Review Summary: Diabolic dish up one of the most punishing and energetic death metal albums of the 2000s, mixing volatile high speed riffing with subtle melodies that make Infinity Through Purification quite spectacular.
Diabolic are a band that have existed in the Florida death metal scene long since its heyday, forming in 1997 and releasing their first album,
Supreme Evil in 1998. While its follow up,
Subterraneal Magnitude was a powerful and heavy album with good tempo variation akin to the legendary
Incantation and some strong tracks, it ultimately lacked the makings of a classic of its scene. The following
Vengeance Ascending was decidedly worse than its predecessor with some unexceptional songs mixed with weak production, but as
Infinity Through Purification demonstrates, the band certainly weren’t going to falter any further. Armed with a greatly improved production job and easily the band’s best material, Infinity Through Purification is among the better death metal albums of the early 200s.
Instrumentally, this is Diabolic’s best work. The guitar work acts at colossal speed, with some extremely good riffs executed at blistering tempos; there is also an impressive quantity of melody in several of the riffs and in most of the solos, which of excellent standard. The drumming is likewise excellent, and while triggered it does pack at satisfying punch through its blast beats and precise double bass. The vocals are extremely good as well, with a solid throaty roar dominating the performance but with some excellent and forceful screams implemented frequently to make the vocal performance much less monotonous than that of many other death metal bands. The bass guitar is also quite easily audible, but plays a much simpler part that the rhythm guitars, which is somewhat disappointing but sounds fine. Production wise, the album sounds rough (in a positive, aggressive way), with an abrasive rhythm guitar tone mixed with some forceful drumming.
The album immediately starts on a high note with two of its best tracks,
From The Astral Plane …Entwined With Infinity and
Spiritual Transition, both brutally pushing along with excellent riffs and leads implemented into an entertainingly energetic form.
Satanic Barbarism keeps the overall tone and force going effectively, but
Internal Mental Cannibalism drags slightly compared, though it is still a good track in its own right and improves as it progresses.
Exsanguinated Life regains the lost energy of the centre couple of tracks with some extremely technical riffs executed at punishing tempos.
Descending Through Portals Of Misery is among the album’s best tracks, with a slower pace being used effectively along with extremely high tempo segments that keep it one of the most varied tracks on the album.
Enter The Maelstrom closes the album at full speed with some of its best riffs.
Aside from a couple of technical inaccuracies and a slightly dip in quality towards the centre of the album, this is very high quality stuff, with some of the most powerful and violent death metal of its time with effective melodies mixed in to an extent that it rarely becomes as monotonous as many of its competitor albums. It’s not to the level of the None So Vile’s and the Close To The World Below’s of the world, but it provides some absolutely punishing riffs in a satisfying and entertaining package.
Recommended Tracks:
From The Astral Plane …Entwined With Infinity
Satanic Barbarism
Spiritual Transition
Descending Through Portals Of Misery
Enter The Maelstrom
