Band:	Diocletian
Album:	Amongst The Flames Of A Burning God
Style:	Black metal, Death metal
Release date:	August 16, 2019
A review by:	Auntie Sahar

01. Nuclear Wolves
02. Degenerate Swarm
03. Repel The Attack
04. Berserker Rights
05. Invincibility Through Strife
06. Procreate Strength
07. Plundered By Hyenas
08. Restart Civilization

Forget dealing out corporal punishment with the shoe and the belt. Next time your child's being a right little cheek, just have them listen to some Diocletian.

It's been a minute since the Kiwi gentlemen in Diocletian popped up on my radar, but, having quite enjoyed their last effort, 2014's Gesundrian, when I realized they had a new one out this year my interest immediately rose. 2019's Amongst The Flames Of A Burning God, however, is a lot more pummeling and ferocious than I remember them sounding. Sometimes it's the simplest, most straightforward formulas that ultimately end up being the most potent, and that's effectively the principle Diocletian are going for here. This is not an album that deals in many layers or complexities, preferring to instead just bludgeon the listener with a thunderous cacophony of death metal accentuated by black metal undercurrents that gives nods to bands like Blasphemy and Revenge as possible influences. Indeed, there's something of a war metal vibe given off in the production and just how downright violent the music becomes. If you wanted filthy, Amongst The Flames most definitely brings it.

Of course though, this ultimately ends up being the album's main drawback, the fact that so much time is devoted to a pummeling, dadadadadadada-type approach on the part of the music that after a while all the tracks can get difficult to tell apart from each other, blurring together and becoming somewhat monotonous. But much like grindcore albums, this is very likely the intended idea, and Amongst The Flames is thus best listened to more in one full go than for its individual tracks. It's not the type of album that you're likely to revisit for specific numbers, but more for the entire listening experience. That said, I do feel as though Amongst The Flames would've benefited by just a wee greater variation in tempo, to give the composition some breathing room and make it a little more than just an endless barrage of blasts. Breaks in the mayhem somewhat come in the more downtempo, middle section of "Berserker Rites," or on the opening of "Restart Civilization," but that's about it. A few more slow sections next time, please, Diocletian. Marching all day makes the Roman legions weary.

In the blackened death metal department Diocletian are somewhere in the middle of the totem pole, not being quite as layered, emotive, and atmospheric as contemporaries like Emptiness, and not quite as catchy as, say, a band like Bölzer. They do, however, know how to serve listeners a harsh and proper beating. And sometimes that's all you need.

On the Naughty list this year? Repent, and receive thy punishment.