C.O.D. Band of the Week - Diabolos

According to Wikipedia, a diabolo is a "is a juggling prop consisting of a spool which is whirled and tossed on a string tied to two sticks held one in each hand." In Italian, diavolo means devil.  Wlkipedia claims there's no connection.  But in Los Angeles, that connection has been made, because DIABOLOS are a metal band inspired by Italian horror flicks.  Tomorrow night, DIABOLOS joins LIGHTNING SWORDS OF DEATH at The Scene in Glendale for a night of local black metal.  Finally, thanks to Daniel Dismal and his Church of the 8th Day, black metal may have a home on the east side.  The mighty N. Eibon Fiend was kind enough to answer a few of our questions:    

Can you give us an update on your upcoming debut full-length album?

Regarding our full length album, we're finishing up the writing process now. We've spent a lot of time supporting our 3 song E.P. entitled The Three Mothers. The full length will be a continuation of the mood set by that E.P. It will be brutal, it will be melodic and it will have some of our best work on there. 

To outsiders, Los Angeles seems like an unlikely place for a black metal scene. We think they're wrong. What do you think? 

Los Angeles is one of the greatest places in the world. It's a huge melting pot of cultures. So it's fitting that amidst the bubble gum world of pop rock, there lies a sinister level of music as well. I'm glad black metal is alive and well in Los Angeles. To the purists who think otherwise, get over it. We produce some of the best music and have some great bands out here.

Diabolos has obvious black metal elements but incorporates elements from other genres as well - do you ever hear complaints from so-called purists? 

We hear complaints all the times. We mix in elements of hardcore/crust punk and thrash which I'm sure TONS of bands do. Purists, being true to their name, think they were born KVLT but like to forget that all the black metal bands listened to the early punk bands and all the early thrash bands too. We're just doing it in a way that shows our influence a bit more. Whatever, fuck the critics. 

We noticed you've played the Black Castle. Many people don't even know it exists, which may be a good thing. How do you rate that place as a venue? 

The Black Castle is a great venue. If people don't know it exists, it's because their either ignorant or don't want to make the trek there. It's run by The Engineer who's a good friend, Chris Hatewar promotes out of there and the staff there are all great guys.

Your influences are mostly Italian movie directors, rather than musicians - what connects your music to those movies? 

Our songs are basically a musical interpretation of the movies that our favorite directors make. For instance, "The Three Mothers" concept was done by Dario Argento. We sat down and watched the shit out of those movies and came up with what's on the CD. We immerse ourselves 1000% into what we see and want people to hear. That's the only way it would work with our music.

I noticed you have an official model. For the women who read this blog, do any of them have a chance to ever get that title?

Our official model is a Swedish based ghoul who was one of the first people who contacted us about working with us. She's great but if other gals want to be included, they better not be afraid of getting some blood and guts on them! 

You want to share any other words with the City of Devils?

Extra words: we're gonna unleash some new songs in our upcoming shows. We'll have surprises for sure and we're going to be coming out with even more merchandise in the coming months. Blogs like this make the scene great and we're glad to have been asked to help out in making this a CITY OF DIABOLOS!