Dark Lunacy
The Diarist

Some music albums make their mark in their genre primarily through technique, others mainly through the atmosphere and emotion they convey. I have always considered those in the second category to be decidedly superior.
"The Diarist", the third work by Dark Lunacy, a quartet from Parma dedicated to very melodic Death Metal and as they like to call it, "dramatic," is part of this second category. On this occasion, Dark Lunacy largely abandon the use of the violin and the intricate technical scores that characterized the previous "Forget Me Not" to focus much more on the use of keyboards and the emotionality of the tracks.

Successful operation. "The Diarist" is a concept that deals with the 900-day siege of Leningrad during the Second World War. A theme of war, then, but not treated to glorify battles, rather to show the endless pain it brings into the lives of common people. Musically, forget all technicality, this album should be listened to with the heart. The drama that pervades each of the eleven masterpieces that compose it is chilling. There is not a single drop in tension nor a moment of faltering. The Eastern European atmospheres have been perfectly recreated through the use of very suggestive choirs as shown by the opener "Aurora", splendidly majestic in its advance. The band makes no mistakes across these eleven tracks, Mike Lunacy provides an excellent performance behind the microphone with his growl and his lyrics that perfectly support the brilliant compositions of guitarist Enomys.
Compositions that have their strength in the emotions they elicit and the atmospheres they recreate. Perfect examples are "Pulkovo Meridian", a simple, direct, and angry track especially in the refrain (capable of making every melodic Death lover jump out of their seat) and "Heart Of Leningrad" which rises to the final part, absolutely perfect in conveying the sense of anguish brought by a siege.
Also noteworthy is the very sad "Snowdrifts" where Dark Lunacy again display their more orchestral and evocative soul. The album continues track by track until it reaches its peak with the terrifying "Motherland", an epic, powerful song that starts fast and continues dragging the listener along six minutes of absolute drama until the conclusion where choirs, guitars, and Mike's growl intertwine in a majestic and
desperate prayer to the motherland, suffering for far too long.

There are no words to describe the emotions felt at the end of the listening experience. The only advice I can give is to listen to this album (in my opinion, album of the year by an Italian band and the zenith of this group), and to do so with your heart; you will not be disappointed. This is real music, written and played with heart and truly felt. Take some time, forget everything, and try to read in this diary...

"Beat my heart, I know you are tired. Make me feel we're still alive"