ALBUM REVIEW: The Dormant Stranger – Disarmonia Mundi
Italy’s DISARMONIA MUNDI are one of the unsung gems of melodeath. The brainchild of multi-instrumentalist Ettore Rigotti, they’ve been active for over two decades and have an impressive resume behind them, with 2004’s Fragments Of D-Generation and 2015’s Cold Inferno being minor classics. However, they’ve also been relatively quiet since the release of the latter and it would be understandable if the average fan thought they’d called it a day.
They never officially split up though and despite Ettore and his regular co-conspirator Claudio Ravinale being kept busy by other projects, they’ve finally returned with their sixth full length. They haven’t kept us waiting as long as George RR Martin has, but it’s still been a long time.
Thankfully, it’s been worth the wait. The Dormant Stranger impresses faster than you can say “where’s the pissing Winds Of Winter, George” and is a highly enjoyable way to spend an hour. It’s a riff-heavy, high-speed rush, packed full of fret-burning guitar work and with a charismatic performance from returning guest vocalist Bjorn Strid. It could perhaps do with easing off the pedal occasionally, but for the most part it’s a welcome return from the rarely seen Italian duo.
Even with the presence of a famous singer, The Dormant Stranger’s biggest strength is that it doesn’t sound like a lost SOILWORK album. DISARMONIA MUNDI write longer tracks, have a slight progressive edge and are heavier too. Epic cuts like the opening Adrift Among Insignificant Strangers and the fantastic 8th Circle have a distinct personality, the latter possessing a brutality that SOILWORK rarely reach anymore.
They also have a similar understanding of how to interweave a melodic undercurrent into every track. Architects Of Negativity for instance is the kind of ‘roided-up combination of NWOBHM guitar and European death metal that made the early DARK TRANQUILITY records so intoxicating. It’s as violent as The Red Wedding and as sweet as Samwell’s romance with Gilly, all at the same time. It’s also the closing track, so there’s no season 8 style cock ups to ruin things in the home stretch.
Admittedly, The Dormant Stranger is a bit too lengthy for its own good and could have done with a more zealous editor. It’s also lacking a few stand-out tracks; it’s very good but doesn’t quite reach the lofty standards set by the two earlier albums name checked above. These are comparatively minor quibbles though and it’s hard to find much fault with it besides the lengthy runtime.
This is well-produced, pristine melodic death metal that is absolutely deserving of your time. It wouldn’t be surprising if DISARMONIA MUNDI vanish for another five years or more, but that will give us plenty of time to savour this one in fine detail. We’d also put good money on the next one arriving before a certain author finishes his bloody novel.
Rating: 7/10
The Dormant Stranger is out now via Coroner Records.
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