Description
THE SECOND STUDIO OPUS OF METICULOUSLY CRAFTED EPIC BLACK METAL FROM KATATONIA’S ANDERS NYSTRÖM
Diabolical Masquerade was the solo-project created by Katatonia mastermind Anders ‘Blackheim’ Nyström in 1996, to let off more creative steam away from the gothic/doom metal styling of his main band, Katatonia. ‘The Phantom Lodge’ was the second of four albums from this symphonic extreme metal solo-project (before the band was ended in September 2004), and was originally released in 1997.
Diabolical Masquerade was based primarily around symphonic/melodic black metal. Strong atmospheres were created through layered guitar and keyboards (and notably, flute, on this album), and Blackheim’s compositions contained more up tempo and extreme elements than those of Katatonia, with cold, dark riffs with a firm emphasis on mood, given life with strong fantasy-based lyrics.
‘The Phantom Lodge’ was a natural progression from debut album ‘Ravendusk in my Heart’; delving further into the realm of experimentation of ideas and atmospherics. The album was recorded at Unisound, September 1996 and was produced and mixed by Dan Swano (Opeth, Marduk, Dissection) and Blackheim.
