Label: Nigra Mors
Date: June 21st, 2025
I’m in a bit of a pickle when it comes to correctly describing this one. Not because I don’t know what to write, but because there’s more to write about than it is necessary. This is a two-way split release, but it feels like there are more than two bands involved. Plus Xerión, on the “flipside” of this CD.
Let me elaborate on that. Dioivo is a nine year old band from Vigo, Galiza, Spain. That being said, seeing “melodic black metal” in the description box, one would think this duo is well-set in its musical ways. However…
Okay, their part of the split could be divided into three segments, though it is actually two sessions combined into their half of the CD. Sounds confusing already, doesn’t it? It’s actually their demo of the same title, from 2024, plus two live tracks from the same year. The demo in question contains three covers and three Dioivo originals. Xerión, Immortal and Death, in that particular order. The one curiosity is that the band opted to have the sung in their native language, rather than keep them original. Well, except for “Akelarre” by Xerión, for obvious reasons.
Still, since this is my first acquaintance with Dioivo, I was more curious about their own songs. The genre definition I mentioned above could be correct to an extent. There is definitely some melodic black metal involved, but there’s much more to it.
It was announced also that their main thematic focus is the tradition of their native land, Galician folklore, etc. It appears in the sound as well, quite clearly. It makes sense, since one of the members’ background includes participation in Mileth, a notable representative of Galician folklore on the metal scene. Also apparent in the soundscape of Dioivo is classic metal but also melodic punk.
Which brings me to the “bonus” section of their participation. Two live tracks. “Cabeiros” is a slow, downright stoner metal song, with a mix of clean voice and harsh screams. The other one, “Por 100 anos Máis”, sounds like a skate punk anthem, with extremely catchy chorus.
Granted, the production work doesn’t help on either of these sessions. Standards of the technological era are much higher, even for demo recordings, and this one suffers from lack of density and fullness of sound.
Yet, a much bigger issue is the enormous canyon between varying influences and genres covered by the duo. Luckily, the three original songs off the demo are relatively homogenous, which shows a trajectory which could be followed.
As for Xerión, they’ve opted for a “compilation” of what they do best. Basically, if you’re not yet familiar with the band, these five songs will tell you all about them. As I’ve written before, they allow themselves quite a few options when composing their songs, yet remain on the same direction throughout.
First they went with an introduction, a composition by Alfonso O Sábio. Closer inspection uncovered that the man was actually the King of Castile and León in the thirteenth century. For a history buff, such as myself, this was a sensational discovery! To make matters even better, another one of his compositions was used as an outro for Xerión side of the split. Performed on percussion and vihuela de pénhola, which is a sort of Renaissance guitar, for lack of better description.
In between the two, you will find a cover by an obscure Galizian death metal band Detestor, which Xerión transformed into a ghoulish, necrotic (the track is called “Necrofóbia”) piece of graveyard chant. Then it’s a cover of their comrades from the split, Diovio’s “Sempre pola Morte esperas”, accompanied with the lyrics by the nineteenth century poet Rosalía de Castro. An atmospheric black metal piece, which leads you into Xerión’s original “De mouras e meigalhos”, off their brand new full length album. That one is a perfect representative of symphonic pagan folk black metal this duo stands behind.
All of this is rounded up with a cover artwork which resembles the early nineties cut and paste technique. Dioivo utilizes a heavily contrasted black and white photo, which again invokes old school graphics. The digipack CD comes with an A3 insert, containing all the information, photos and lyrics.
