Diabolical – Neogenesis
No matter how hard you try, or how connected you think you are to a musical genre, there are always good bands that evade your radar. I suppose this is easy due to the fact that you can’t swing a dead cat around in places like _insert random town name here_ Sweden without hitting a member of one or more death/thrash/black metal bands. It’s a fact. Sweden’s Diabolical are such a band with 4 full-length albums to their credit and lifespan that reaches back to 1997.
Neogenesis grabs your attention immediately with life slaying blast beats and a full-throttled production that enjoys a menacing depth and sonic precision to allow every detuned note and deeply brutal moan of the vocalist to be felt/heard/feared. The foundation of Diabolical’s sound is definitely death metal, but layer enhancing synth work, choral background singing and sequences that lock the tracks together, along with more decidedly “black” moments of atmosphere in the riffs allow the darkness to creep in. Diabolical are quite proficient at mixing less encumbered guitar lines with hectic segments of technical superiority which effectively builds tension in these songs. There is space within the compositions and it speaks volumes in regards to patience and the band letting the songs develop and take on a life all their own rather than simply jumping into the blast attack just because it is the tired and true formula set and flogged by legions of lesser bands. Neogenesis embraces a very well rounded and lethal attack that finds true beauty in the blackness with piano interludes as found on Ex before erupting back into the fray with the antagonistic blasting offensive of World in Silence.
Diabolical knows how to mix all the dark elements at their disposal to create a fierce, though endlessly deep listening experience to demonstrate their unique approach to blackened death metal. Though I don’t see this band as endlessly technical or chained to a theme as Behemoth, I could see Diabolical opening for the big B on a tour and sounding like they belong on the same tour bus. Neogenesis has a lot to offer to those of you willing to sit with the album and allow the enchanting synth layers to unlock the gates to expansive realms of satanic brutality. -Marty
Viscisolum Productions
Worm Gear 