Death's Design

The 2001 Fourth And Final Chapter Of The Diabolical Masquerade Saga, From The Creative Mind Of Katatonia’s Anders Nystrom

From Katatonia mastermind Anders ‘Blakkheim’ Nystr m, Peaceville presents the fourth and final album from his symphonic extreme metal solo-project, Dia- bolical Masquerade, which launched onto the scene in 1996 with the release of debut album ‘Ravendusk in My Heart’.

‘Death’s Design’ was first released in 2001 when it was speculated that the album was originally to appear as an actual movie soundtrack before the film was unfortunately cancelled. Past guest musician Dan Swan featured alongside Blakkheim as a more prominent and involved contributor to this black metal horror soundtrack.

The album is draped in dark atmosphere courtesy of the synth and sound ef- fects throughout and taken even further with the inclusion of the Maalten quartet (Estonia), making for a more orchestral and epic experience, mixed with black and traditional metal influences. The album consists of 61 seam- lessly flowing segments, grouped into 20 movements.

‘Death’s Design’ is hailed as a highpoint in the band’s discography, and the pin- nacle of the Diabolical Masquerade saga, before Blakkheim called it a day and disbanded in September 2004. Artwork appears courtesy of Travis Smith.

Nerves In Rush ( 00:06 ) / Death Ascends - The Hunt ( Part 1 ) ( 00:16 ) / You Can’t Hide Forever ( 00:24 ) / Right On Time For Murder - The Hunt ( Part 2 ) ( 01:31 ) / Conscious In No Materia ( 00:40 ) / A Different Plane ( 00:21 ) / Invisible To Us ( 00:41 ) / The One Who Hides A Face Inside ( 01:09 ) / ...And Don’t Ever Listen To What It Says ( 00:57 ) / Revelation Of The Puzzle ( 00:57 ) / Human Prophecy ( 00:20 ) / Where The Suffering Leads ( 00:19 ) / The Remains Of Galactic Expulsions ( 00:12 ) / With Panic In The Heart ( 00:22 ) / Out From The Dark ( 00:46 ) / Still Coming At You ( 00:29 ) / Out From A Deeper Dark ( 00:28 ) / Spinning Back The Clocks ( 01:42 ) / Soaring Over Dead Rooms ( 02:19 ) / The Enemy Is The Earth ( 00:35 ) / Recall ( 00:14 ) / All Exits Blocked ( 00:35 ) / The Memory Is Weak ( 00:11 ) / Struck At Random / Outermost Fear ( 00:20 ) / Sparks Of Childhood Coming Back ( 00:27 ) / Old People’s Voodoo S ance ( 01:25 ) / Mary-Lee Goes Crazy ( 00:32 ) / Something Has Arrived ( 00:15 ) / Possession Of The Voodoo Party ( 00:46 ) / Not Of Flesh, Not Of Blood ( 00:50 ) / Intact With A Human Psyche ( 01:02 ) / Keeping Faith ( 01:07 ) / Someone Knows What Scares You ( 00:30 ) / A Bad Case Of Nerves ( 00:50 ) / The In- verted Dream / No Sleep In Peace ( 00:16 ) / Information ( 00:17 ) / Setting The Course ( 00:52 ) / Ghost Inhabitants ( 00:50 ) / Fleeing From Town ( 01:02 ) / Overlooked Parts ( 00:50 ) / A New Spark - Victory Theme ( Part 1 ) ( 00:49 ) / Hope - Victory Theme ( Part 2 ) ( 01:01 ) / Family Portraits - Victory Theme ( Part 3 ) ( 00:36 ) / Smokes Starts To Churn ( 00:08 ) / Hesitant Behavour ( 01:35 ) / A Hurricane Of Rotten Air ( 00:19 ) / Mastering The Clock ( 00:55 ) / They Come, You Go ( 02:11 ) / Haarad El Chamon ( 00:29 ) / The Egyptian Resort ( 00:35 ) / The Pyramid ( 00:24 ) / Frenzy Moods & Other Oddities ( 01:10 ) / Still Part Of The Design - The Hunt ( Part 3 ) ( 00:18 ) / Definite Departure ( 00:37 ) / Returning To Haarad El Chamon ( 00:45 ) / Life Eater ( 00:32 ) / The Pulze ( 00:27 ) / The Defiled Feeds ( 00:36 ) / The River In Space ( 00:56 ) / A Soulflight Back To Life ( 01:18 ) / Instant Rebirth - Alternate Ending ( 00:06 )