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Thread: Devil Doll - Any Fans?

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    Recently Resurrected zombywoof's Avatar
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    Devil Doll - Any Fans?

    Hi everyone -

    I was able to grab a few Devil Doll albums recently, Girl Who Was Death, Eliogabalus, and Sacrilegium ... any fans here?

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    Moderator Sean's Avatar
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    DD was one of the first Non Big 5 groups discussed here. Championed by one Mr Suppers_Ready_101. Wild stuff in the best way!

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    Estimated Prophet notallwhowander's Avatar
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    I tried The Girl Who Was... Death!, and it didn't stick for me. I could hear the fun, but it wasn't where my interest lay.
    Wake up to find out that you are the eyes of the world.

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    Recently Resurrected zombywoof's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sean View Post
    DD was one of the first Non Big 5 groups discussed here. Championed by one Mr Suppers_Ready_101. Wild stuff in the best way!
    Oh it's insane and theatrical. I didn't care for it at first, but something about the atmosphere and mystery draws you in ... sort of like The Residents. I understand it's rather difficult to come by nowadays, so I'm curious to see what other PE-ers think of it.

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    Recently Resurrected zombywoof's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by notallwhowander View Post
    I tried The Girl Who Was... Death!, and it didn't stick for me. I could hear the fun, but it wasn't where my interest lay.
    Eliogabalus is more my bag. Two 20 minute tracks.
    Last edited by zombywoof; 09-13-2015 at 01:54 PM.

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    Moderator Sean's Avatar
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    Supper was the first one go "Gee, are you just gonna talk about Yes and Genesis forever? You need Devil Doll! You need _______" and he was right. I don't wanna say he spearheaded the widening of our scope exactly, but he opened the door and said "there's A LOT more out there in this vein- DIG!".

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    Quote Originally Posted by zombywoof View Post
    Eliogabalus is more by bag. Two 20 minute tracks.
    That's the one I have which I bought about 15 years ago and still have it. So I guess that means it's ok but I was never thrilled with it. I never bought any others. How do the other ones compare to Eliogabalus?

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    Recently Resurrected zombywoof's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sean View Post
    Supper was the first one go "Gee, are you just gonna talk about Yes and Genesis forever? You need Devil Doll! You need _______" and he was right. I don't wanna say he spearheaded the widening of our scope exactly, but he opened the door and said "there's A LOT more out there in this vein- DIG!".
    That's super cool! It is very progressive rock in a non obvious way. I was just surprised to see no one's talked about them lately ... at least not since I've been around. Perhaps it's because the stuff is all OOP.

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    Recently Resurrected zombywoof's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Fracktured View Post
    That's the one I have which I bought about 15 years ago and still have it. So I guess that means it's ok but I was never thrilled with it. I never bought any others. How do the other ones compare to Eliogabalus?
    I haven't heard the third one yet, but I like Eliogabalus better than Girl, because it's two very different tracks instead of one 40 minute piece of music. Again, I need to hear them both to give a proper appraisal. I also found Eliogabalus to scratch that 'creepy music' itch I was looking for. Part of my reasoning for exploring this stuff is that I do Halloween shows every year and people always request them.

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    I don't know much about these guys (or guy), other than:

    - Their (his?) "legend" is quite elaborate, the facts about them (him?) are quite obscure, and this created image could be described as a significant portion of their (his?) creative output.

    - They have (He has?) been likened by some to SGM - although the fact that Supp liked Devil Doll and didn't like SGM might argue against that. Of course, the time he saw SGM at NF, Supp was probably badly hungover and short on sleep. Plus, if you knew anything about Supp, you didn't expect him to be consistent, logical, or even terribly rational.

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    Recently Resurrected zombywoof's Avatar
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    SGM is an interesting connection. Wonder if Nils knows them / likes them?

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    I used to own two DD CDs (Sacrilegium and The Girl...), but soon found out that I didn't really have time for them. Too inconsistently "meta-theatrical", not enough compositional meat on the bone, quite simply a tad overly cheezy - for MY tastes. I had the exact same reaction with French band Evidence, who released an intriguing and sometimes even interesting album on the now semi-mythical Ad Perpetuam Memoriam label; industrial, theatrical large-scale narratives somewhat merging Peter Hammill and Einstürzende Neubauten, but altogether just a bit too patchy and ambitious. There's an Italian act nowadays as well, Nichelodeon, who deal in some of the same modes and approaches and whose music I find almost equally uneven; some of it is outright brilliant, some just doesn't talk to me at all.

    SGM, to my ears, were far more aesthetically and artistically coherent and mighty.
    "Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
    "[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM

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    Member TheH's Avatar
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    I bought Sacrilegium just 'cause of all the fuss made about this band...

    Although I can't say it's bad it gets somewhat boring after repeat spins. I never felt like
    having to buy more of that stuff.

    All in all it doesn't live up to all the myth ranking about that band.

    I like the connection to Nichelodeon who I think made one facinating album (the first one) but I found
    I didn't really need more of that stuff.

    P.S.

    By the way . Considering all the stories around these release, like how few where made and most of those destroyed
    Mr. Doctor himself and so on..

    You can find all these Albums very easily for normall prices...

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    Member moecurlythanu's Avatar
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    I bought all of the Devil Doll CDs from the Laser's Edge as they came out. Ken's initial description was enough to sell me, and they remain one of my favorite bands from the 90s. I'd rate Eliogabalus and The Girl Who Was Death as their best, but yeah, big fan here. Probably not for everyone though.

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    Member moecurlythanu's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Baribrotzer View Post
    I don't know much about these guys (or guy), other than:

    - Their (his?) "legend" is quite elaborate, the facts about them (him?) are quite obscure, and this created image could be described as a significant portion of their (his?) creative output.

    - They have (He has?) been likened by some to SGM - although the fact that Supp liked Devil Doll and didn't like SGM might argue against that. Of course, the time he saw SGM at NF, Supp was probably badly hungover and short on sleep. Plus, if you knew anything about Supp, you didn't expect him to be consistent, logical, or even terribly rational.
    The creative force behind Devil Doll was Italian Mario Panciera, whose father was a well-to-do businessman in Venice. He found musicians to realize his vision in Slovenia, which is why Devil Doll is sometimes called a Slovenian band, but afaik, most of the musicians were players, rather than writers. Panciera, aka Mr. Doctor, was the one whose vision gave rise to the DD albums. However, I am not certain that he was the only creative force of the band's sound. Their studio burned down during the recording of Dies Irae, resulting in the destruction of the master tapes. Everything had to be re-recorded, and that album turned out to be their swan song. I don't know if the fire took the wind out of his sails, but afaik, he has not recorded anything since that album. He did write a reference book for Punk Rock singles collectors called 45 Revolutions which is reportedly thorough and well regarded. Devil Doll has gained a certain amount of cachet over the years among Prog-Rock fans, Goth Rock fans, and even some Metal fans. There are enough people that comprise the fan base that a reunion/resurrection would likely be successful. Whether that will ever happen is anyone's guess.

    I don't think they sound like SGM much at all. I loved SGM live, but bought their first CD, and don't rate it much. I much prefer Devil Doll.

    http://www.devildoll.nl/index3.html

    https://www.facebook.com/MarioPanciera

  16. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by moecurlythanu View Post
    I loved SGM live, but bought their first CD, and don't rate it much. I much prefer Devil Doll.
    The debut SGM was the way weakest of their three studio efforts. I'd urge you to perhaps still have a go at Of Natural History, as it's a bonafide landmark record in contemporary progressive rock music - and not only IMHO.
    "Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
    "[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM

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    Member moecurlythanu's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Scrotum Scissor View Post
    The debut SGM was the way weakest of their three studio efforts. I'd urge you to perhaps still have a go at Of Natural History, as it's a bonafide landmark record in contemporary progressive rock music - and not only IMHO.
    Noted. I'll pick it up at some point. Like I said, I loved them live on that tour they did with Faun Fables and the Dresden Dolls. That was one hell of a triple bill.

  18. #18
    I remember digging Girl but it didn't stick with me. High time to give those last two albums another listen...

  19. #19
    Can’t stand them. They strike me as a very contrived effort to sound EVIL and GOTHIC and THEATRICAL!

    And since someone mentioned SGM, that’s basically the same vibe I get from them. Well, with them, it’s more a very contrived effort to be QUIRKY and WEIRD and POST-MODERN! Both of ’em strike me as extremely phony and artificial. All style and no substance.
    Confirmed Bachelors: the dramedy hit of 1883...

  20. #20
    I don't know that DD ever considered them(him)self any more evil than Black Sabbath

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    Recently Resurrected zombywoof's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Progbear View Post
    Can’t stand them. They strike me as a very contrived effort to sound EVIL and GOTHIC and THEATRICAL!

    And since someone mentioned SGM, that’s basically the same vibe I get from them. Well, with them, it’s more a very contrived effort to be QUIRKY and WEIRD and POST-MODERN! Both of ’em strike me as extremely phony and artificial. All style and no substance.
    THANKS for SHARING.

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    Member moecurlythanu's Avatar
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    They always struck me as a distillation of a horror movie. They never seemed to me to be adopting a Satanic or evil image like countless Heavy Metal bands.

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    I have them all (except of course the 1st album, "Mark of the Beast" which has only a single copy) and love them to death. If you mixed Peter Hammill with 1950's horror movies, you might get something very close to Devil Doll. My fave is Eliogabalus, it was my 1st DD album and I still think it's the strongest of all the albums with very little sound effects and unnacompanied instrument passages. Wonderfully disturbing.

    "Life is a state of mind" - Mr Doctor
    Check out my solo project prog band, Mutiny in Jonestown at https://mutinyinjonestown.bandcamp.com/

    Check out my solo project progressive doom metal band, WytchCrypt at https://wytchcrypt.bandcamp.com/


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    Member saatuk's Avatar
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    Put me down as another fan. I have Dies Irae and Eliogabalus and quite enjoy both, although if I HAD to choose, I'd choose Eliogabalus. As Progbear said they're evil, gothic and theatrical and that's why I like them, and apparently why he doesn't. If Mr Doctor put out another album I'd buy it.
    There's nowt so queer as folk

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    Member thedunno's Avatar
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    I love Devil Doll although I admit I haven't played this stuff in a while. The vocals are certainly an acquired taste. Golem as the lead singer of a prog band is something you have to get used to ;-)

    My favourites are Dies Irae and Eliogabalus.

    I used to be very sad that they never made an follow up after Dies Irea but in retrospect maybe they've done enough. There isn't much difference between the studio albums stylistically and with the orchestral DI they seemed to have made their final statement.
    Good band. I have to dig their CDs up again!

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