| | Full Review | Ratings (102) |
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| 2.5 average | Jared Floryan | December 8th 17 |
Coming after the meticulous, yet fun monster masher that was Pandora's Pinata, Swedish avant-garde/experimental metal project Diablo Swing Orchestra's latest addition to their discography is a humongous step backwards; Pacifisticuffs is inferior to the band's first two studio recordings, too. {sigh} It breaks my heart to hear a solid outfit finally drop the ball considering DSO were building up such steady momentum until this period. Throughout the new album's 44-minute duration, I found no track that mesmerized me in the same manner that the likes of "Guerilla Laments," "A Tap Dancer's Dilemma," "Balrog Boogie," or "Justice for Saint Mary" did. There wasn't even a cut here that came off as 'good strange' like "Bedlam Sticks". Credit where credit is due, Kristin Evegard is a very suitable vocalist (she's no AnnLouice) and there are at least 2-3 songs worth jamming on the regular, but oh man is Pacifisticuffs still a disappointing LP when the previous releases are factored in. These Swedes can do and have done much better.
2 Bumps | Bump |
| 2.5 average | JJKeys | December 8th 17 |
There's a part in 'Superhero Jagganath' where the vocalist says the word 'supremacy', followed by
a snare roll that sounds exactly like its from Muse's 'Supremacy'. I hope to God that that's a
coincidence. Other than 'The Age of Vulture Culture' which is pretty good, the album isn't
really engaging when it's not being embarassing
2 Bumps | Bump |
| 3.5 great | GoldenGuy444 | July 27th 20 |
Me: "What could this possibly be? Like some synthwave stuff?"
Track 1: Hard Rock / Country
Me: "Sold."
Bump |
| 3.0 good | cjbizzlebizzle | December 28th 17 |
11 years after the release of their first LP, The Butcher's Ballroom, Diablo Swing Orchestra turn out their 4th LP sounding worlds away from Balrog Boogie but still retaining their unique Avant Big Band/symphonic/ska/prog metal sound. Skipping the first track here actually improves the overall listening experience quite a bit but Knucklehugs (Arm Yourself with Love) cannot be ignored. This track could make for a fun, goofy bonus track but as an opener it feels incredibly out of place and starts things off poorly before quality is recovered in Vulture Culture, Jagganath and Jigsaw Hustle. After this stretch things are mostly average/hit-or-miss besides Karma Bonfire which is another highlight. Powerful when they combine their strong songwriting and unique blend of styles but equally disappointing when they miss. Four good to great songs listed above, a slew of so-so less memorable efforts and a truly terrible opener. If for some reason you thirst for horn-laiden prog metal it is worth checking out but it fails to reach the level of their previous LPs which do a similar thing, but better.
Bump |
| 3.0 good | danielp | September 26th 22 |
| 3.5 great | Alex C. | September 14th 22 |
| 4.5 superb | dolmos | November 27th 21 |
| 3.5 great | Tartay | September 29th 21 |
| 3.5 great | ast | January 30th 21 |
| 4.5 superb | Oobaloo | December 18th 20 |
| 4.0 excellent | cb123 | September 7th 20 |
| 2.5 average | Gazham | August 12th 20 |
| 4.0 excellent | Greidy | March 21st 20 |
| 3.5 great | Mojito | March 4th 20 |
| 4.0 excellent | Nate | April 3rd 19 |
| 4.5 superb | Nisraak | October 16th 18 |
| 3.0 good | Agonba | April 23rd 18 |
| 5.0 classic | ghworin | February 2nd 18 |
| 3.5 great | tellah | January 12th 18 |
| 4.0 excellent | EvoHavok | December 30th 17 |
| 3.5 great | alsid | December 27th 17 |
| 3.5 great | Mouzred | December 21st 17 |
| 4.0 excellent | ivorymen | December 17th 17 |
| 4.0 excellent | LouBreed | December 16th 17 |
| 4.0 excellent | ariich | December 13th 17 |
| 2.5 average | yairfg | December 12th 17 |
| 3.5 great | N2B3J | December 11th 17 |
| 3.5 great | Poet | December 10th 17 |
| 4.5 superb | zzf1918 | December 10th 17 |
| 2.5 average | Elynna | December 8th 17 |
| 3.5 great | NBA | December 8th 17 |
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