Diary Of Dreams
One Of 18 Angels

THE REVIEW

There is a character in the Gothic world, who has never been given the right consideration, at least in Italy, I am talking about Adrian Hates. He is the mind behind one of the most fundamental groups of the gothic scene, namely Diary Of Dreams. In the 90s, they were capable of producing true masterpieces like "End Of Flowers" and "Bird Without Wings," albums where the concept of melancholic music is perfectly expressed, with atmospheres sometimes dreamlike and other times anguishing providing the soundtrack to introspective lyrics, using a language that we can surely define as cryptic, where Adrian Hates narrates his torments with extreme elegance.

We are in 2000, it's the year of change, a change that doesn't affect the core concept of the Diary Of Dreams project, as they always remain anchored to an extremely decadent music concept, but where significant changes are nevertheless recorded. We are talking about an album called "One of 18 Angels," the album I consider the highest point of DOD's career, but strictly from the point of view of the emotions it gives me. Later, Adrian Hates will release other beautiful works, one of which is surely the splendid "Nigredo."

This time Adrian Hates makes extensive use of electronics, without diminishing the core of his music, but rather this change allows DOD to expand its range of action, intended as the ability to create the magnificent atmospheres they are capable of, from multiple points of view. In a sense, the atmosphere of this work is more apocalyptic, and even the lyrics confirm this hypothesis of mine, the text of "Mankind" is a perfect example.

The first song that welcomes the listener is "Rumors About Angels," in this track the new influences of DOD's music are just hinted at, as if the album did not want to reveal all its cards. The song has quite a long duration (over eight minutes) where Adrian Hates’ deep voice makes its way through a very slow rhythm, and the atmosphere created is undoubtedly epic and apocalyptic. It is followed by the piece "Butterfly Dance!", perhaps the most famous piece by DOD, a song where the concept of electro-goth is expressed at its highest power. No one, and I mean no one, has ever succeeded in doing better. " Mankind" perhaps is the most beautiful piece ever written by Diary Of Dreams, with the bass drum marking quite a sustained tempo, and horrific keyboards serving as the backdrop to Adrian's voice, who sings in an almost recitative way, which reminded me a bit of the style of the Sopor Aeternus project. And what about "Babylon," a kaleidoscope that encapsulates all the characteristics of DOD's style, lasting over 8 minutes. "Chemicals" is another perfect track where the new electronic influences are used exemplarily.

"One Of 18 Angels" is a perfect album, where the emotional intensity produced by listening to the tracks is extremely high. As far as I'm concerned, I have experienced the same emotions only by listening to the masterpieces of "Katatonia" and "My Dying Bride." It is worth mentioning the lyrical concept behind the CD, where Adrian Hates analyzes his personal universe, comparing it to a possible dialogue with a superior being.

If there's nothing to believe in...