and colour showing through this. A very melodic number. The arrangements flow well. Especially liking that vibrant, experimental riff bridge. Strong scale emphasis. Impressive power scream, ¾ in. That vocal duet really lifts the track; building in power, with another few screams, at the end.

Overall – A largely enthralling album, with a lot of powerful features and an impressive array of experimental flourishes, ‘Demonology’ has much in its favour. However, it does just stray over the border of poignancy and sombreity, in places. Otherwise, the melody’s very much key to this album, with the vocal duets it’s big draw, with the riffage. The vocals do need lifting, here and there, but ultimately, it’s a very well synchronised album. Stand-out track – ‘Overture Of Silence’.

9/10 *********

For fans of Yngwie Malmsteen, Dragonforce, In Flames, Silent Winter, Sirenia, Nightwish, Within Temptation, Evanescence, Epica, Lacuna Coil, Ice Sword, Ice War, Aonia.

https://artgatesrecords.com/artists/melodious-deite