Pandora's Piñata
| Pandora's Piñata | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Diablo Swing Orchestra | ||||
| Released |
May 14, 2012 (Europe) May 22, 2012 (North America) | |||
| Genre | Avant-garde metal, progressive metal, swing revival, symphonic metal | |||
| Length | 51:46 | |||
| Label | Candlelight Records | |||
| Producer | Roberto Laghi | |||
| Diablo Swing Orchestra chronology | ||||
| ||||
Pandora's Piñata is the third studio album by Swedish avant-garde metal band Diablo Swing Orchestra. It was released on May 14, 2012 in Europe through Candlelight Records and on May 22, 2012 in North America through Sensory Records.[1]
It is also the first album to feature trombonist Daniel Hedin and trompeter Martin Isaksson as full-time members, with Pandora's Piñata becoming the first album with the band being an octet. It is also the last album with singer AnnLouice Lögdlund, and the only album to feature Petter Karlsson on drums; he left the band prior to the release in 2011, to focus on his new project Holocoaster.
The band's first single, "Voodoo Mon Amour", was released prior to the release. An official video for "Black Box Messiah" was also released. All songs are credited to Diablo Swing Orchestra.
Reception
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| About.com |   [2] |
| Allmusic |  [3] |
| Dangerdog.com | [4] |
| Heavy Blog... Is Heavy | [5] |
| Lords of Metal | [6] |
| Metal Blast | [7] |
| Metalunderground.com | [8] |
| Rock n Reel Reviews | [9] |
| Sputnikmusic | [10] |
Pandora's Piñata was acclaimed by critics. Sputnikmusic gave the album a "superb" rating of 4.5 out of 5 (same as the two previous albums), calling it "A sprawling tour de force that moves seamlessly between metallic technicality and full-throttle symphonic grandeur". Heavy Blog... Is Heavy gave Pandora's Pinata the maximum rating, praising "the variation that this album provides" and stating "No track sounds the same, because each track shows off a different side of DSO".
About.com called it "Wickedly catchy, breathtakingly original and downright good clean". Dangerdog.com stated "Pandora's Pinata is immensely creative and devastatingly entertaining", and gave the album a 5 out of 5.
On a less positive review, Metalunderground.com stated that the band "Continues their off-beat avant-garde metal style, fantastic female vocals, oozes creativity", but criticized the "Lack of prominent male/female vocal interplay, not as heavy or catchy as their last album". The reviewer gave to the album a rating of 3.5 out of 5, stating "Slightly less compelling than their previous albums, but still a rousing interpretation of avant-garde metal".
Track listing
All songs written and composed by Diablo Swing Orchestra.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Voodoo Mon Amour" | 4:31 |
| 2. | "Guerrilla Laments" | 4:55 |
| 3. | "Kevlar Sweethearts" | 4:24 |
| 4. | "How to Organize a Lynch Mob" | 0:53 |
| 5. | "Black Box Messiah" | 2:57 |
| 6. | "Exit Strategy of a Wrecking Ball" | 6:01 |
| 7. | "Aurora" | 5:05 |
| 8. | "Mass Rapture" | 6:03 |
| 9. | "Honey Trap Aftermath" | 4:15 |
| 10. | "Of Kali ma Calibre" | 4:25 |
| 11. | "Justice for Saint Mary" | 8:17 |
Personnel
Band members
- Daniel Håkansson – lead vocals, guitar
- Annlouice Loegdlund – lead vocals
- Pontus Mantefors – vocals, guitar, synthesizer, FX
- Anders Johansson – bass
- Johannes Bergion – cello, backing vocals
- Daniel Hedin – trombone, backing vocals
- Martin Isaksson – trumpet, backing vocals
- Petter Karlsson – drums, percussion
Session musicians
- Diana Lewtak – violin
- Erika Risinger – violin, viola
- Emilia Wareborn – viola
- Michael Carlqvist – double bass
- Elisabeth Jansson – horns
- Wictor Lind – timpani, percussion
- Anna Melander – flute
- Oskar Reuter – mandolin
- Lucy Rugman – clarinet
- Ekaterina Skidanova – oboe
Production
- Roberto Laghi – production, engineering
- Pontus Mantefors – engineering
- Peter Bergting – cover art
- Anders Johansson – artwork