Hey there, tech fiends. It's that time of the week again. Before we dive into today's focus, here's the usual weekly reminder that if you're looking for even more sick bands to hear, all prior editions of this series can be perused here.
We're still deep in the throes of a new old-school death metal hype wave, and that's perfectly fine by me. It seems obvious someone with a limited focus column-wise might not really be for it, but truth be told, I've really enjoyed much of the current groups and upcoming nascent acts delivering technical-minded death metal that draws heavily from an old-school sort of mindset.
Ultimately, the real test of repping underrated greats ahead of trends that blow up is still being there when they come into greater prominence. So we're here today to tie into that angle, and I'm still as psyched about Diskord now as I was when I got into them in 2013. That was the year I first covered them when I was a year late to covering their 2nd album, Dystopics. One year after that, I helped them premiere "Lethargic Regression" over at No Clean Singing in 2014. This was followed by a review of their EP, Oscillations, which I reviewed that same year at NCS. It honestly felt like they were ahead of what most people were doing then when it came to their atypical approach. It was only after they sort of went into a dormant phase, that anyone even approaching the type of thing they were doing started to be done by a select few others.
Here we are in the middle of 2021 and Diskord are finally back on their grind with the upcoming release of their third album, Degenerations. The album is set to come out on August 3rd through the always excellent people over at Transcending Obscurity Records. We've got the early premiere of a new song called "The Endless Spiral" for you today. You can read on to learn more about the band or immediately scroll below and check the song out.
For anyone new to the Norway-based outfit, there are a few things worth pointing out from the get-go. The group has always switched up whoever is on guitar and vocals after two releases at most for every new guitarist who has joined the band besides the initial guitarist and vocalist Christian Myhre. Who, to date, was the only one to break that mold by appearing on two demos, an EP, and their 2007 debut album, Doomscapes. Although he did technically leave the group in 2005 and the group's second guitarist, vocalist Espen Hangård, was in the band by the time Doomscapes was released but did not appear on that effort.
At any rate, bassist and vocalist Eyvind Wærsted Axelsen and drummer and vocalist Hans Jørgen Ersvik, have been guiding Diskord's direction and evolution since their inception in 1999. This has allowed the group to maintain a consistent sound that falls somewhere between Atheist, Immolation, Gorguts, and Autopsy while changing it up regardless of when someone new pops in as is usual line-up wise over the years. For Degenerations, the "new guy" is guitarist and vocalist Dmitry Soukhinin of Defect Designer who I also love and have been covering for a long time as well. It's just that it's been quite a while since Diskord has dropped anything new so it would be fair to say he isn't exactly new at this point given that he joined in 2015.
So in this current landscape where new old-school death metal is thriving, you'd be right to ask where Diskord falls inside of what's going on now? To me, the group as heard on today's premiere of "The Endless Spiral" and all of Degenerations really, absolutely shits all over and dunks on I'd say 95% plus of all new old school death metal-inspired acts. There were certainly some wonky psychedelics passages in the past but that above all else seems to be the facet of their sound that's been given more room this time around and makes this feel somewhat different versus the prior Diskord works. Even saying that feels odd, but that's merely a reflection of how out there the music is and how that feels like one of the tangible things that has gained more prominence this go around that then requires some mention of.
If this comeback from the band doesn't get them huge newfound popularity, I'll probably just feel the same indifferent way I do as usual about underrated gems that destroy what most labels people are aware of are pushing. So, nothing new there, but, at the same time, music this fucking good within a currently praised trend, doesn't come along all that often and that's worth noting every damn time it happens.
For a bit more information, Diskord happily shared with us that: "The Endless Spiral is a song about the unfathomable abyss of time that we all travel through. It deals with the seemingly endless, meaningless, cycles of matter, contrasted with our own meager existences.
The song utilizes a bowed electric upright bass that, combined with floating dissonant guitar lines, busy drum patterns and the usual trio of harsh vocals, make for a somewhat different approach to the death metal soundscape. The Endless Spiral is probably not your typical death metal song, perhaps not even your typical Diskord song!"
Whether you're new to the band, or a longtime fan hyped on this new release, definitely check out "The Endless Spiral" below. The group hasn't lost a step after all these years and I'd rank their upcoming album, Degenerations, as their finest hour yet. Pre-orders can be placed here and here. You can also follow the band on the Diskord Facebook Page.
