DEVIL DOLL Dies Irae ltd fan club LP dark Prog Goth NR

$

71

As with all of Devil Doll’s LPs, this is very rare: apparently this album, which comes in a beautiful gatefold cover, is a fan club only edition of just 350 copies. Most of you reading this probably don’t need additional info/convincing, but for the others, here’s some from the Gibraltar Encyclopedia site:

“Devil Doll are an Italian/Slovenian band who sound nothing like the archetypal Italian progressive music at all. No fusion or lush symphonics here! What they offer is a very unique blend of gothic imagery and Victorian "Jekyll and Hyde" ambience, spun over a collage of piano, tortured vocals, sinister accordion folk music interludes, choirs, violin and waltz themes. The dynamics of the music is outstanding and never clumsy ... it moves between diverse elements with skill and power. The vocals are more whispered/screamed than sung, in general. They fit the music perfectly, though. Excellent work of extended progressive gothic "opera," for want of a better term. Devil Doll excel at creating atmosphere with very sparse instrumentation ... Mr. Doctor, the enigmatic and unidentified band leader, employs his idiosyncratic vocal style to add to this. I'd wholeheartedly endorse the view that Devil Doll are amongst the world's finest progressive acts of the '90s.”

To this I would only add that it could be argued that Devil Doll is one of the finest prog acts of all time—they’re that good. Also, note that several members of Devil Doll, including Mr. Doctor and the entire Devil Chorus, are native to Slovenia (formerly part of Yugoslavia). Here’s what Brandon Wu had to say about Dies Irae in his review for the Ground and Sky website:

“By this release, Devil Doll's music has begun to follow a pretty simple formula: orchestral and/or world-music influenced passages contrast sharply with piano-led passages that feature the sinister, bizarrely twisted voice of "Mr. Doctor", the band's mastermind. Fortunately, Dies Irae improves upon this formula enough to avoid being boring and unoriginal. The sound on this disc is massive, as the band is at times backed by a full orchestra that adds enormously to the atmosphere. Pounding strings contrast with grand synth and organ washes and the occasional burning lead guitar; needless to say, I think the instrumental portions of this release top any of Devil Doll's previous instrumental compositions. The vocal sections are also better, as Mr. Doctor's insane vocal style has been perfected by this time, and the instrumental background supporting him is more varied and interesting than the simple piano work that used to be all that accompanied him. For those of you that haven't heard Devil Doll, Mr. Doctor does not "sing"; rather, he screeches, moans, mumbles, screams, warbles, and vocalizes in every possible way that isn't "normal". The end result is something that only personal taste can judge - some love it, some think it's just a cheesy gimmick. I think it's fantastic, and though this music is definitely over-the-top in terms of "darkness", it's still great stuff. Though the middle section of this piece is somewhat fragmented, I think it's intentional, and that's about my only complaint about the whole thing. For newcomers, this is the Devil Doll album I'd recommend as a starting point - uniquely dark symphonic music; description doesn't do it justice.” Released in 1996 on Hurdy Gurdy Records, the cover is in E- condition and the record is in VG condition. Note that I am listing this with NO RESERVE!

Winner pays postage (in the U.S., this would be about $4 for one LP sent by Media Mail). Package insured upon request. Winners outside of the U.S. will be notified of postal fees, but an approximate cost for one LP to many countries is $14.50 by airmail. If you bid on and win more than one item, you WILL save on postage! Note: I do not gouge on postage and packaging costs. Record will be carefully packaged in a strong LP mailer. In addition to money orders and checks, I also accept PayPal. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me. E-mail: david.o@jjldj.com. For other rare and collectable progressive, psychedelic rock and related items, click on the “view seller’s other auctions” button above.