Doom Cult

A friend recommended me Diocletian because of their death metal essence within the complex war metal fusion of multiple subgenres of extreme metal (...quite mouthful). I gave them the exception to see if their aesthetics can beat my chaotic taste in the likes of brutal death metal and deathgrind, and so far, the band didn’t disappoint. Just the fact that they’re staying true or close to death metal and/or grindcore is what inspired me to try them out. I’m less enthusiastic about black metal.

With compelling (except for one) four small releases, the band recorded and released Doom Cult. You’ve got a definite war metal sound that describes black metal riffs, blast beats, and shrieking, the music which sounds more like death metal, and the raw production for a twist of atmosphere based on grindcore elements. Doom Cult grants that pleasure with six new songs and three re-recorded versions of the title track, The Iron Fist (originally titled Order of the Iron Fist from their masterpiece EP Decimator), and Oath to Ruin which has an unreleased version somewhere. The first two songs are short compared to their original versions.

Just to start off with the two re-recorded songs, the title track starts with a long alarm and some minor drumming before the initial opening. Once the alarm shuts off, we’re revealed to a VERY raw sound compared to its older version. The drums sound the loudest, which was hard to analyze any other unique aspect. The fact that they cut the slow outro that sounded so great and made this version significantly shorter, they achieved nothing. At least there are brutal death metal-like growling. As for The Iron Fist, it’s as raw as the title track, only the music is more audible and more chaotic than the original, especially that awesome long shout before the song’s closure. I guess it’s as solid as the original in its own right.

Oath to Ruin‘s riffs sounds like black metal 100%, but when the chaos rises from the production, death growls, and drums, it eliminates that thought. The riffs made the song very forgettable and monotonous. It is sheer three minutes of something you’ve probably heard of already, while the extra length coincides with the following song. Deathstrike Overkill includes a slow, doomy intro, and while it was better than the former, the amount of slowed riffs were underwhelming. It only becomes crazier right before the outro. Antichrist Hammerfist is more death metal orientated and quite frankly batshit crazy with the drums and riffs. You get three minutes of that amount of brutality. Bullet Vomited - forgettable. And Baphocletian has more guitar layers and more consistent blast beats, yet also goes no-fucking-where.

When it comes to the two longest songs, Werewolf Directive sounds like the band’s first two releases, which is good. I believe it possesses their quality, but fell short with its repetitive and directionless approach. At least it’s got a catchy outro and a cool title. Heretics is essentially like the other half of this record: repetitive and inconsistent. At least it had actual death growls, but to the extent that didn’t render it to the likes of their past work.

Doom Cult fell short for the lack of impact and the chaotic direction the demo and EPs’ foundation came from. Innovation is one thing, but this record completely lacked one. It’s almost as if the band drastically dragged their quality down and didn’t perfect what they’ve recorded in the first place. Maybe they never needed to, but this record was going nowhere, comprising more downs than ups. I will say that the title track, Antichrist Hammerfist, and Heretics show potential. The best song is The Iron Fist.