Diocletian - Darkness Swallows All EP (2021)

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Diocletian have been pummelling peoples ears into submission for the last decade and with their newly realized 'Darkness Swallows All' EP the band is looking to turn a corner after 'Amongst The Flames of a Bvrning God'. New Zealand has proven to be a gestation ground for bestial sounding death metal with bands like Vassafor, Heresiarch, Witchrist, Vesicant and Diocletian at the helm of all the chaos. Vassafor's 'To The Death' release last year was among one of my favourites, just ugly!

But this new EP from Diocletian seems to be cut from a cloth of death metal that is at its core even more raw and even more crude than that of their opus "Gesundrian'…which a lot of the time, is a welcomed force in terms of my taste… This time, I'm not too sure. One thing is certain, It's an absolute far cry from the sheer ferocity a band like KNEEL were able to impose on their 3-song EP last year.

I'm posting this one up for the vultures to feast on, as for me, I am unsure of the direction these brutish Kiwis are taking. All is fair in love and war.

Diocletian - Darkness Swallows All (bandcamp)

Suffering Hour - The Cyclic Reckoning (2021)

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Here we go again, Profound Lore doing what Profound Lore does better than almost any other record label out there, consistently putting out releases within the umbrella of metal that is forward-thinking, hard hitting and unequivocally true to its cause. In the case of Suffering Hour, the trio out of Forest Lake, Minnesota, are emerging into the new year with their sophomore album, The Cyclic Reckoning, and they are punching way above their weight.

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This new album is a monolithic tower of black/death metal, trading between genres with purpose and force, and the concocted energy as well as atmosphere are forces that emit an untapped barbarity through serpentining black metal chords, pummelling drums and a combined vocal output that sounds sheer… At times summoning the same ferocity as Death Fortress, which if you know me, is a volatility I appreciate in something flying under the banner of death metal. Only two songs have been released so far… but I'm sure as hell paying attention.

Suffering Hour - The Cyclic Reckoning (bandcamp)