DIABOLOGY

DIABOLOGY "Father of Serpents"

By Dr. Abner Mality

This LA trio pushing their second album throw around the word "thrash" a lot in their press and their cover art sure reinforces that indication. However, anybody expecting neck-wrecking balls-out thrash in the SLAYER and NUCLEAR ASSAULT tradition will be disappointed with "Father of Serpents". This is a much more composed and mild take on thrash.

Lots of influence from modern day METALLICA and mid-period MEGADETH is to be found here and DIABOLOGY don't try to hide it. "The Softest Grave", "Chimera" and the title track all have the sound of "Death Magnetic" and "Hardwired To Self-Destruct" in their DNA. Actually, it's not bad if you like this style, but it's not the evil sort of thrash that the band name and cover art attempt to portray. The nadir has to be "Ode to Ogtha", which actually breaks into honest-to-God white boy rapping on the verses. The more poppy vocals on "Lighthouse Hymn" are also not encouraging.

However, most of the album is nowhere near that bad and I'm not ashamed to admit I quite liked the crunch riffs on "March To Sea" and "The Softest Grave", while "Eat My Heart Out" shows some compositional skill. But does DIABOLOGY really make the cut? No, I can't say I hear it yet. Another name the press mentions is TRIVIUM and if that's your bag, this will suit you more than it did me.

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DIABOLOGY