Diablo Royale
Self-Released
Heavy metal soaked in whiskey suits the properly-monikered NYC quintet Diablo Royale best, as their eponymous 10-track introduction to the world provides the generation-spanning hard rock histrionics over rhythmic sludgery formula that cries for stereos to be cranked to the max for total rock immersion.
Wah-wah guitars over catchy yet simple rhythms highlight much of the offering, as the style laid down by this act is reminiscent of bands like Alice in Chains, Down, Brand New Sin, and Godsmack on cuts like “King of Lies”, the menacingly mid-paced “Crank It Up!” and the doomy groove that creeps from “Don’t Mind Me”.
Concocting up a bastardized mix of arena rock, ’80s metal, Southern rock, and grunge, Diablo Royale throw abandon to the wind and come out with all guns blazing on this disc sure to rule the roost at the biker bar down the block for a very long time.
-Mike SOS