Diabula Rasa – Ars Medioheavy (2012)

Making its way from Italy, today we have Diabula Rasa and their latest full-length release “Ars Medioheavy”. For those of you unfamiliar with the band, they play a very well balanced Folk Metal that is not too heavy, but it is heavy enough to keep people headbanging for a while. In a scene so saturated by many shitty bands that want to play Folk Metal, it is quite refreshing to hear a release that is both catchy and unique, never abusing any of their traditional elements and delivering a very warm and authentic sound.

The album opens in very high spirits with the superb “Ghirondo”. The catchy foundations of this track make it very engaging and the traditional instruments give it that authentic feeling, all enhanced by subtle orchestrations that greatly improve the atmosphere of the track. As “Tsanich” and “Cataclism” roll around, we start to appreciate the band’s old school Rock/Heavy Metal foundations that are very present in the tracks making them super catchy and quite engaging without being overly heavy or fast paced. This is one of the best elements that Diabula Rasa presents in their music.

One of our favorite tracks in this release is the playful “Congaudentes” and its very festive vibe. The female vocals in this release are very angelical and in songs like “Madre de Deus” they elevate the music to a whole new dimension. “In taberna” is our absolute favorite song in this release thanks to the excellent bagpipes that remind us a lot of bands like Tanzwut. If epic is what you are looking for, “Vermell” is a track that will greatly appeal to you, or if more traditional folk is what you are looking for, then “Maledicantur” is more up your alley.

After closing with the very solemn and cinematic “Ahi amours”, we are left with a great impression of Diabula Rasa’s latest work. If you like well-structured Folk Metal that is quite catchy and filled with lush atmospheric passages and angelic female vocals, “Ars Medioheavy” is one release you don’t want to miss. We are glad that there are still Folk Metal bands out there that are not rehashing the same song over and over for a quick but like some band from Switzerland we all know. Overall, this is a very recommendable release, so go and pick up a copy from Moonlight Records that comes in a beautiful digipack presentation.

Release: December 1st, 2012

Genre: Folk Metal

Country: Italy