Diabolical Masquerade
Encyclopedia
Diabolical Masquerade was a Swedish
one-man black metal
band with progressive
influences. The band was formed in 1993 in Stockholm
as side project of Anders Nyström
(aka Blakkheim), known for his work as the guitarist of Katatonia
.
one-man black metal
band. All music is written and played by Katatonia
guitarist Anders "Blakkheim" Nyström
, who wanted to have a band where he could compose more extreme music while Katatonia were exploring more mellow moods. The music leans heavily on avant-garde melodic black metal
with some death metal
and thrash metal
influences. Blakkheim wanted to experiment more with song
structure, theme and composition. This is most notably seen on on the last Diabolical Masquerade album, Death's Design
. This album is conceived as the soundtrack to a nonexistent Swedish horror movie, with 61 tracks broken up into 20 movements, each with a unique feel and theme. Death's Design includes many passages featuring various genres and styles, experimenting with progressive rock
, progressive metal
, ambient
, classical music, and rhythm
ic percussion-based passages. Nyström worked together on the album with Dan Swanö
. In early September 2004, Nyström announced that he had put the project to rest, after not having found the necessary inspiration while working on a fifth album.
Session members
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
one-man black metal
Black metal
Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, blast beat drumming, raw recording, and unconventional song structure....
band with progressive
Progressive metal
Progressive metal is a subgenre of heavy metal originating in the United Kingdom and North America in the late 1980s...
influences. The band was formed in 1993 in Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
as side project of Anders Nyström
Anders Nyström
Anders Nyström, also known as Blakkheim is a Swedish musician who was born on April 22, 1975 in Stockholm.-Biography:...
(aka Blakkheim), known for his work as the guitarist of Katatonia
Katatonia
Katatonia is a Swedish metal band formed in Stockholm in 1991 by Jonas Renkse and Anders Nyström .-1991-1993:The early Katatonia releases, such as the EP Jhva Elohim Meth.....
.
History
Diabolical Masquerade was a SwedishSweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
one-man black metal
Black metal
Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, blast beat drumming, raw recording, and unconventional song structure....
band. All music is written and played by Katatonia
Katatonia
Katatonia is a Swedish metal band formed in Stockholm in 1991 by Jonas Renkse and Anders Nyström .-1991-1993:The early Katatonia releases, such as the EP Jhva Elohim Meth.....
guitarist Anders "Blakkheim" Nyström
Anders Nyström
Anders Nyström, also known as Blakkheim is a Swedish musician who was born on April 22, 1975 in Stockholm.-Biography:...
, who wanted to have a band where he could compose more extreme music while Katatonia were exploring more mellow moods. The music leans heavily on avant-garde melodic black metal
Black metal
Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, blast beat drumming, raw recording, and unconventional song structure....
with some death metal
Death metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs heavily distorted guitars, tremolo picking, deep growling vocals, blast beat drumming, minor keys or atonality, and complex song structures with multiple tempo changes....
and thrash metal
Thrash metal
Thrash metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that is characterized usually by its fast tempo and aggression. Songs of the genre typically use fast percussive and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead work...
influences. Blakkheim wanted to experiment more with song
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
structure, theme and composition. This is most notably seen on on the last Diabolical Masquerade album, Death's Design
Death's Design
Death's Design is Blakkheim's fourth and final album, released under the moniker of Diabolical Masquerade and his most experimental. The album is broken up into 20 movements, the shortest of which is just 6 seconds long. Also the album seems to be without genre, changing directions many times...
. This album is conceived as the soundtrack to a nonexistent Swedish horror movie, with 61 tracks broken up into 20 movements, each with a unique feel and theme. Death's Design includes many passages featuring various genres and styles, experimenting with progressive rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
, progressive metal
Progressive metal
Progressive metal is a subgenre of heavy metal originating in the United Kingdom and North America in the late 1980s...
, ambient
Ambient music
Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses largely on the timbral characteristics of sounds, often organized or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality.- History :...
, classical music, and rhythm
Rhythm
Rhythm may be generally defined as a "movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions." This general meaning of regular recurrence or pattern in time may be applied to a wide variety of cyclical natural phenomena having a periodicity or...
ic percussion-based passages. Nyström worked together on the album with Dan Swanö
Dan Swanö
Dan-Erland Swanö is a Swedish musician who is currently the vocalist, guitarist, ex-bassist and ex-drummer for the band Nightingale as well as the Owner of Unisound but he achieved fame as the vocalist and songwriter of progressive death metal band Edge of Sanity.As a multi-instrumentalist he is...
. In early September 2004, Nyström announced that he had put the project to rest, after not having found the necessary inspiration while working on a fifth album.
Discography
- Ravendusk in My HeartRavendusk in my HeartRavendusk in My Heart is the debut album by Diabolical Masquerade. It was released in 1996.-Track listing:# "The Castle of Blackheim" – 7:15# "Blackheim's Quest to Bring Back the Stolen Autumn" – 6:19# "Beyond the Spiritual Moon" – 0:57...
(1996) - The Phantom LodgeThe Phantom LodgeThe Phantom Lodge is the second album by Diabolical Masquerade. Dan Swanö played a much smaller part on this album than previously, doing heavy metal vocals on Hater only and assisting Blakkheim in producing...
(1997) - NightworkNightwork (album)Nightwork is the third album by avant-garde/black metal band Diabolical Masquerade released in 1998 through Avantgarde Music.-Track listing:#"Rider on the Bonez" – 5:54#"Dreadventurouz" – 5:46#"The Zkeleton Keyz to the Dead" – 5:17...
(1998) - Death's DesignDeath's DesignDeath's Design is Blakkheim's fourth and final album, released under the moniker of Diabolical Masquerade and his most experimental. The album is broken up into 20 movements, the shortest of which is just 6 seconds long. Also the album seems to be without genre, changing directions many times...
(2001)
Band members
Diabolical Masquerade- Anders "Blakkheim" NyströmAnders NyströmAnders Nyström, also known as Blakkheim is a Swedish musician who was born on April 22, 1975 in Stockholm.-Biography:...
– vocals, guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
(1993–2004), bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
(1993–1998) - Dan SwanöDan SwanöDan-Erland Swanö is a Swedish musician who is currently the vocalist, guitarist, ex-bassist and ex-drummer for the band Nightingale as well as the Owner of Unisound but he achieved fame as the vocalist and songwriter of progressive death metal band Edge of Sanity.As a multi-instrumentalist he is...
– keyboards (1996, 1998–2001), drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
(1996, 1998), guest vocals (1997), backing vocals (1998), guitar (2001)
Session members
- Sean C. Bates – drums (1997, 2001)
- Ingmar Döhn – bass (1997–2001)