Search - Diary of Dreams :: Nigredo

Sweetest Misery

Goyle | 10/26/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Pure emotional genius. Not just this album, but from "One of 18 Angels" on. This is music as it should be. Set aside "style" or "genre". This is pure enlightenment of emotions as the way music should be. Music is meant to make you feel. Different forms of music may cause you to feel in particular ways, but this form causes you to feel just what you are....human. This is pure human experience...a hard thing to really grasp, but once done is the most powerful of experiences. Diary of Dreams is pure musical art."

A very good album, but...

charles thomas | CA United States | 02/17/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I think that Adrian Hates, the mastermind of Diary of Dreams, is one of the most creative people currently working in the gothic/industrial genre. By fusing terrific Andrew Eldrich-styled vocals with classical keyboard flourishes and electronics, he has created a wholly unique music. Call it electro-goth or classical darkwave, it's a music where Hates has few peers.



Thus, it pains me to give his new album, NIGREDO, a less-than-perfect rating. Maybe it's just that, after the brilliance of his breakthrough album, ONE OF 18 ANGELS, and the even-better follow-up, FREAK PERFUME, my expectations had just been raised too high.



This is by no means a bad album, and certainly ranks highly overall when compared to his other work. All the trademark DOD elements are in place, well-utilised and perfectly produced. Perhaps that's the problem, that the album's too familiar. Many of the songs fit into a well-worn pattern, a soft beginning that turns bombastic (or in the case of "Giftraum," pretty much stays bombastic throughout the song). They don't seem to open up, to take chances, the way the songs on FREAK PERFUME did. And on FP, Hates even traded his Eldritch croak for a smoother, more darkwave-inflected vocal on some songs, to great effect.



So, in all, a very good effort. I'm still waiting for the true follow-up to FREAK PERFUME, but in the meantime, this'll do. Not many artists have stayed their course in this genre as long as Hates has, and made it yield so many rewards."

In the Top 3 of Diary of Dreams' releases...

lewis miller | virginia | 01/13/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"
When it comes to Diary of Dreams, for me, no album of theirs will ever top "One of 18 Angels" - it's just too well-rounded and brilliant on so many levels. However, this album is definitly one of DOD's best and ranks in the top three along with "Freak Perfume" - I don't know which is better - "Nigredo" or "Freak Perfume."



This music would best be described I believe as "hard melody." It contains a dark, hard side that is evident in both the lyrics and music, yet also exudes a melodic ambience that is more prevalent in some tracks than others. It's 'Depeche Mode' meets 'Nine Inch Nails' by way of 'Massive Attack.'



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