After rolling onto the black metal scene with their original, deconstructionist, hyper-technical take on the genre with their self-titled record and furthered that sound with Dimensional Bleedthrough, Krallice truly achieved everything those two records set out to do better than ever before with Diotima. The base sound is kept largely the same, but with more variation in the riffs and especially the vocals, which bassist Nick McMaster dominates with his low, seething growl. The songwriting applies some needed catchiness, especially in "The Clearing" and the title-track, and works wonders with hypnotic riffs and production stylings, like the manic compression in "Litany Of Regrets". Excellent build-ups and explosions of riffs permeate the tracks, allowing for breathers despite their large length. The best example of this is the ending of "Telluric Rings", which lures the listener into a calm before rocketing out the most emotionally-charged moment of the record, where the riffs pile on and the drumming becomes even more ferocious. In all, Diotima is Krallice's first truly great record.
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