Customer Reviews

The Girl Who Was...Death

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4 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

Devil Doll is one of the best bands I ever come across.

If you start to listen you're gonna think this is not a rock band, nor a classical one. My first feeling was a bizarre horror

movie soundtrack (opera style), from the old black & white horror movies. It takes you to a very bizarre world just live HP Lovecraft takes you to Arkham when you read his nobels.

The music of Devil Doll is really based in classical music, like Dvorak, Orff, Mussorgsky, Berlioz, etc, and the theatric ambient of the old italian saltimbanco and Slovenian theatre (we have to remember that once slovenia and the Czech republic were one country, and in Prague you can found the classical dark theatre with it's unique music style). That's why The albums

have only one track, it's not a song, it's a concept, just like the classical masterpieces (as Mozart's Requiem, Mussorgsky's

Pictures at an Exhibition, etc).

Devil Doll is almost a one man band, Mr.Doctor, a music genious. He have more than one university degree (Philosophy and I don't remember what else). He was born in Slovenia but he occasionally lives in Venice, Italy, where he made his own record label for all the Devil Doll records called Hurdy Gurdy Records (some reeditions have another label I don't know why). The other members are the first violin of the slovenian national orchestra and a pianist (i don't remember from where). Of course for every record they are also with a basic rock band (electric guitar, bass, drums, keyboards), an entire orchestra (the slovenian national orchestra and choir) and the voice of Mr.Doctor himself, as he said his voice is just another instrument, and that's why he sings giving the whole band a special kind of sound.

"The Girl Who Was... Death" is the first released album. Then It came "Eliogabalus" (the only album with 2 tracks). The Third

album was "Sacrilegium", an album actually older than TGWWD but with a different mix, the original recording was later released with the name of "The Sacrilege Of Fatal Arms". Then it came the last album, a beautiful masterpiece called "Dies Irae".

Almost every album have 2 versions.

"Eliogabalus" have another version with a different cover, the original is the one with the inside of a theatre and the "Eliogabalus Fan Club Edit" is white with 2 clowns dancing on the cover.

"Sacrilegium" have the original mix under the name of "The Sacrilege Of Fatal Arms", also with different cover because was

released as a new album not as a remix.

"Dies Irae" also have a fan club edit, the only difference in the cover is the central picture. The fan club edit have the picture of the face of Mr.Doctor in the middle and the average edition is taken from the phantom of the opera (or the mask of the red death, I really don't remember). But I'm not sure if this versions have different mixes.

If you like this album, I strongly recomend you to hunt down the others, you're not gonna regret it. I really think this albums are a bunch of unknown masterpieces!

Devil Doll

Having recently finished reviewing an album whose music I described as weird, strange, peculiar even deviant, I couldn't help but think that I would describe the music of Devil Doll in much the same way, with perhaps a couple more suitable adjectives like perverse and satirical.

Yes, I'm afraid Mr. D is about to force feed another one of those really weird bands on you. True you don't have to read anymore but Devil Doll is truly an interesting phenomenon, a confluence great and wonderful musical competence with perverse theatrics and macabre absurdity. If you are familiar with either Lacrimosa or Therion, imagine their marvelous music combined with something as over the top as Weird Al Yankovic, Victor Borge or even Dr. Demento. Sound interesting? I invite you to read on. You can stop whenever you want, I promise.

DEVIL DOLL

I'm sure your all familiar with the terms eccentric and hermit. Devil Doll and especially their leader Mr. Doctor (no relation) seems to be the musical equivalent of an eccentric hermit. One could be forgiven if they never heard of Devil Doll, being one of the most obscure underground bands this side of Jupiter. The inscrutable Mr. Doctor, originally from Slovenia, as in former Yugoslavia, and now based across the Adriatic in Italy, has, until recently, stingily released copies of his five albums on his Hurdy Gurdy label, as if a famous artist releasing numbered paintings. This has made the original releases collectors items and I have observed bids on Ebay of upwards of one hundred dollars.

If this is not proof enough of Mr. Doctor's eccentricities, there is a rumor that there is a sixth album - the very first album, of which only a single copy was made and retained by Mr. Doctor himself. Also the original version of 'Dies Irae' was the official fan club's released box set, a hand numbered release of only 1,500 in the whole universe, including special artwork, lyrics, sheet music, and extensive liner notes, all presented in a leather bound sleeve. Many copies of Devil Doll's early releases often had hand painted covers and liner notes occasionally handwritten, reputedly in Mr. Doctor's blood. (No lie)

Discography

The Girl who Was... Death (1989)

Eliogabalus (1990)

Sacrilegium (1992)

The Sacrilege of Fatal Arms (1993)

Dies Irae (1996)

Devil Doll has a most unusual musical presentation. Bizarre is perhaps the best description. They have released five albums, the last being this album in 1996 and I could use the same description on all five. The music has been described in numerous ways. Their music has been called Dark Heavy Progressive by some, a Sinister Prog Metal Symphony by others and even Theatrical Goth Rock.

Personally, I find Devil Dolls music to be an odd combination of beautiful melodies with elegant choirs and outrageous vocals of macabre stories. Mr. Doctor, sometimes referred to as the man of a thousand voices, as a vocalist seems more like a carnival barker or master of ceremonies. When you throw in weird sound effects and occasionally strange backing vocals one gets the feeling of listening to some dark ominous theatrical Rock Opera.

THE GIRL WHO WAS ...DEATH

THE GIRL WHO WAS ...DEATH, is loosely based on the old 1960's TV drama, The Prisoner. The name is even taken from one of The Prisoner's episodes. This initial of Devil Doll's official releases is not broken into tracks. Neither are the next three. Only the last released album Dies Irae has a track listing, which still segues into a single performance.

There is obviously a large cast and a plethora of sounds from heavy organ to accordion. As to be expected, THE GIRL WHO WAS ...DEATH sets that unique Devil Doll recipe of elegant orchestral with some gothic influences, contrasted sharply with keyboard-led passages that feature the sinister, bizarrely twisted voice and antics of Mr. Doctor. The album features a wide range of instrumentation including stunning violin work, which makes the appeal of this album is compelling. A good way to envision the music of Devil Doll, is to imagine an ominous foreboding horror music soundtrack in combination with classical and progressive nuances.

Line-up

- MR. Doctor / man of 1000 voices, organ

- Edoardo Beato / piano

- Katia Giubbilei / 2nd violin

- Albert Dorigo / guitar

- Sasha Olenjuk / 1st violin

- Lucko Kodermac / drums

- Bor Zuljan / guitar

- Jani Hace / bass

- Davor Klaric / keyboards

WITH:

- Paolo Zizich / backing vocal

- Mojca Slobko / Harp

- THE DEVIL CHORUS conducted by Marian Bunic

CONCLUSION

Devil Doll's vocals are fairly tortured featuring "Mr. Doctor" who sounds more like an eclectic, specter of macabre than a lead singer. Those unfamiliar with his singing style may find it out of the norm as he tends to talk, mumble, screech or stutter his way through the songs in lieu of singing. The result is something that only one's personal taste can judge... some will love it and find it inventive,as I do, for others it will be too strange to assimilate. However the great thing about Devil Doll is not Mr Doctor but the extremely interesting music. THE GIRL WHO WAS ...DEATH contrasts classical strings with great synth, piano and organ work and the occasional brilliant progressive rock breakout. The musicianship is excellent as is the production, something Devil Doll are noted for. Not surprisingly, this album runs like a movie soundtrack with full theatrics and animation of imagery, imbued within the fine instrumentation. Without a question the music is somewhat avante garde and should only be listened to by a receptive audience. In summary " THE GIRL WHO WAS ...DEATH " is an unusual album full of innovation and heavy classical, macabre soundtrack elements, one that this music lover appreciates!

If you're wondering why, if THE GIRL WHO WAS ...DEATH is such a great album, I didn't give five stars, it's because I hate hidden tracks, especially ones with long blank spaces between songs. This album whose length is advertised as 66.02 minutes, is actually 38:48 minutes of music, interrupted by 26:20 minutes of silence, followed by the 1:56 finale. They are the bane of humanity, or in this case the extremely psychotic and sadistic.

Not often, but every once in a while, I hear an album that completely alters my conception of the boundaries of music. This is one of those albums. From the first time I listened to _The Girl Who Was...Death_ I was simply stunned. It was something so different, so unusual, so amazingly unconventional. This work is the first of four albums by Devil Doll (not including the first album, of which only one copy exists and was never released publicly), a group of Slovenian musicians led and masterminded by the mysterious and reclusive Italian composer known only as "Mr. Doctor" (though since my writing of this review, he has revealed his identity). If such a thing existed, I would best classify this as "horror metal," and that is pretty much what it is, in a broad sense. Mr. Doctor seems to have a fascination, and possibly an obsession, with classic tales of horror, and it seems that most of the music he creates encompasses this. After my first listen to _The Girl..._, I was under the impression that I just experienced a brilliant classic horror movie, but that I took it in in a strictly aural manner. To listen to this album is to embark upon a journey into the deepest and most macabre realms of the mind, a dark and unfamiliar place that is universally present within the depths of the human psyche, but that we are either unaware of or generally unwilling to approach. Mr. Doctor travels without fear into these realms and brings them into the dim light for us to experience.

I don't want to give away the specific details of the song that comprises this album. In fact, I don't really have the words to convey it properly. It's something you really have to experience for yourself. But I'll tell you what I can. The entire album consists of just one track, just over an hour (one hour, six minutes, and six seconds (66:6) to be exact), but the length of the actual song is just about 39 minutes, with a span of silence ending in a two-minute epilogue of sorts. Mr. Doctor's chilling sprechgesang vocals are unique and often disturbing; he has rightly been dubbed the "Man of 1000 Voices," and one has to wonder how many distinct entities are speaking through him. The music shifts continually, reaching into realms of dark progressive rock, gothic opera, and neo-classicalism. It is very diverse and complex, sort of ranging all over the broad spectrum of the musical universe, from the slow, wraithlike piano processions that start the album, to vigorous metal riffs, to grandiose orchestrations. It is quite apparent that the musicians were handpicked for their ability to convey precisely what Mr. Doctor intended to bring to life with this creation. I think that this is among the greatest of his creations, second, or possibly even equal in mastery to his final work (to date), _Dies Irae_.

As with all [two] of my classic reviews, this album is very special to me, and has become one of my personal favorite musical works of the modern age, mainly--as I indicated before--for opening yet another hidden doorway within the labyrinth of my musical journey, and altering my perception of just how vast the boundaries of music really are, if such boundaries exist at all. Hence, I highly recommend this album, but only to those who are highly open-minded to the unusual and experimental, and who are willing to leap into realms of music where others fear to tread. Perfect album, personal favorite.

Mr Doctor's Devil Doll is overflowing with what every other artist wishes they could have,real talent.Only perfectly executed thought and feeling is orgonized within the mind of Devil Doll.Devil Doll is the only music worth reviewing,if you do not own this you are not worth reading this review.