Dante’s1 Divine Comedy will always be remembered for its first third: Inferno. I have some ideas as to why, but my best is that neither Purgatorio nor Paradiso wield the spite of Inferno. Dante literally condemned everyone he’d ever had beef with, living and dead, to eternal damnation. I think that same chippiness rubbed off on the symphonic black metal band Daidalos with their newest effort Dante, a concept album reinterpreting Dante’s trek through Inferno. When the then one-man entity showed up in these parts in 2022, their debut The Expedition received a Felagund flagellation over its overbearing orchestrations and toothless black metal. Daidalos mastermind Tobias Püschner must’ve taken this personally, because Dante—made in collaboration with guitarist Nahuel Lozano (Mental Cruelty)—is a far darker, more volatile beast than The Expedition. But is Dante an improvement over the debut, or would we be better off abandoning all hope before we enter?
Dante maintains The Expedition’s greatest quality—bigness—and adds some. Daidalos are still playing their Dimmu Borgir-meets-Wintersun brand of hyper-symphonic black metal, where walls of synths, strings, and brass clash and clamor without restraint, evoking in equal parts opulence (“King”) and bombast (“Inferno”). But this time Daidalos cranked their guitar amps up to 11 too, giving Dante’s symphonics the truly massive, vicious blackened edge they need and deserve. The rapid trems and nimble melodeath riffing on Dante are huge, moving with a melodic richness recalling Belzebubs (“Ashes”) and a heft that reminded me of the latest Ildaruni record at its best (“Ultimatum”). In tandem with some blisteringly fast drumming and caveman-like mighty shrieks (“Storm”),2 and Daidalos’ blackened half is a lot better realized on Dante than before. Guitars and strings trade off hooks on “Dis,” Down Below-era Tribulation goth riffs play into “Euphobia”‘s gothic organs and huge choirs on “King” accompany its almost black ‘n’ roll mid-section’s openness. It’s great to hear Püschner’s symphonic sensibilities coalesce into a stronger black metal package on Dante.
Daidalos’ penchant for adventure continues on Dante, as the album possesses the pulse and flow of one continuous journey. This is accomplished through some of the most critical uses of interlude tracks I’ve seen. While the main songs rip and tear through the bowels of Hell at full blast, short blips of haunting choirs (“Minos”), bells (“Gate”), and organ (“Malebolge”) add necessary breaks to the cacophony and establish the hooks of their subsequent songs all while leaving little time to get bored. Some are even interesting musical/auditory passages in their own right, like the haunting soundscape of “Dante” shifting into an almost industrial crawl or “Phlegethon” and its enormous brass hits entwining with church organ like some gothic Godzilla score. Only “Styx” with its two minutes of water noises and not much else felt extraneous. These shape the epic highs and lows of high school football an epic journey, making Dante’s lithe 37 minutes feel much grander while building upon Daidalos’ theatrical strengths.
One of the biggest differences between The Expedition and Dante is in editing—Daidalos did it this time around. Daidalos crafted much shorter, much leaner tracks than on their debut, with only “Euphobia” approaching five minutes. This gives Dante a sense of immediacy and affords Daidalos a few cut-throat, single-worthy cuts like “Inferno,” “Dis” and “Ultimatum.” But there’s also a sense that Dante could’ve been even better if Daidalos settled into a few ideas for just a little longer. Songs like “Storm” and “King” rush through so many riffs, melodies, and hype moments that they should be knock-out victories, but few ideas are allowed the runtime to really stick. Similarly, the high-tempo approach of Dante is often exhilarating, but its uniformity among the main songs can become somewhat monotonous. Dante has its standout moments—the “Falling into the void” line on “Ultimatum” is simply bone-chilling—but Daidalos could’ve had more if they allowed some of their songs to breathe just a bit more.
I don’t hate Daidalos’ debut, but it’s clear that Dante is a decidedly stronger record. Both rich and immediate, Dante is a journey worth taking for any fan of symphonic black metal. But even if you were burnt by The Expedition, Daidalos addressed enough of its issues that it may still be worth your time spinning. The Inferno may have been constructed by divine power, supreme wisdom, and love primordial, but if what I think is true and Daidalos made Dante with a chip on their shoulder over our last review, then spite is just as good at raising Hell.
Rating: Good
DR: 63 | Format Reviewed: An MP3 of sorts.4
Label: Rockshots Records
Websites: daidalosmusic.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/daidalosband
Releases Worldwide: February 20th, 2026
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