The band’s sound has been categorized as gothic rock, dark metal and even something called love metal (whatever that is). Enter Alex Crescioni and Diminished 7. Born in 2007 as the result of a side project in the back of his mind while involved with the bands Crushing Skulls and Reciprocal, Diminished 7 has been grouped into the same genre with bands such as HIM and Type O Negative. To some this could be huge praise, to others a huge turn off. Unfortunately for myself, it was mostly the latter.

Diminished 7′s debut album Dim World opens up with the track “Your Warmth From A Candle”, which features Halloween-esque keyboards, haunting vocals and a fairly simple arrangement. All of this is accompanied by Alex’s crooning vocals and a memorable chorus that makes the track. This was a nice opener for the album and it really grew on me. The song also features a nice guitar breakdown and has an overall haunting appeal (which seems to be the theme for this album as a whole).

“Gothic” is a term and genre that applies very well to Dim World. Each song is like the chronicles of a vampire, which I found to be a bit cliché in both the presentation and the lyrics themselves. With song titles like “Taste A Vampire” and “Her Bloodlust At Sunset” would anyone be wrong to assume the same thing at first glance? The lyrics follow suite as well. It’s nothing new and I felt like the album’s sound and concept were a bit dated. While running through the album a few times I felt like I was waiting for things to peak and really wow me, but unfortunately that moment never arrived and I felt underwhelmed. The album has a few shining moments that I got into but I was never blown away. It’s very slow and there are a moments where the initial introduction to a song holds a steady tempo and feel, only to drop off and break down into darkness and atmosphere. This left me in the dark.

The rhythm section on the album offers nothing to write home about either. With songs like “Taste A Vampire” and “In Fear of The End of Days” the bass drum rarely deviates from the standard steady double pound that seems to drone on through the songs more than it should. Where there could’ve been some subtle drum fills and diversity, these songs take the easy road and only end up delivering repetition and lack of inspiration.

On the bright side (or dark side?), the album’s overall sound offers some nice atmospheric moments and paints the dark pictures that I think Alex intended them to. The track “She Lost Her Heart In Hollywood” offers up a catchy chorus and seems to be one of Diminished 7′s more popular tracks. “Our Darkest Love” steps away from the keyboard that you hear on the first few tracks and offers up a music box sound that was reminiscent of something out of a Saw movie. This is another track on the album that I think should be recognized. It should also be noted that Alex plays a 7 string guitar but I wish the album would showcase this more.

Being mentioned alongside bands like HIM and Type O Negative, I think Diminished 7′s debut album will get a lot of airplay and praise from fans of the aforementioned. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get into the album and felt really underwhelmed by it. The theme introduces nothing new and the album droned on and never strayed from the safe zone. Regardless, the album remains in my playlist and although it offers a lot of cliché lyrics and concepts, there are a few tracks that will grow on you. Don’t expect the album to blow you away or introduce any sort of notable innovation.

2.5/5