Review by Carl on May 10, 2025.

In all honesty, I'm not that big on Denouncement Pyre, and this is really for no special reason. It's just those very few times that I've heard them, it didn't click with me. The reason why I have this split LP on my shelf is, and you've probably guessed it, the Diocletian part. Of course, tastes evolve, so I decided to give this one another spin, and then pour my findings into a blathering review of sorts. Yes, that sounds like a plan, alright.

So here we are, and so is Denouncement Pyre. Listening to this, I immediately realize why the music didn't click with me, and that is because their take on the black/death metal style is more focused on streamlined execution and a warped sense of melody, in place of balls-out dementia and frothing at the mouth aggression. Does that make it bad? No, not in the slightest. The band does put in a varied effort that combines a rolling sense of midtempo pacing with faster parts, with the whole being firmly rooted in the 90s Scandinavian sound, with a death metal twist added. They have me somewhat thinking of what bands such as Forest of Impaled, early Belphegor, In Aeternum and late 90's/early 00's Gehenna (NOR) did. It's a well-executed blend of tremolo-picked riffing, blasting velocity, scraping dissonance and a ferociously growling vocal delivery, brought with an energetic flow that also betrays a subtle thrash metal influence. This melange is being held together by a decent production that does not overdo it on the modern trickery, thankfully, but could've used more fleshing out when it came to the guitar sound. Despite this little slip-up, the music manages to maintain enough grit and subtle flowing force to strike out in a convincing manner, which honestly suits me well enough.

Well then, on with the part I bought this for, the mighty Diocletian, who do what they always do, and that is to batter the listener senseless with brute force. This is a total war metal 101, alright. Guitars like belt sanders are roaring on with relentless force, underpinned by a battering full speed ahead assault of blastbeats artillery, while a croaking madman is spewing forth blasphemous intonations with vomitous force. Throughout, there are screeching dive-bomb guitar leads strewn about, with only some occasional slower pounding sections allowing some breathing space in between. With a production that follows suit in all of this with a firm focus on blunt force, Diocletian mostly does what you've come to expect from them, which is letting loose with reckless abandon. It's nothing you're not familiar with; there are plenty of parallels to be made with like-minded spirits such as Necroholocaust, Black Witchery, and Nuclear Desecration, but Diocletian can follow in their trail with ease, exuding the same lunatic power and demented aggression as their brethren.

As a split, this is a varied twosome for sure. Where the A side has the streamlined variation of Denouncement Pyre on offer, the B side fulfills the raging noise quota with ease, with both establishing a different sort of aggression, while still exuding the same vibe. For those who like their black/death metal in a broader sense, this is recommended stuff.

Rating: 8 out of 10