There are certain things in life that technically don’t belong together, but they end up working so well in tandem that your mind is blown; like pineapple on pizza (fight me), peanut butter and jelly or, in today’s case, metal and europop. When Luc François, the mind behind this insane project, first told me about the idea, I actively hated it and, if memory serves, I even said that I would not want to write about it. However, once I put on the first song of the album Dyscopia, I knew that I had lost the battle and that EVROCVLT had actually managed to ensnare me.
The concept is as simple as it is stupid: combine metal vocals and songwriting with europop sounds. I repeat: on paper this should end up being the most atrocious thing known to mankind, but the result is so special and outside-the-box that it works perfectly. Another thing of note is that about half of the thirteen songs are (metal) covers and the other half are original songs, with the occasional nod to well-known tracks.
There are a handful of actual real life guitar solos on the record, but other than that the entirety of the fifty-eight minutes of catchy as hell insanity are completely programmed so there is not much that can be said about the instruments.
The vocal parts dabble mostly in the clean department and go very well with the upbeat melodies, but the occasional screams and growls remind you of the fact that this is still a metal record at heart; even if it’s dressed in a pink tutu and adorned with glitter.
All in all, Dyscopia might be the first album either in a very long time or in forever that I actively tried to dislike beforehand, but which managed to convince me otherwise in a matter of minutes. While I am doubtful that EVROCVLT will be able to achieve the same feat with everyone, I am fairly confident that it will produce a smile on quite a few faces if they give it a shot. For more information you can head to the band’s Facebook page and if you want to get a taste of what it sounds like, be sure to watch the video below.