DIATI
DIATI “Diati” EP
By Theron Moore
Madison's hardest working musician, Jason Hartman, is back for the attack with DIATI which is basically a ripping full on hard rock project with a major THIN LIZZY influence running through its three tracks. If you're not familiar with Hartman, his full-time band is the great VANISHING KIDS, but he brought his other band, OLD SPIRIT, to the live stage recently when they played the 2024 version of Blades Of Steel fest.
DIATI is three tracks of rock 'N roll in purest, rawest form. "Always" starts off with a proto metal riff (dare I say a bit OLD SPIRITinfluenced?) before morphing into some serious THIN LIZZY worship. Let's clear this up before we go any further. Although this EP is LIZZY inspired, the sound and groove are all Jason Hartman / DIATI. The LIZZY influence drops somewhere between '78 or '79 – think “Do Anything You Want To Do” and “Waiting For An Alibi” –coming through loud and clear with track two, "In A Flash," which takes me back to the “Black Rose” era.
“Loud Cloud” is all out hard rock owing as much to OLD SPIRIT as it does to the 70’s. Hartman does a great job throwing his own vocal take on the late great Phil Lynott and in the end DIATI is a fun listen with a super unique sonic approach. Musically it’s more of a nod and a wink to THIN LIZZY than it is a note for note take (guitars and vox) on the masters. If I have any complaints, it’s that I wanted more songs to listen to. These three were good, now we need more. DIATI is most definitely worth checking out on their Bandcamp page….hopefully much more to follow!
4/5 Stars