Diabolic Oath Conjure Dire Visions on "Serpent Coils Suffocating the Mortal Wound" (Early Track Stream)
I think I had to listen to Oracular Hexations about three times before I could even form a coherent thought about the record. Even then, the first thought was really just a word -- 'loud.' But then, as my neurons re-linked themselves, I had to clarify: obviously it's not just loud, because anything is loud if you crank it up enough, but rather Diabolic Oath's new album is massive -- it takes up space both sonically and mentally. Hell, even the song titles are excessive. It's an exercise in overexposure, saturating the listener with black and death metal dialed up to abhorrent (but in a good way) extremes, and behind that extremity is a ton of solid riffs and fascinating songwriting. There's something almost ritualistic in how it all comes together, actually -- if there were a way to summon old deities and terrible, unknown forces, I imagine it would be through something like this rather than some wimpy candles and Latin chants. What better way to dredge up vestigial horrors than through cryptic, intense extreme metal with three different vocals and all fretless instruments?
Today, we're premiering "Serpent Coils Suffocating the Mortal Wound," which you won't need a dictionary to parse out (unlike some later tracks such as the delectably-named "Fragmented Hymns from the Globulous Cruciger") but is elaborately deadly all the same. The band's riff-heavy spin on war metal is especially mutated here, keeping the punishing intensity but merging it with bizarre almost-melodies and letting them play out on top of the mix like bubbling vapors from a poison river. It's strange from start to finish, and although that takes some getting used to, the chaotic mixing and all-encompassing sound make it an immersive experience. Oracular Hexations is a dense record, but that density comes with rich rewards for devoted listeners.
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Oracular Hexations releases April 5th via Sentient Ruin.
