FROM THE ROTTING CORPSE NEWS Diabolic "Vengeance Ascending" What the hell are they putting in the water down in Florida? We get two releases in 2001 from Diabolic! First "Subterraneal Magnitude" and now "Vengeance Ascending". Are these guys recording year round or what? Not actually. The reason "Subterraneal Magnitude" seems to be brand new is because Diabolic's former label (the unmentionable Conquest Records) wouldn't release the CD stateside. Why, we don't know. Needless to say, the band is now signed with Olympic Recordings and have absolutely no problem getting the CD's to the shelves. However, I'm sure the disc is leaving the shelves rapidly. This Satan conjuring opus is one of the most brutally devastating releases in 2001, if not ever within the extreme metal ranks. Where to being, where to begin. I should first talk about the songwriting skills of Diabolic. "Vengeance Ascending" is structured perfectly throughout. And everyone who knows me knows that I am a stickler for good song structure. I think we would have thousands more crossover fans per year from thrash metal if bands took time to write and structure songs more professionally. But that is another subject because Diabolic are the utmost in professionalism when it comes to song structure. Whether it is a hyper blast beat, a grind groove, or in the middle somewhere, Diabolic has complete knowledge of arrangement at all times. The entire album is well thought, well rehearsed, and overall well written. (Can't wait for the live show.) Listening to "Vengeance Ascending" for the first time I did feel some Morbid Angel similarities, but in no means was it overbearing. I also heard some Krisiun in there. Just a little. But the songwriting that is accomplished by these four individuals provides more than any single influence. The opener "Darken The Imagination" has classic death riffage entwined with a muted guitar hook that sounds similar to Dimebag's "Primal Concrete Sledge". Of course we are talking about taking that hook and laying it in with blast beats! Attention getting to say the least. Diabolic keeps the punches coming on all ten tracks. Never letting up. The guitars of Brian Malone and Jerry Mortellaro are impeccable. They trade off leads in most of the songs, thus adding to the complexity of the songs and the thickness of the material. And the speed is ludicrous. "Ludicrous speed!"(Spaceballs, for you non Mel Brooks fans.) Paul Ouellette's vocals may be categorized by some as black metal, but I beg to differ. He doesn't have the OTT black metal screech that we hear all the time. And not guttural, somewhere in between. Haunting would be my best description, complementing the structure of the each song as well. Very well written. I can't classify Diabolic as a black metal band either. I don't care what the majority says, these guys are extreme, and too diverse to be cornholed into a one dimension band category. Aantar 'Blastmaster' Coates delivers a drumming assault of Samson proportions. He deserves the name 'Blastmaster' because he is just that. Pete Sandoval(Morbid Angel) and Mike Hamilton(Deeds of Flesh) are two of my favorite drummers, but the Blastmaster is fucking awesome! There is no doubt that Aantar will have an excellent live show. Damn, do you see a trend here? The live show is what it's all going to be about. I was never a really big Krisiun fan till I saw them live, and I can tell that Diabolic will not dissappoint. No band writes songs this well without attacking the live show in the same aspect. Buy the disc and then the show is sure to floor you. rmccool