Hurtling through cosmic hell, your brain is trying to make sense of what’s in front of you, what you’re seeing, what you’re sensing. If you’re really experiencing those things. What the hell is happening as you absorb the menacing music that’s coursing through your veins, that your brain is processing, is that you’re travelling elsewhere, suddenly thrust into a terrifying experience you never saw coming.
“Oracular Hexations,” the new record from Diabolic Oath, is a goddamn hallucination pressed into a record. This second record from this three-headed beast—Ominous Void, Chthonic Conqueror, and The Temple, whose roles are not made apparent other than all three contribute the terrifying vocals—is a deep dive into metallic psychosis, an experience that’s here to stand not only as mere songs but as a psychological experience designed to remove you from this realm. The record feels like a purposely formless being taking shape, and every time it returns, it resembles something completely different. Each time you hear it, the experience changes, robbing you of any chance to feel secure in your journey because every turn is violent and unpredictable.
“Rusted Madness Tethering Misbegotten Haruspices” bludgeons right away, total death mauling everything in its wake, growls retching as it rolls through filth. Guitars unload before a brief halt, and then the drums burst, harsh calls coming in shrieks and growls, swirling menace disappearing into hell. “Serpent Coils Suffocating the Mortal Wound” is tricky when it opens, making the room spin violently, strangling howls foaming at the mouth. The intense fury coats strange calls, riffs that liquify, and growls that aim for the throat. A manic pace punishes as panic ensues, disappearing into a poisonous aura. “Winged Ouroboros Mutating Unto Gold” trudges through shrieks that rain down, and a spindly, twisting assault that makes breathing mostly impossible. Guitars unwind as the pressure warps, the howls are buried under ash, and crazed playing unloads, sickening as the final moments leave you nauseous.
“Fragmented Hymns from the Globulous Cruciger” spirals through a nasty pace, stomping through mud and blood, the howls scorching as the playing slashes flesh. The guitars tangle and mystify, feeling rubbery and slurring, slathering saliva onto festering wounds. “Gathering Hordes from the Outer Worlds” wooshes on poisonous winds before guitars begin to chug, battering and clobbering, moving toward sickening growls. Guitars swell as the bone-crushing fury multiplies, slicing through flesh and bone, creating a psychologically damaging atmosphere that fucks with your mind. Infernal scorching turns into mesmerizing heat, punishing and ripping before disappearing into a disarming aura dressed with mournful organs. Closer “Oracular Hexations Leeching” attacks right away, the guitars menacing and sinking in teeth, the growls gurling as the playing ransacks with hypnotic horror. Growls incinerate before growing maniacal while the drums blister, and devious terrors make you wonder if safety is even possible. Drums menace and splatter as a synth hazer drops, chaos disappearing into a cosmic void.
“Oracular Hexations” is intended as a series of spells acting as a collection that is meant to mesmerize and cause you to see things that aren’t there. It’s not that Diabolic Oath hasn’t created tracks you can pull out and listen to individually, but this is a record that operates ideally as a whole so you can absorb the entire experience. This is a creation that will challenge you physically, push you mentally, and make you absorb portions of darkness you’d never been able to digest before.
For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/DiabolicOathOfficial
To buy the album, go here: https://sentientruin.com/releases/diabolic-oath-oracular-hexations
For more on the label, go here: https://sentientruin.com/
Meat Mead Metal 