Diabolic Prophecies

I do not know about readers of my reviews, but I did not expect miracles from such a name - definitely more dubious quality of a tribute band with their new material (?) than something worth discussing. So my surprise was even greater for the Czechs from Heaving Earth, because their music, despite the lack of breakthrough, attracts and can keep you interested for longer. Well, Tomáš Halama's band - unlike a large crowd of newer death metal bands - decided to approach the extreme (American-type) without intrusive copying, with a sensible, stuffy atmosphere and efficiently enough to make a significant part of the songs have a "catchy points". First of all, the obvious influence of the middle Morbid Angel (i.e. from "Domination" to "Gateways To Annihilation"), the Czechs pushed it to the background, and in front of the first row they put those from the later Immolation, by which they created an interesting mixture of "tarry" death metal. Their debut album entitled "Diabolic Prophecies" showed nicely that Heaving Earth is not a boring combination of Immolation and Morbid Angel.

On the debut of Tomáš Halama's group there is death metal, full of twisted riffs, slightly "cosmic" solos and varied drumming, soaked in a hellish aura (straight from the cover). Heaviness on "Diabolic Prophecies" is therefore concrete, although it must be admitted that the band fares most interestingly at medium paces. There, in particular, are surprisingly many twisted riffs (obligatory with the use of higher notes - like Robert Vigna) and amazing solos, which - for me - appear to be the greatest assets of "Diabolic...". Especially in this second element, the band perfectly draws on the cds of known bands, although it's absolutely impossible to name it as a boring copy - the Czechs have a slightly different feeling and idea for melodies in terms of these inspirations. To confirm: "Disciples Of Obscurity", "Beyond The Void", "Hideous Idiolatry Violation" and "Atavistic Revelation", which in addition to the aforementioned pluses, can also sensibly use the longer duration. On average, I am convinced by the production on this album (especially the drums - glaring with plastic at faster speeds) and the vocals of Michal Kusák (terribly generic). With such music, a more natural and fleshy sound and a traditional, guttural, low growl (without screeching) would fit much better.

Despite quite modest (not to say, even insignificant) success and hype on "Diabolic Prophecies", Heaving Earth's debut is definitely a position worth exploring. After it, you can hear perfectly well that apart from funny grindcore bands or total madmen mixing between extreme metal styles, there is a place on the Czech scene for a band sensibly inspired by Immolation and Morbid Angel. It's called Heaving Earth.

Originally on: https://subiektywnymetal.blogspot.com/2022/04/heaving-earth-diabolic-prophecies-2010.html