Style: Progressive Metal (clean vocals)
Review by: Will
Country: US-IN
Release date: 22 October, 2021
Can source material for a prog album get any proggier than The Divine Comedy? This monumental work of theology, myth, and bald-faced character assassination is long, varied, and features multiple characters including angels, demons, and worse: philosophers. It has served as the source of inspiration for a multitude of writers, musicians, artists, graphic novelists and makers of aggressively generic video games. Now, with his album Dante’s Inferno, Part I, Zych gives us a fresh and much more detailed musical take on the 14th Century text.
The Divine Comedy exists in three main parts which follow author-insert protagonist Dante Alighieri as he embarks on a guided tour of the 14th Century Catholic conception of the afterlife: He journeys through Inferno (Hell), Purgatorio (Purgatory), and, finally, Paradiso (Heaven). In Inferno, Dante is guided by Roman poet Virgil through the various circles of Hell; with each circle dedicated to those who have fallen into sin (lust, greed, pride, gluttony, sloth, envy and wrath) and we follow Dante as he observes the different and exciting torments for the sinners trapped therein.
To embark on making a musical interpretation of Dante’s Inferno must be a daunting task. It is a path trod by giants: Iced Earth, Septicflesh, Blind Guardian, Symphony X and Hans Liszt have all made excellent tracks or albums based on the text. Zych needs to create an interesting album based on the text that manages to stand apart from fierce competition. And he achieves this in style.
Zych manages to make his work stand apart from the others in one important regard: taking his time with it. Dante’s Inferno Pt I only takes us through half of the book. We follow Dante as he stands at the crossroads of his life, then on his trip through the gates of Hell, then onwards through the first five of the nine circles of hell. We visit Limbo and then the circles dedicated to the lustful, gluttonous, greedy and wrathful souls. The approach of breaking the book in half gives Zych critical time to enjoy the epic poem. There’s time in the album to let each song breathe, to set up each circle of hell with a different musical atmosphere, and to allow the different tracks to blend together which helps sell the idea of journeying through hell better than if the album had attempted to rush through the entire book in its runtime.
With this extra time to explore each circle of Hell, Zych does an excellent job of making the different circles as distinct as they are in the text. There are some great moments where they bring an aspect of that circle of hell to life in music. “Limbo” opens with a slow, plodding, 2/2 time demented polka which mirrors the plodding footsteps of Dante’s much admired ”virtuous pagans” (all of whom possessing the unfortunate character flaw of not being Christian) as they wander their palace in Limbo, endlessly seeking a truth that is forever denied them, away from the presence of God. In “Lust” the whirlwind of notes imitates the driving winds that buffet and blow (ahem) the lustful around in a hurricane, keeping them forever apart.
In bringing Dante’s Inferno to aural life, Zych enlists the services of a mesmerising nineteen extra musicians in this album in a Ayreon-esque epic musical collaboration. The range of talents and instruments available makes Dante’s Inferno Pt. I a project of epic range. Despite the huge number of musical components to the album, Zych has managed to write, arrange and mix the album beautifully, allowing the instruments to shine without becoming crowded in the ensemble.
As his first album, there are definitely moments where Zych sounds more like his influences than himself. Some bits sound very Haken-esque and then, as if a switch has been flipped, everything is suddenly very Dream Theater, Symphony X or Ayreon. However, this didn’t ultimately break the overall immersion of the album. Zych manages to use the sounds of his influences in a manner that adds to the album rather than making the listener want to go away and listen to Underworld.
Dante’s Inferno Pt 1. Is an incredibly ambitious undertaking that Zych has executed beautifully. Taking his time to explore the text in more detail than any musician before while bringing a veritable army of musical talent to bear in its undertaking. This Part I album ends with Dante travelling into the city of Dis which houses the sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth circles of hell. Yet to come are the heretical, the violent, the fraudulent, the treacherous and Satan himself and I can’t wait to hear Zych’s interpretation.
Recommended tracks: It’s recommended to experience the whole album in context.
Recommended for fans of: Ayreon, Symphony X, Haken, Dream Theater
You may also like: Maestrick
Final verdict: 9/10
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Official Website | Facebook | Instagram | Metal-Archives page
Label: Metal Assault Records – Bandcamp | Website | Facebook
Zych is: Justin Zych – Guitars, Synths, Bass, Vocals
List of contributing musicians on Dante’s Inferno, Part I:
- Albert Rybka (Acracy, Kategory V) – Vocals
- Ronny Munroe (Ex-Metal Church, Between Worlds) – Vocals
- Ty Christian (Lords of The Trident) – Vocals
- Troy Norr (THEM, Coldsteel) – Vocals
- Patick Parris (Project Roenwolfe) – Vocals
- Zebah Latifi (Zephaniah) – Vocals
- Ed Stephens (Ringworm, Vindicator) – Bass
- Ian Bender (Zephaniah) – Bass
- Paul Kendall (Valhalla) – Piano, synth, guest soloist
- Shaun Cothron (Zephaniah) – Guest Soloist
- Brian Koenig (Lords of the Trident) – Guest soloist
- Kyle Smith (Death On Fire) – Percussion
- Kenny Woods – All Saxophones
- Paul Rowan – All trumpets
- David Cooke – All trombones
- Ilona Orban – All violins
- Derek Reeves – All violas
- Bennett Spickelmier – All Cellos
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