Dieversity
[ - - - ]

Entwine return with more arena goth goodness and possibly the stupidest album title of all time. Similar to the change between 2001's Gone and 2002's Time of Despair, Dieversity shows yet another logical refinement of Entwine's sound (like it or not). Some elements are lost, some gained, mostly they are just improved. Mika's lyrics are still over-the-top gothodrama at its cheesy best while his vocals are still very un-goth. It's a nice little twist that helps set them apart from the other arena goth bands. The music on Dieversity is catchy and memorable, and the sound is polished to a nice, glossy finish. It's everything you expect from Entwine, just taken to the next level. In fact, this might just win them a few new fans as the "pop" aspects of their last album have been noticeably toned down - though there's still plenty of pop to go 'round. I was actually afraid that they would get more pop and try to be the next HIM, but luckily Entwine decided to focus on the rock and actually get heavier.

From beginning to end, Dieversity is (ironically) a much more focused album than anything they've ever done. The production is like a thick, honey glaze over the already sweetened music - so shiny, so crisp, so… gooey. I dunno… It's good, but it might give some of you a toothache, so to speak. The guitars lean towards a thick, vibrant, kinda high-end tone that is a bit more metallic and fits the slightly grittier approach of this album. The riffs are meatier and heavier than they've ever been. (When I say "grittier" and "heavier", it helps to remember that Entwine had a loooooong way to go in that department. Motley Crue they ain't.) The song writing has matured quite a bit. There's more energy and the catchiness is more natural. The melodies on every song are just better, though none reach the greatness of "Nothing Left to Say" from their last album. It's like they took that ability to write one or two awesome, bittersweet melodies on each album and applied it evenly to every song. No song reaches that level of greatness, but the album as a whole is much better. The hints of industrial from their last album are pumped a bit, though some of that might just be the guitar tone. Surprisingly, their doom roots show through just a little here and there.

But that brings me to a really weird thing. The doomiest song on the album (OK, the only doomy song on the album) is "Everything For You" and it's really good. It reminds me of some of the songs on Gone that made me love Entwine in the first place. What's so strange is how the song ends. They just cut it off mid-riff in production. It's quite jarring and, in my opinion, really dumb. But that's really the only bad thing I have to say about this album. Well, that and the album title is dumb. But you already knew that. (Seriously, when are bands going to stop thinking wordplay like this is clever? They should be glad that I don't deduct points for shit like that.) But aside from those little quibbles, I'd have to say that Dieversity is a more mature album… with an immature name (sorry, I just can't let that go). If you love modern goth rock, Entwine is one of the leaders of the arena goth sub-sub-genre. They don't sound like anyone else, that's for sure