Decimator

Words are of different types and describe various things: phenomena, states etc. The words describing the act named Diocletian and this meteor of an MCD belong to the domain of sheer destruction, mayhem and sonic arsenals.

War metal is something of a curiosity. Except Blasphemy, I couldn't find so-called war metal bands truly worth lending my ears to (maybe Lust would be the second to rank as war metal sensation, but they have their hints of idiocy); not that my interest had always flown solely on the lands of tempo and volume abuse and nihilism. Along with my interest for black metal act Vassafor came a new interest, for Diocletian. And after satisfying this sick interest o' mine, I can tell you that a new war metal band is on the tracks.

I guess that it's obvious for any person who has experienced some severe doses of black metal, death and such, that a war metal band will give most space to its drummer. And the drummer... fills it out, fills every little portion of your ears. This kind of drum abuse is, indeed, an indisposable feature for maaaaany bands out there. But while most drummers desecrate the unspeakable realm of the drums, by blasting like they were only... blasting, this drummer stands out as a grandmaster harvester of innocent, genuine drum skins. Sometimes I wished that there was a center out there for the poor drums, victims of domestic violence, battered and stomped upon by the pair of inhuman cojones lying behind them, holding those POLES. Not only does the drummer bring the heat in the city with his mighty incessant militaristic pace, but he also pulls off in the key moments some of the fiercest rhythmic shifts I have ever heard in war metal. Just check out that ugly uber-surgically barbaric breakdown in Order Of The Ironfist, or the rattling in Master/Enslaver. The seemingly double-cymbal clicks accompanying the skins are nothing less than a revelation, just like ice shards dropping amongst the lava mountains.

The riffs, to my sadness, could be used by Vassafor as well, and while there are some recommended disharmonic moments raising their heads in this MCD, as found in Master/Enslaver, there is a jarring feeling that the riffs were not played well or convincing enough. By this I do not mean a demand for a Liquid Tension Experiment of black/death, but a demand for more thought and more originality put in these riffs. Not to mention that although I am that type of deaf guy who really needs to turn that damn volume to the max, I had to listen to this MCD at low volume in order to decipher the riffs. At first, I labelled this as worthless noise. The bass is distorted and rumbles in the mix, though without gaining exceptional moments.

The vocals consist mostly of distant roars and yelps, sometimes followed by a really furious screeching scream (somehow Lustful), and they manage to reach the point. Which is, anger, anger, and the expectations of the war to end all wars.

I wouldn't label this quite as the "Buy or get fucked by an airplane" category, cause it needs some patience and training to get into. But once you feel you got those, I believe this MCD would be a fine acquisition. For the moment, congrats to the members of Diocletian.