''Pacifisticuffs'' is the fourth studio album by Swedish

avant-garde metal Avant-garde metal (also known as avant-metal, experimental metal, art metal and experimetal) is a subgenre of heavy metal music loosely defined by use of experimentation and innovative, avant-garde music, avant-garde elements, including non-stan ...

band

Diablo Swing Orchestra Diablo Swing Orchestra, also shortened DSO, is a Swedish avant-garde metal band formed in 2003. They are known for having an eclectic sound, which fuses swing music with symphonic metal and progressive rock, among other genres. They have releas ...

. It was released on December 8, 2017. It is the first album with singer Kristin Evegård and drummer Johan Norbäck. Recorded between July and October 2016, the album was originally set for a late 2016 release, before mixing issues led to significant delays. It features a reworked version of their 2014 non-album single "Jigsaw Hustle", as well as two new singles, "Knucklehugs" released on November 3, and "The Age of Vulture Culture" released on December 1. In the tradition of the band, ''Pacifisticuffs'' blends various

genres Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other form ...

such as heavy metal,

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

, swing, progressive, and classical; influences such as

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

, bluegrass, schlager,

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

tango Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries from a combination of Arge ...

, and

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

were also noted, as was the transition to the more

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

-like vocals of Evegård from the

operatic Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

style of former singer AnnLouice Lögdlund. The album received very positive reviews from music critics.

Production and recording

The band announced that they started working on their next album on August 16, 2014, at the same time they announced Evegård as their new female singer. Recordings started with producer Roberto Laghi at Gothenburg based Top Floor Studios (together with the studio's engineer Jakob Herrmann) with drums on July 16, 2016, which were done by July 24. Recording of guitars and bass guitar started on August 3, with bass done by September 4. The recording of

brass instrument A brass instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by Sympathetic resonance, sympathetic vibration of air in a tubular resonator in sympathy with the vibration of the player's lips. The term ''labrosone'', from Latin elements meani ...

s started on September 18,

strings String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

on September 19, a five-person

choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

on September 24, and

grand piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

on September 27. Recording of lead vocals started on September 29, and ended on October 9, concluding the main recordings. Mixing was supposed to be done by late October 2016, but technical difficulties led to a delaying of the album's release; the band finally announced completion of mixing and the beginning of the mastering process on January 14, 2017.

Release and promotion

On February 10, 2017, they revealed the title, adding "Say it a hundred times before bed and wake up an even better person." The tracklist was revealed on March 25, and the cover art on April 22. After an originally announced release date of October 2017, the band announced on October 14, 2017, the final release date of December 8. They also announced that two new singles will be released before the album: "Knucklehugs" on November 3 (titled "Knucklehugs (Arm Yourself with Love)" in the album), and "The Age of Vulture Culture" on December 1.

Art and cover

The cover of the album was made by Sebastian Kowoll. Band member Anders Johansson was in charge of the

art direction Art director is a title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, live-action and animated film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to super ...

of the

booklet Booklet may refer to: * A small book or group of pages * A pamphlet * A type of tablet computer * Postage stamp booklet, made up of one or more small panes of postage stamps in a cardboard cover * Liner notes, writings found in booklets which come ...

. According to the band, one of the main visual themes of the album is "gnarly geometry".

Critical reception

The album received very positive reviews from music critics, with most praise going to its blend of different

, uniqueness, and musical performances, particularly from newcomer Kristin Evegård and the

brass section The brass section of the orchestra, concert band, and jazz ensemble consist of brass instruments, and is one of the main sections in all three ensembles. The British brass band, British-style brass band contains only brass and percussion instrume ...

. In a highly positive review, ''Lords of Metal'' called ''Pacifisticuffs'' "a record that’s catchier than anything this band has ever done", and called it "the prog record of the year". ''Antichrist Magazine'' gave a very positive review as well, highly praising Evegård and the album's mix of genres. ''It Djents'' gave the album a rating of 9 out of 10, applauding its songwriting, diversity stating "if you appreciate challenging listens that are made more accessible by the blending of several different genres, masterful writing, impassioned performers, and a lot of heart, you need to hear this". ''Dangerdog.com'' gave the album a rating of 4 out of 5, stating "Diablo Swing Orchestra has peaked in creativity and performance. So much so that, they've become predictable by example, a genre unto themselves that has gone as far as it can go. Nevertheless, if you dig Diablo Swing Orchestra, you will be completely satisfied with ''Pacifisticuffs''". ''Heavy Blog is Heavy'' reviewer Karlo Doroc gave high praise to the mixing,

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stat ...

, songwriting, and instrumental performances. He also raised Evegård, stating "whilst her voice can come across as whiny and somewhat annoying at first, it proves to be an acquired taste and one which is much more suited to the myriad of other styles found on the album. Indeed, the longer the record progresses the more she seems in her element, at home amongst the frenzied madness swirling around her". ''Angry Metal Guy'' called the album "witty, fun and well-written", feeling that the band "always manages to merge between styles with alacrity, demonstrating excellent musicianship and compositional flare". However, he criticized the mixing and mastering of the album, calling it "claustrophobically brickwalled". Despite being displeased with the lack of "spirit of metal" in the album, ''Crom Magazine'' gave a positive review, stating "this is not a release for the pure metalhead, it dares way too much and offers far too little metal. ''Pacifisticuffs'' is a feast for the ears for those who love energetic music that continually pushes boundaries."

Commercial performance

On December 12, 2017, the album was ranked 72nd on

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...

's bestselling list for digital music.

Track listing

¹In order of appearance.

Personnel

Credits adapted from the album's

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or cassette j-cards. Origin Liner notes are descended from the prog ...

. ;Diablo Swing Orchestra * Kristin Evegård –

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

* Daniel Håkansson – lead vocals,

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

s * Pontus Mantefors – guitars,

synthesizer A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and in modern forms is usually made of plastic, where early membranes were made of animal skin. ...

, vocals¹ * Anders Johansson –

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...

* Johannes Bergion –

cello The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

, backing vocals * Martin Isaksson –

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...

, piano, backing vocals * Daniel Hedin –

trombone The trombone (, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's lips vibrate inside a mouthpiece, causing the Standing wave, air c ...

, backing vocals * Johan Norbäck –

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...

, backing vocals ;Production * Roberto Laghi –

, mixing,

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

* Dragan Tanaskovic – mastering * Pontus Mantefors – co-production, co-engineering * Jakob Herrmann – engineering assistance (Top Floor Studio) * Sebastian Kowoll – cover illustration * Anders Johansson –

;Additional musicians * Diana Lewtak -

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

* Yuki Tashiro - violin * Max Wulfson - violin * Nathalie Bertilsson -

viola The viola ( , () ) is a string instrument of the violin family, and is usually bowed when played. Violas are slightly larger than violins, and have a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the ...

* Viktor Turegård -

double bass The double bass (), also known as the upright bass, the acoustic bass, the bull fiddle, or simply the bass, is the largest and lowest-pitched string instrument, chordophone in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding rare additions ...

* Paloma Pinto Viloria -

clarinet The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...

* Kristian Karlstedt -

tuba The tuba (; ) is the largest and lowest-pitched musical instrument in the brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, the sound is produced by lip vibrationa buzzinto a mouthpiece (brass), mouthpiece. It first appeared in th ...

* Michael Osbeck - percussion * Alexander Lövmark - backing vocals * Ellinor Bergion - backing vocals * Lotta Wilk - backing vocals ¹As a singer, Mantefors is only credited for backing vocals; however, he performs male lead vocals parts on several songs, albeit less prominently than Håkansson.

References

{{Authority control Diablo Swing Orchestra albums 2017 albums