DII MINORES – March of the Fallen

What would happen if Bruce Dickinson joined Helloween? That’s what Swedish heavy metal band Dii Minores sounds like! Well, at least that’s what their debut album, March of the Fallen (2025), sounds like; they still have a long way to go. According to Encyclopaedia Metallum: The Metal Archives, the band was formed in 2003. They released their first demo titled, Diabolical Greed (2004), and another one the following year titled, Fallen (2005). After splitting in 2006, they reunited in 2018 and released an EP titled, Blood of the Dead (2019). They were actually supposed to release their full-length album, the aforementioned March of the Fallen, in 2020, but that didn’t happen because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Together, We Rise and Fall

The album kicks off with a short, but mighty instrumental titled, “Forest of the Damned.” Filled with big guitars and luscious melodies, it gives the listeners a taste of what’s to come next. The faint marching stomps that close the instrumental make way for the gigantic and atmospheric title track. The Bruce Dickinson vocals are in full-swing by this point. The lyrics offer a message of hope and perseverance, which sits nicely with the luscious instrumentation. “Firedevil” heads into doomy, Black Sabbath territory and it’s awesome. It’s a slow headbanger with a dark and menacing guitar riff, and a thick, ripping bass line. There’s also a nature vibe going on with the lyrics, which is pretty cool.

“At the Edge of Time” is the longest song on the album, being six minutes and 26 seconds long. It’s dark and heavy, almost like a heavy metal symphony, especially with the firecracker drumming going off nonstop. If March of the Fallen is a concept album, this would be the song where the conflict kicks in and the main characters are forced to fight the demons standing against them; it’s that intense. “Dii Minores” is a lot of fun and a lot of it has to do with the catchy and playful chorus. Like “At the Edge of Time,” the luscious instrumentation creates a bombastic heavy metal symphony that’s sonically pleasing on the ears. The band has a good sense of melody, even with the ferocious double kick drumming in the background, there’s no chaos at all and everyone is in sync with one another. The album closes with “Blood of the Dead,” another dark and atmospheric track that returns to the doomy, Black Sabbath vibes. It draws a sad ending for the main characters as there’s no escaping their cruel nightmare.

Final Assessment

As mentioned before, sonically, the album sounds amazing. It’s a very bright sounding production, but there’s enough guitar distortion to beef up the songs; “God of Chaos” being a good example of that. The soaring vocals add to the melodic aspect of the band’s musical style. If it were a different vocalist that sounded like Bobby Blitz, March of the Fallen would’ve been a completely different animal. It hasn’t been confirmed that March of the Fallen is a concept album, but the songs are connected in some way and it’ll take a few listens to put together the storyline. For those who are interested in melodic and atmospheric power metal, give Dii Minores’ March of the Fallen a chance!

Album Tracklist

1. Forest of the Damned
2. March of the Fallen
3. Firedevil
4. At the Edge of Time
5. Dii Minores (featuring Misstiq)
6. God of Chaos
7. Black Sabbath (featuring Mario Haui Haueis)
8. Out of Order (featuring Mikael Eriksson)
9. Blood of the Dead

Check out the title track for Dii Minores’ March of the Fallen!