Album Review: Disarmonia Mundi - The Dormant Stranger
Reviewed by Richard Oliver
After a ten year absence, Italian melodic death metal duo Disarmonia Mundi have returned with their sixth album “The Dormant Stranger”. The band still consists of the duo of Claudio Ravinale on vocals and Ettore Rigotti on vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards and drums with long time collaborator Bjorn “Speed” Strid (of Soilwork and The Night Flight Orchestra) also lending his vocals once again.
The world may be quite a different place since DIsarmonia Mundi last released music in 2015 but there is a comfortable familiarity when you hit play on “The Dormant Stranger” as it is DIsarmonia Mundi picking up where they left off with some vibrant and catchy heavy music. There are the classic melodeath riffs, vibrant melodies, hefty groove and plenty of hooks to drag you in with catchy choruses galore all emboldened by the duo clean vocals by Ettore and Speed.
The album starts in blistering style with ‘Adrift Amongst Insignificant Strangers’ and that intensity is matched in ‘Warhound’ whilst the groove is delivered in spadefuls in songs such as ‘Shadows Of A World Painted Red’ and the title track with the band’s trademark melodies and hooks really coming to the fore in songs such as ‘Oathbreaker’ and ‘Crossroads To Eternity’.
If you are a fan of DIsarmonia Mundi or melodic death metal in general then “The Dormant Stranger” is a definite comfort blanket of a listen. It is a very familiar sound but it is by no means stale sounding with the songs that make up the album being very punchy and vibrant with an in your face production by Ettore Rigotti. The album can be a bit repetitive at times but Disarmonia Mundi have a formula that works for them and they know their audience and I doubt any fan of the band will find “The Dormant Stranger” a let down. This is catchy and melodic music which embraces aggression and heaviness in equal measure. If you haven’t heard Disarmonia Mundi before but bands such as Soilwork, Scar Symmetry and Mors Principium Est are on your playlist then you definitely need to check them out and “The Dormant Stranger” is as good a starting point as any.
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