Devil Doll Thread v. You've never heard anything like this

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

So, I know there are at least two other Devil Doll fans here, those being ColdfireYYZ and Rhayader. Anyone else here heard of this group?

If not, I'll try and tell you a bit about them. The band was formed in 1987 by vocalist and band-mastermind Mario Panciera, who at the time only went by the title of "Mr. Doctor". Initially, two line-ups were formed, one in Italy and the other in Yugoslavia. According to rumor, the first Devil Doll album The Mark Of The Beast was recorded in 1988 (I haven't found anything indicating which lineup was involved) and only a single copy was pressed. (ooh, kvlt)

Following this, the two lineups were merged (if memory serves, this coincided with the collapse of Yugoslavia, where  I believe Mr. Doctor had maintained a residence, though I could be wrong about that) and the next album The Girl Who Was... Death was recorded. 500 copies were pressed, 150 of which were given out at the second live performance of the album (the first took place before the pressing of the album). Mr. Doctor then returned home and destroyed the remaining 350 copies.

Between 1991 and 1996, Devil Doll recorded four more albums, Eliogabalus, Sacrilegium, The Sacrilege Of Fatal Arms and Dies Irae.

Devil Doll never officially disbanded, but nothing has been released since Dies Irae. In a 2008 interview for the Japanese re-release box set, Mr. Doctor said that he still writes and records Devil Doll music, but has no interest in releasing it.


Now, for those of you who read this, you may be wondering, "Well, what do they sound like?" and that's a bit hard to describe. The band draws more influence from classical music than any rock or metal, though those elements are there. every song the band has recorded has been 20 minutes or longer (that should make some prog fans happy. ) The band typically incorporated piano, violin, pipe organ as well as the more conventional rock/metal instruments. The really different part, though, are the vocals.

Where to start with those? Mr. Doctor used a style called, "Sprechgesang" which means something to the effect of "spoken singing", and there's no precise definition for it, the term having been used for several different types of singing. In Mr. Doctor's case, it involved talking, singing, stuttering, shrieking, groaning or mumbling as was needed. He has said that he saw his voice more as an instrument than anything else.

So, I've spent a lot of time typing this out. Hopefully a few of you will enjoy reading it, maybe even check out Devil Doll for yourself. It's not for everyone, but I'd recommend you at least give it a chance.  

So, Devil Doll fans, show yourselves! Make this thread a success!

[ColdFireYYZ]

Nice writeup! 

Just put on "The Girl Who Was... Death". Great stuff!

Too bad they probably won't ever release more albums. It would be interesting to hear what Mr. Doctor has come up with over the years.

[LieLowTheWantedMan]

Another fan reporting in! They're a great band to listen to whenever I'm in one of my weird moods.

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

Nice writeup! 

Just put on "The Girl Who Was... Death". Great stuff!

Too bad they probably won't ever release more albums. It would be interesting to hear what Mr. Doctor has come up with over the years.

Yeah, I do wish he would release something. If he has actually been recording something, I'd love to hear it.

Have you heard Eliogabalus yet, btw? I don't think it's as strong as The Girl... or Dies Irae, but it's still really really good. Plus, it's the only Devil Doll release with more than one song.


Ah, just remembered I meant to work something in about his nickname "The Man Of A Thousand Voices". Ah well.

Another fan reporting in! They're a great band to listen to whenever I'm in one of my weird moods.

Awesome!!

[ColdFireYYZ]

Have you heard Eliogabalus yet, btw? I don't think it's as strong as The Girl... or Dies Irae, but it's still really really good. Plus, it's the only Devil Doll release with more than one song.

I've heard all of them except for The Sacrilege of Fatal Arms (and the first album, obviously). I like Eliogabalus a lot.

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

Well, the Sacrilege Of Fatal Arms is basically just Sacrilegium changed up a bit with some extra sections. Pretty cool, but not essential listening by any means.

[ColdFireYYZ]

Well, the Sacrilege Of Fatal Arms is basically just Sacrilegium changed up a bit with some extra sections. Pretty cool, but not essential listening by any means.

So I guess I'm not missing much! I'll eventually get around to listening to it though.

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

Yeah, it's definitely worth listening to at some point.

I'd really recommend you get one of the re-issued box sets. There's still at least two on ebay, though I don't know how long they'll last.

Be warned, though, they don't come in jewel cases. Kind of pissed me off.        But then I got over it.

[ColdFireYYZ]

I'd really recommend you get one of the re-issued box sets. There's still at least two on ebay, though I don't know how long they'll last.

I would love to but it's way too expensive. I really can't afford to drop $400 right now, especially since I'm starting college in a week.

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

I feel you there, man. Since I quit my job my CD buying has dropped off dramatically.

[bundy]

I haven't posted on these forums for a quite a while now as only really have time to check in and read/ keep up to date with threads.... However this thread has made me finally get off my arse and pound the keyboard.

DEVILDOLL ARE AMAZING!!!

One of my all-time top 5 favourite bands since I first bought Dies Irae back in 1999. If and when I ever do my top 50 albums and allow myself to select multiple albums by the same artist, Dies Irae, The Girl Who Was Death and Eliogabulus would all be in my top 10. I could honestly write pages about this band and their music.

@ fellow fans - Have any of you ever checked out The Prisoner which was a huge influence/inspiration for Mr Dr ( The Girl Who Was Death, is in fact the title of an episode of The Prisoner)? Likewise German expressionist cinema from the 20s and 30s which was also a major inspiration?

For those of you not familiar with  DD, take the time to check them out, preferably with a good set of headphones, as the sound quality and production is almost 3 dimensional (if that makes any sense). I recommend starting with tracks 1-10 of Dies Irae  or the first 10 minutes of The Girl Who Was Death.

[Destiny Of Chaos]

Picked up The Sacrilege Of Fatal Arms last year. I love it, and have some more exploring to do.

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

Awesome, both of you.

I've been meaning to check out The Prisoner, but I've haven't gotten around to it yet.

[ColdFireYYZ]

Likewise German expressionist cinema from the 20s and 30s which was also a major inspiration?

I haven't, but I just read a bit about it on Wikipedia. Sounds really interesting, even though I'm not a huge horror fan. Apparently most of the films are in the public domain and are available to download from Archive.org so I'll be sure to watch a few!

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

Listening to The Girl Who Was... Death. Still their best, in my opinion.

[bout to crash]

I tried listening to Dies Irae after this thread piqued my interest, but meh. I like weird, and there were some pretty cool moments, but I couldn't see myself listening to it very much.

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

I wouldn't recommend Dies Irae as a starting point. Eliogabalus or The Girl Who Was.. Death are much better, in my opinion.

[Train of Naught]

Yo guys. Want to again thank Shadow Ninja for introducing me to Devil Doll, this is one of the most unique bands I have heard in recent times and the story behind it makes it even more mysterious and sinister.

But my question: Does anyone have sources for background information of the band and Mario Panciera, and maybe some sources on lyrical breakdowns or anything similar? I'd love to know more about the band but since they are so weird there's not much talk about them on the internet and I have a hard time finding anything that's not in Italian and is not Wikipedia. The Wikipedia pages are most likely singlehandedly set up by some fans as well and there are no sources to back them up. Particularly interested in The Girl Who Was... Death and Eliogabalus but anything else would be great too.

[seasonsinthesky]

Yo guys. Want to again thank Shadow Ninja for introducing me to Devil Doll, this is one of the most unique bands I have heard in recent times and the story behind it makes it even more mysterious and sinister.

But my question: Does anyone have sources for background information of the band and Mario Panciera, and maybe some sources on lyrical breakdowns or anything similar? I'd love to know more about the band but since they are so weird there's not much talk about them on the internet and I have a hard time finding anything that's not in Italian and is not Wikipedia. The Wikipedia pages are most likely singlehandedly set up by some fans as well and there are no sources to back them up. Particularly interested in The Girl Who Was... Death and Eliogabalus but anything else would be great too.

The website is pretty much the best resource we have.

[ChuckSteak]

One more old fan here.

[Train of Naught]

Yo guys. Want to again thank Shadow Ninja for introducing me to Devil Doll, this is one of the most unique bands I have heard in recent times and the story behind it makes it even more mysterious and sinister.

But my question: Does anyone have sources for background information of the band and Mario Panciera, and maybe some sources on lyrical breakdowns or anything similar? I'd love to know more about the band but since they are so weird there's not much talk about them on the internet and I have a hard time finding anything that's not in Italian and is not Wikipedia. The Wikipedia pages are most likely singlehandedly set up by some fans as well and there are no sources to back them up. Particularly interested in The Girl Who Was... Death and Eliogabalus but anything else would be great too.

The website is pretty much the best resource we have.

Awesome, thanks!

[CDrice]

You should do covers of this

Never heard this band before, but that was awesome 

Hey Shadow Ninja check this out, I got someone to enjoy a Devil Doll song

And that is the story on how I discovered this band 

So thank you Train of Naught even though I feel like you were trying to mock me

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

Hey, it's really cool to see other people enjoying this band!

[Train of Naught]

You should do covers of this

Never heard this band before, but that was awesome 

Hey Shadow Ninja check this out, I got someone to enjoy a Devil Doll song

And that is the story on how I discovered this band 

So thank you Train of Naught even though I feel like you were trying to mock me

partially, but you can't expect everyone to take your attempts in the DT singing game seriously to be honest