Nightwork

By the time Nightwork came along, Diabolical Masquerade was already this underappreciated, quality Swedish black metal export, especially when you took into consideration that it was the work of just one man. Wait, does Blakkheim even qualify as a man? I've always fancied him as more of an immortal vampire prince who wrote some catchy Goth metal tunes and retro-death metal on the side as a day job; his is a rather singular genius across the genre borders and I doubt there's a metal niche he couldn't dig into with his considerable fangs and entertain us with. Each of the albums he wrote under this moniker had a nice degree of variation from the last, and Nightwork is no exception.

This is a bit more theatrical than The Phantom Lodge, more like something you'd heard in the background at some dark carnival with all its creepy pianos, and of course that cinematic nature would be honed in even further on the fourth record, and not necessarily for the better. But here, Blakkheim strikes just the right aesthetic between haunted house hysterics and worthy, varied riff patterns that are excellent at complimenting the spectral synthesizers and his awesome rasped vocals, which can be shifted around much like a Dani Filth but not quite so much a caricature. There's a refined, progressive nature to the writing here which often focuses on sinister chugging patterns interchanged with a dual narrative between vocal and keys, for example in "Dreadventurouz" which is a far cry from the more symphonic, thundering overtures he's written on previous albums. Those might have howled at you beautifully from a mountainside or castle, but here you're getting into the winding, nightmarish corridors of some fun house or museum. There are still sequences which bridge between the two extremes, yet Nightwork sounds tighter, more personal.

The use of the 'z' in song titles rather than an 's' seems goofy at first, but actually adds quite a lot to the charisma of the album, and the song titles are fucking great anyway: "The Eerie Obzidian Circuz", "Thiz Ghoultimate Omen", and of course "Rider on the Bonez" all convey the themes and moods set by the music, as well as the idea that Blakkheim is not taking it all so seriously. He's the rock star at the Halloween party, but he won't just flick his cape like a snob and ignore you, he'll have a few laughs with you and participate in the usual masquerade games. But that's not to undersell Nightwork's competence, this is an engaging, spooky and sometimes phantasmally beautiful black metal piece which was quite unique in its day, and holds up extremely well almost a quarter of a century later. What else really sounded like this? Maybe Entombed in the Midnight Hour from Dead Silent Slumber? Maybe bits and pieces of Emperor, Cradle of Filth and Dimmu Borgir, but this was every measure as interesting and worthy in the late 90s.

In fact, while there might be individual tracks on the albums before it that I hold in higher regard, I think this is quite clearly his strongest work with this project, and frankly I hope he himself will come back to Diabolical Masquerade one day, ignore the Death's Design, and pick up where this one left off. I love some Katatonia and earlier Bloodbath, but my October evenings are all the weaker for lack of new Blakkheim adventures.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

We all know the story of Diabolical Masquerade, so I won't bother elaborating on that. Blackheim has created quite a piece of work here, blending so many genres its hard to tack a label on this album. Avant-garde with an underlying melodic black metal style would be the closest definition I can think of. Anyway, Nightwork is the pinnacle of Blackheim's works with Diabolical Masquerade, and for a few good reasons.

The keyboards on this album are easily the most prominent instrument, creating all kinds of eerie, emotional, uplifting, and yet bizarrely wretched melodies that provide the foundation for the rest of the instruments. The guitars are another wall of sound on their own, grinding and chugging along as the bass trudges and the drums tinker and clang behind them all. And somewhere in the mix, Blackheim finds room to shove his raspy, croaking vocals into all of this. The result is some pretty disturbing music that would be the perfect soundtrack to a movie like Stephen King's "It."

Right from the start it's obvious the listener is in for a wild ride with the outrageously and almost obnoxiously loud synth opening which somewhat reminds us of Christmas music. Rider on the Bonez is a pretty ridiculous song in itself, but has plenty of great riffs. This forumla continues on the next few songs, Dreadventurouz, The Zkeleton Keys to the Dead, and Thiz Ghoultimate Omen, until All Onboard the Perdition Hearze starts. This is one of my personal favorite tracks on the album, as it showcases the true intentions of this album. The latter half of the songs on this portion of the album have very intricate and emotional solos and endings (I.E. All Onboard the Perdition Hearze, The Eerie Obzidian Circuz, and Haunted by Horror).

This album is short, sweet, and to the point. Blackheim wastes no time getting his ideas through and belting out his incredible, emotionally devastating solos. This album is a masterpiece.

Diabolical Masquerade is the project of Blakkheim, put to rest in 2004. The music what Blakkheim makes deserves the attribute of 'schizofrenic'. Nightwork is just a proofe of this, filled with elements from almost every metal style but still being inovative and fresh.

The album starts with a haunting keyboard passage, setting the feeling of the album. Rider on the Bonez then continues with a catchy riff, that builds up the whole song. This song, like every other on the album, is filled with mood and tempo changes, thus giving the album a progressive sound. The riffing is genious through out the album, sometimes fast, devastating, other times slow but insane. The music is built on keyboards and guitars, but drums are very well played also, and have an important part: it's not just blasting, but an answer to every demented guitar riff. Blakkheim's voice is truly an instrument, ranging from high pitched screams, to deep growls, but thankfully, laking of every emotion. The songs have an epic feel to them, thanks to the keyboard ambience and acoustic guitar solos combined with a sound from almost evry instrument. The songs usually have a climax, when only the instruments play. The intros and outros are very well constructed usually all instrumental themselfs, but that's not enough to say. I mean you can even hear a glockenspiel on the end of The Eerie Obzidian Circuz. Hows that for avantgarde. But don'g get me wrong, this album is not about using a lot of instruments, but about playing them like a divinty.

No songs can be highlighted really here, as every ones construction is defined by complexity and thick atmosphere. Recomended for every metal fan. who like to hear something new once in a while.

Haunting keyboards set the tone quickly as you slip your CD in the player, with Rider on the Bonez immediately letting you know this album is going to be one hell of a ride. Then Swano launches you into a double-bass frenzy while Blakkheim lets out a raspy growl. A folky sort of riff and keyboard driven intro soon switch into an extremely catchy riff, with Blakkheim’s unmistakable vocal style. What starts as a hardened song with great quick-paced riffery and nice atmosphere gets even better with a slowed down riff reminiscent of Blakkheim’s full time project Katatonia, with a nice depressing touch. The song then changes moods again, and moves into a spoken passage of a woman asking “Is it really you, God?” with Satan responding “Do I look like God to you?” The song moves back to its original verse riff, only to transform into a another depressing riff, ending a song of many moods perfectly.

Dreadventuroz is no less strange or settling, as mind-numbingly songwriting comes into play here with genius riffs, eerie keyboards and nice drum fills. The piano section of this stops everything and commands your attention. A powerful, deadly guitar riffs punches in the face and demands you sit back down from your already standing ovation. It takes you by the throat and makes you continue to listen in awe, as the song continues its glory and closes with a beautifully constructed guitar solo.

Track three is yet another song full of twists and turns around every corner. Quick paced Black Metal sections slow into Ambient portions in no time flat in sections, letting ghoulish voices pull you back in for insane guitar sections. Blakkheim’s vocals once again make a strong impact in this song.

Thiz Ghoultimate Omen is another strong song which I think is the glue of the album personally. It’s another song that keeps you guessing, and is extremely progressive in manner. This may be my least favorite track on the CD, but it still can hold its own. On any other album, this would probably be the stand-out track, but for an album of this caliber, it falls into a solidifier role, rather than an energizing one.

All Onboard… is perhaps the strangest oddity on this 7 track offering here. Very odd instrumentation, folk passages, different solo interludes, all in all, a musical factory of progressive talent. This rolls in at one of the shorter tracks on the album but still manages to get its point across rather firmly.

The Eerie Obzidian Circuz is such a fitting title. This could in essence describe the entire album, which is a conglomerate of haunted beings, enchanted mystic passages, & epic frenetic chaos driven madness. Blakkheim takes this song all over the place once again, and I love it. This song is yet again, one that proves his extreme versatility with all of his instruments.

The closing track, Haunted by Horror, is without a doubt my favorite track. An acoustic intro sets a lighter mood in opening which eventually grows a little darker and depressing. This song is in my mind, the perfect way to end this beast of an album. This was by far Diabolical Masquerade’s best album ever. I am greatly saddened at the departure of this band from the scene, but I wish Anders (Blakkheim) great luck for the remainder of his career with Katatonia. (Jason Carnage)

Blackheim is a strange and opaque genius of incredible musical potency. This is one of the best one-man black metal outfits I have ever heard, easily on a creative par with bands like Taake or Tataros in thier ability to not sound like one-man-bands.

The music here is a shifting kaleidoscope of metal genres, from orchestral black metal to old-school heavy metal, with plenty of room for forays into very strange musical madness. At times one will find harpsichords and glockenspiels interlacing melodic counterparts over more traditional palm-muted guitar work. The melodies here are immensely complex and unnerving in ther alien bombast, at times amusing in their complete freshness.

Guitars and keyboards are the drivers of this layered sound, pounding out riff after riff of bizarre metal that shifts among many difrerent scales, modes, and even tonalities of music. Slow passages of keyboard-soaked ambience will give way abruptly to almost classic heavy metal breakdowns, only to slam headfirst into sections of madcap modern black metal as over-exuberant keyboards fly over the guitar lines with bouncing strange arpeggios that sound almost like circus music played at 78rpm with a metal band backing it up. Some sections are akin to academic classical music as blocks of dissonant atonality clash with other modes and scales more normally associated with metal, giving the multi-faceted phrasing a feel of confusing density that is amazingly powerful. Drumming here is nicely varied (and thankfully not a machine) to match the mood of each riff, staying away from too many blasts to provide a very intelligent backbone for the chimeral aspect of the rest of the music. Blackheim's vocals are a unique rasp with suprising range, conveying little emotion but suprisingly appropriate aesthetic.

The overall pace of the album is similarly varied, at times blasting fierce rage and at others almost somber and overly-melodic, in obvious homage to the bands close links to Katatonia and Opeth.

For fans of black metal that is schitzoid, strange, and just downright unique, this is a benchmark band that demands to be in your collection.