Diablo Swing Orchestra – Pandora’s Piñata (2012)

Diablo Swing Orchestra are a Swedish avant-metal band with a big leaning towards swing (as their name might suggest!). Always ready to put a symphonic metal twist on things, they could quite easily be dismissed by some as something of a novelty item, with operatic warbling, soundtrack-esque composition and nu-metal style chugging guitars; however, to do so would be to do them a great disservice  Yes, they are playful and prone to draw influence from non-metal sources, but they are an incredibly tight and talented group.

Pandora’s Piñata is the group’s third album after The Butcher’s Ballroom (2006) and Singalong Songs for the Damned and Delerious (2009), and their first since incorporating former session musicians to a permenant brass section.

Pandora’s Piñata is a great album and if you like their previous albums, you certainly won’t be disappointed. If you haven’t listened to them before, you may find the operatic vocals a little uncomfortable to begin with, but I shouldn’t think that would last for long.

I feel that, on this album, Diablo Swing Orchestra have expanded their influences to create an overall more dramatic feel, from the incidental music with trademark opera-style singing on Aurora, the use of strings across the album, the absolute pomposity (in a good way) of Of Kali Ma Calibre to the absolutely mind-blowing final 3 minutes of the last track, Justice for Saint Mary, which will leave you with shivers down your spine and a good taste in your mouth.

Favourite tracks: Guerilla Laments, Mass Rapture, Of Kali Ma Calibre.

Spotify link: Diablo Swing Orchestra – Pandoras Pinata
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