It's truly unfortunate when the train whistle at the start of an album is one of the most original aspects of it. Naglfar are one of a plethora of "melodic black metal" bands coming out of Scandinavia (Sweden in this case), trying to fill the void left by the dearly departed Dissection.

Some bands, which twist and contort the tried and true style of melodic black metal, can successfully establish an identity in the scene (i.e. Dawn); others, which stray as little as possible from the Dissection formula, fall flat on their faces. While Naglfar aren't the most blatant Dissection clone (that honor goes to Sacramentum), their music seems so familiar and generic that their obvious talent gets totally overshadowed by their lack of originality.

Diabolical is an enjoyable listen by all means. The fast, melodic, trem-picked riffs are well-executed, nicely textured, and catchy, the songs are well laid-out (superficially, at least - read on), and the production is quite good (aside from the somewhat drowned out lead guitar)...

But somehow, it's rather uninteresting. The blandness stems not only from the lack of originality, but also from the decisively anti-climactic songwriting, which keeps the listener waiting for the song to build up to that one explosive riff or brooding acoustic passage that makes any given track structurally perfect, yet only provides it on two or three songs. This makes much of the album feel like hollow and unsatisfying collections of riff-backed verses and choruses that seem to repeat themselves one time too many and never create the "epic" feel that Dissection wielded so well.

This is not to say that Diabolical doesn't have its moments - "12th Rising" is a structurally sound hymn to the December full moon, with a backbone riff that sticks out in your mind; "The Brimstone Gate" is a mid-paced chugger with a chorus that brings back memories of the glory days of the NWOBHM; "Into the Cold Voids of Eternity" has a very nice (albeit short) creepy piano passage to build atmosphere before demolishing it with a high-speed guitar attack; "Blades" just shreds everything in sight with pure intensity - so much so that it really doesn't need a solid structure.

Of course, if you are a person who listens to music strictly for musicianship value, the structural drawbacks I just described will not stop you from enjoying Diabolical. As a whole, however, Naglfar's sophomore album is much like Chinese food - pleasing to the senses, but ultimately leaving you feeling empty and reaching for that trusty can of Campbell's Soup that always sates you later on.

This review is credited to:
The Havoc Vulture