'Holy Wrath' is the first full length from Latvia's Diseim and it is, as far as I am concerned, awesome. This album, for me, was love at first listen. I don't know if it is technically brilliant as I am not a musician but it was catchy and enjoyable.



Founded in 2007 by guitarist Dmitrijs Bulavskis and drummer Imants Vovers, Disiem play an interesting blend of sludge/doom/death Metal which has, at times, a blackened edge to it.

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I love the vocal style of Sergejs Stavro, a deep gargling growl. Dmitrijs' guitar and the bass work by Alekss Makarovs are dense, distorted and sludgy and Imants' drum work adds depth, atmosphere and where necessary is fast and blasting. An added bonus is that the lyrics are also clear to understand so the full intent and concept of the songs can be understood from the first listen.

The album opens with 'Black'. I loved the opening riff, dark yet catchy, there was something strange in the initial vocal sound but then the vocals that permeate the album kicked in and stayed until the end, at a consistently high standard.

The next track, 'Holy Wrath, was slower with a terrifying, melancholic start. The pace picked up but that terrifying edge was still maintained by sludgy guitars and growling vocals.

Continuing with 'Pyromania', another fast paced track with a good vocal and riff pattern then the pace slowed with 'Sinner', a sludgy, sinister number, the lyrical content of which I particularly enjoyed.

'Insanity' had a super slow intro and distorted yet simple riffs and this, combined with the sinister growling vocals, made for a track with massive atmosphere and the continual tempo change strongly suggested a mind in conflict.

'Son Of The Winter' had a sludgy distorted sound to add to the morbid lyrics. On 'Witch', one of my favourite tracks, I loved the effective musical phrasing of the track and the tempo change kept my mind on the deeply doom infected music.

The final track, another doom laden one, 'Agony', opened with a painful spine crawling guitar riff which almost sounds as if it is repeatedly saying the word agony as an echo to the vocals. A delightfully morbid end to the album.

As first albums go I thought this was a damn good effort, unpretentious, not too slow and doomy, with plenty of variance and interest.

'Holy Wrath' is out now on Abyss records.

14.5.12