originally written by Jim Brandon
Blur the lines even more. Break down the walls completely to the point where we can’t tell one genre from the other. There have been many occasions where I’ve seen a band labeled as ‘death core’, and occasionally I have to question its application to the subject matter. Not in this case, as Topeka, Kansas natives Diskreet bring forth an appetizing taste of their musical abilities with Infernal Rise, a focused, truly brutal EP that is tipped so far toward the side of death metal, that the ‘core seems nearly nonexistent, unless you‘re talking grindcore. Aside from a couple small production faux pas, Diskreet accomplishes what most of their compatriots in the scene do not, and that is write seriously rampaging material that not only challenges the ear with technical virtuosity, but sets the listener up for success by composing complex songs that still won‘t lose you along the way.
“Infernal Throne” erupts in a blistering opening assault of swirling yet palpable riffs, and much spirited blasting before they take an abrupt shift towards a more deliberate, sharply-riffed crawl. Laced with arpeggio-laden segues and clearer, midrange Suffocation-styled vocals, the track comes to an abbreviated, rumbling halt in the midst of being carried by precision rhythms and stylishly terse, guttural growling. “Infinite Hold” gives a nod to doom-ish Morbid Angel, before launching into an interestingly melodic ‘verse’ which blends into intricate staccato arrangements before jumping back into more blasts, and off-timed sliding riffs before concluding the track with a return to the lumbering, galloping gait it opened with. For being so elaborate, this holds together startlingly well after only a few casual listens, and doesn’t lessen in intensity over time.
“The Bigger Complex” shows the first of only a few hardcore touches by way of a rather boring breakdown which follows a vintage Hate Eternal high-speed intro accented by some lightning fast sweep picking. The tune eventually settles wholeheartedly into another breakdown used as a main riff before diving into Dim Mak note clusters that don’t get lost in the frenzy, before blending seamlessly with “Entrails”, yet another intricately-riffed, Suffocation-inspired shredder with a nasty double-bass driven bridge and blazing outro. “Faust” is probably the most ‘core of all the songs with a pinch-heavy beginning and immediate breakdown, but things get almost too busy as the music alternates between off-the-rails calamity and a very steady, methodical groove in a see-saw of whirling tremolo, and stuttering chugs before ending in a wasted minute of gunfire samples (possibly from a movie, I don‘t know, or care).
Bonus track “The Nightmare” is a blueprint for what Diskreet is trying to accomplish, basically throwing all the aforementioned traits in a pot and consuming it while still hot before vomiting it back out in a 3:33 onslaught, while the second bonus number “Promising Demise” is a bit urbane, and as the longest of all the songs it stands as the only weak moment due to its comparatively uneventful, mostly mid-paced delivery, and blasé riffs. At various parts the drum sound isn’t too hot throughout the EP, and at times it seems like the snare was replaced with a bongo, and it wouldn’t have hurt to bring the bass guitar up a little higher in the mix considering the smoking tone that comes out when you can hear it. Far from perfect overall, still, this is hardly disappointing or banal.
Seeing how Candlelight is bringing this to North American shores, the picture becomes even more interesting when taking into account a few of the more shaky investments the label has made outside the black metal realm in the not-so-distant past. Infernal Rise not only sounds current, it sounds like fresh death metal that escapes trendy safe zones, which is often difficult to pull off in an individualistic way. Similar to Beneath The Massacre’s initial offering, this EP reveals Diskreet to be a potentially lethal outfit if they use their heads, and really take the initiative to continue to stand away from those who would settle for merely being Necrophagist clones. Highly recommended for further investigation, and a full-length is imminent, so i’ll be watching for it.
