History & Biography Diabolical Masquerade was the dark metal solo project of Blackheim. He was often
helped by musician and producer Dan Swanö on vocals or with production. Death's Design was the soundtrack to a horror movie, yet the movie was pulled due to similarities with another film. This claim was later called into question. The band and label went ahead and released the audio CD anyway.
Profound Lore Records announced a vinyl release of the debut album, Ravendusk In My Heart in late 2004. That was also the year the act folded after nine years of existence. That did not stop the man from churning out merchandise and food items for sale decades later.
Reviews DIABOLICAL MASQUERADE - THE PHANTOM LODGE - ADIPOCERE
Some albums grow on you, while others seem to lose their appeal following several listens. The Phantom Lodge, the follow-up to 1995's Ravendusk In My Heart is of the former category. During the first few listens, the new album of Blackheim (also of Bewitched and Katatonia) failed to generate a reaction beyond indifference. However and having stuck with it, more and more of the album's qualities have become apparent. The album is still nothing extraordinary or revolutionary, featuring a mix of heavy and speed metal with hints of Celtic Frost (mainly the guitar sound), epic-era Bathory and the faster black metal bands. Yet, Blackheim has clearly both written and played the album - and I mean written and played. There is little here that sounds trite or mediocre. A statement which when mixed with the former opinion regarding a lack of distinctive highlight on this album forms a description of The Phantom Lodge. - Ali "The Metallian"
DIABOLICAL MASQUERADE - DEATH'S DESIGN - AVANTGARDE/OLYMPIC
Since there is no biography or information given and one finds little motivation to investigate further, the following is slightly speculative. Featuring 61 songs in 20 movements Death's Design is the soundtrack to the movie of the same name. The movie was never released which renders the CD the world's only connection to it. Most of the work is done by Blakkheim who's received some assistance from Dan Swano. The effort made in creating this CD is commendable and probably very appropriate for the film. The sound is good and many moods are delicately invoked. What leaves a metal fan such as myself in the lurch however is the avantgarde and artsy nature of the music here. It's all over the place and often finds keyboards et all dominate the proceedings. - Ali "The Metallian"
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