Disma-Towards the Megalith

Disma, for those of you who've been living under a rock and listening to metalcore for the last couple years, are something of an underground death metal supergroup, and one of the frontrunners of the “new wave of old school death metal” we’ve been experiencing for the last couple years. Featuring members of both elder gods Incantation and the new kings of sepulchral obscurity Funebrarum, they’ve generated quite a lot of buzz since the release of their 2009 demo Vault of Membros. Their full length debut Towards the Megalith has been burdened with so much hype in the last couple months that it couldn’t have been anything other than a triumph of death or an embarrassing disappointment. After a couple listens, I am definitely gravitating towards the former camp.

Detractors will probably complain that this sounds too much like Funebrarum or Incantation, but I would say the opposite; there is inevitably influence and parallel to both progenitor bands present, but I must applaud Disma’s ability to maintain their own identity. The earth shaking howl of Craig Pillard is instantly recognizable, but this isn’t more of the Incantation worship ala Father Befouled that’s become so popular lately. More primal than Funebrarum and more aggressive than Incantation, Disma play their own brand of doom-touched death metal. In places Disma even remind me of Finnish death cults Convulse and Demigod in the way they sling their sordid, swampy, riffs.

Speaking of riffs, there are a lot of them here, and they kick ass! Disma hit my musical g-spot with their ability to unearth megalithic, groovy, downright fuckin’ creepy riffs, which vary from blasting diabolical tremolo picking to slower but equally evil doom riffs. They’re never too technical or even especially innovative, but they’re memorable and constantly conjure up pure evil atmosphere. I caught myself headbanging more than once listening to this! The production is also impressive, very clear but tainted with a subtle coat of filth.

If you’re into real death metal, this is a must. Buy it now from Dark Descent records or, like me, wait for the vinyl release! A round of applause for Disma and their Megalith.

4.5/5