The Sacrilege of Fatal Arms

If there is one band that inspires awe among connoisseurs of underground music, then it is Devil Doll. With their long compositions, single track albums and the aura of mystery surrounding the driving force of this band, Mr. Doctor, the band have made a reputation for themselves in the underground and have attained cult status. Mr. Doctor himself has carved an image of an eccentric genius for himself. This album is considered by many as the one of their best. Keeping all this in my mind I chose this album as my first step into the mysterious world of Devil Doll. So is this album really worth its image? My verdict is no! There is no doubt that the level of experimentation here is unmatched but experimentation alone does not make for a good listen. The album must be entertaining for its entire length and this is where The Sacrilege of Fatal Arms fails.

The main fault with this song is that it does not hold you for its entire 76 min length. It starts off quite well with the Mussolini and the Hitler speech excerpts but starts going downhill immediately after that. The frequent breaks with nothing but silence and the overstretched atmospheric ambient parts will probably bore someone who is not a fan of minimalist ambient. The fact that a large part of this song is composed of only such parts is a huge negative. I started listening to the song at 11 pm at night and these factors actually put me to sleep after some 30 min into the song, that’s how boring it can get! If you are looking for metal you will again be disappointed because this is not metal. In fact, metal riffs account for hardly 6-7 min of this song and even these are scattered throughout the length of this song. Considering the track's rather humongous length, this doesn't come across as a good sign.

Despite all this, it is not just an album made up entirely of negatives. It does have a number of cons but there are good points as well. There is no denying the high amount of skill that everyone involved in this project has. The orchestrated parts are brilliantly done. The guitars, the violins, piano, every instrument plays its part well. Even though the metal parts are far and few they have been done competently and in the context of the song they sound better than they technically are. The weird atmosphere has been done well though it does go overboard in some parts. The best feature of this album and Devil Doll in general are Mr. Doctor’s vocals. The guy does the vocals in a strange speak-sing style. Sounds good, right? The problem is that all these novelties are immediately followed by a mind numbing piece of atmospheric bullshit that totally kills the impact of whatever decent had been happening before those piano chords and 'scary' pieces kicked in. Don't get me wrong, I do like a fair bit of ambient but only if it is done right. Long passages of the same sound (I hate to call it music) being played over and over in a I-wanna-make-me-music-hypnotic style is NOT an example of atmosphere and ambience done right.

If you are looking for a musical masterpiece then look elsewhere. If you want metal, then it is not for you. Thinking of trying something that is totally new and goes about sacrificing musical integrity just for the sake of being 'experimental'; then yes, give it a try. But let me assure that despite the huge amount of praise this band has generated for themselves in the underground, it is a rather stale experience when actually tried. Go try their 'Eliogabalus' instead, it is a much better album than this and so far the only Devil Doll album which I ended up liking. An added word of advice: this album may prove handy for those of you who suffer from insomnia and have trouble sleeping. Trust me, this album can put anyone to sleep.

This 1993 album is a reworked, longer version of Devil Doll's previous album Sacrilegium and is the soundtrack to an obscure movie of the same name. Interestingly, it was originally only a fan-club only re-release, but I guess it was remastered later or and made more widely available. All I know is that I ordered it from Century Media Records.

How can I describe a work of this magnitude? Well, I would do it effortfully, in vain, and for more my own pleasure. Of all the Devil Doll albums I now own, I'd probably say that this is my favorite. Sure, the violins and string arrangements aren't as potent as they are on TGWW...D and it's not as gloriously consummate as Dies Irae, but it's the most diverse of the three. It features everything from Mr. Doctor's often comical, sinister, twisted vocals; horn flourishes ; spoken/shouted words; screaming background crowds; loud, massive choir/s; awesome violin, cello, guitar, piano, and accordion solos/parts; and various additional oddities that help to enchant the listener. It's innately satisfying to hear so many transitions in the music itself and to mentally note the disarming juxtaposition of it with Mr. Doctor's oddly-timed performances. The band makes very good use of the professional freedom given to them to ride great waves of ideas until they have sloshed against the shore.

With this freedom, thankfully, Devil Doll has managed to make the album dark without being depressing. DD isn't about total despair, darkness, satanism, and emanating complete and utter hatred of the world. Sure, they talk about death and human suffering, but it's mostly within the confines of a thought-provoking storyline that shows what their interests are as well as giving deeper meanings. Everything is purposeful and defined . It's obvious just listening to the music.

Never ceasing to amaze, this is a work of awe-inspiring beauty, both sinister and bright. Metal purists may have extreme difficulty liking this album, however, because it's not really riff-oriented at all; riffing comes sporadically and functions merely to add zeal and power to the current idea being explored in the music.

Hopefully, though, metal listeners can enjoy this album despite its lack of influence and credibility in the genre. The Sacrilege of Fatal Arms really is Devil Doll's best work and I implore any fan of music to purchase it. I have faith that it could be appreciated by a broad spectrum of music fans.